She Stole ‘Funny Face’ From Audrey Hepburn—and Created Eloise: Kay Thompson’s Story

Eloise, the precocious young girl living a playful life in New York’s swanky Plaza Hotel, is one of the most beloved children’s book characters of all time. While Eloise has been recognized as an icon of her genre for over half a century, her creator, writer Kay Thompson, isn’t as much of a household name. Eloise, which will soon be adapted into a live-action movie, is Thompson’s most famous creation, but the author, who died in 1998 at age 88, also had a captivating life outside of children’s literature.

Keep reading to see why Kay Thompson is an unexpected pop culture icon.

Kay Thompson got her big break from Bing Crosby

Thompson had a musical background and got her start as a singer on Bing Crosby’s radio show, Bing Crosby Entertains, in the ’30s. During this era, she became known for her radio performances, which led to her being featured as the leader of a choir in the 1937 musical Manhattan Merry-Go-Round.

She was close friends with Judy Garland

While performing on the radio show Tune-Up Time in 1939, Thompson met Judy Garland. She quickly struck up a friendship with the young actress and became her vocal coach, and later the godmother to her daughter, Liza Minnelli.

In 2008, Minnelli performed a Broadway concert residency in tribute to her beloved godmother. Minnelli spoke adoringly of the impact Thompson had on her life, telling Playbill, “She was the neatest person I knew—a fabulous, fascinating, cerebral, harmonious woman—an original. There was nobody like her—always ahead of her time.”

Kay Thompson coached many Hollywood icons

After her radio years, Thompson moved into the film world, signing a contract with MGM. At the time, the Hollywood studio was known for its lavish musicals, and she served as a vocal arranger for films like Meet Me in St. Louis (1944), Ziegfeld Follies (1945) and The Harvey Girls (1946).

While at MGM, Thompson was a vocal coach for legends like Frank Sinatra, Lena Horne, Marlene Dietrich and Lucille Ball, making her a secret weapon of Golden Age Hollywood.

She costarred in a classic Audrey Hepburn movie

While Thompson was primarily known for her work behind the scenes, she had her movie star moment when she costarred with Audrey Hepburn in the 1957 musical rom-com Funny Face. Thompson played Maggie Prescott, a fashion magazine editor modeled after Diana Vreeland.

Sam Irvin, the author of the 2011 biography Kay Thompson: From Funny Face to Eloise, told NPR that her performance was Oscar-worthy, saying, “The reviews that she got when this movie came out, it was like the Second Coming. The fact that she did not get nominated for a Best Supporting Actress is unbelievable, based on the kind of adulation she had gotten. And the reviews were not just, ‘Oh, she’s also great’; they all said she stole the movie away from Fred Astaire and Audrey Hepburn, which is no small feat, because they’re terrific in that movie.”

Funny Face may have earned Thompson rave reviews, but she only acted in one other movie, the 1970 drama Tell Me That You Love Me, Junie Moon, which starred her goddaughter, Liza Minnelli.

Kay Thompson drew from her own life to create Eloise

The immortal character of Eloise came directly from Thompson’s own life and was illustrated by Hilary Knight. Thompson lived at the Plaza Hotel, and Eloise was the name of her childhood imaginary friend. She published the first Eloise book in 1955, and went on to write a number of sequels. In 1956, Thompson combined her literary and vocal talents with a song about the character, which became a hit single.