Jessica Dragonette

Born in Calcutta, India,[2][3] or Philadelphia, Pennsylvania as Jessica Valentina Dragonetti, the youngest of three children of Italian-born parents, Luigi (Louis) and Rachele (née Baronio) Dragonetti, the Social Security Death Index cites Dragonette's year of birth as 1900, as does the 1900 United States census (June 1900) which gives the age of "Jessie Dragonet" as 4 months.

[3] In 1924, Dragonette provided an angel's off-screen voice in Max Reinhardt's production of The Miracle,[3] and in the summer of 1924, she was a member of Andra Sherri's Revue, which was part of a midsummer festival at the Lyric Theater in Indianapolis, Indiana.

[13] Dragonette continued performing on radio as a member of the cast of Roxy and His Gang when the program resumed weekly broadcasts on October 30, 1925, over WEAF in New York City[14] and WEEI in Boston.

"[21] Dragonette's popularity on radio translated into crowds at personal appearances, including 15,000 in an auditorium in Minneapolis while snow fell and 150,000 in Chicago's Grant Park.

[16] When the Palmolive Beauty Box Theater moved from NBC radio to CBS in 1936, Dragonette became the host of the show and performed in some episodes.

[22] Dragonette sang in a segment of the film The Big Broadcast of 1936, on the condition that she have authority over the final cut on her performance.

And in 1939, she provided the voice of Princess Glory in the full color animated motion picture Gulliver's Travels.

In 1940, Swiss-American artist Adolfo Müller-Ury painted a portrait of her that now hangs at her alma mater, now known as Georgian Court University.

[23] During World War II, she performed for charities benefiting the U.S. armed services, earning her an honorary commission as a colonel.

In addition to English, Jessica impeccably sang in German, French, Spanish, Italian and Russian.

On June 28, 1947, she married Nicholas Meredith Turner at St. Patrick's Cathedral, New York; both were devout Roman Catholics.