Her real name was Frances "Fanny" Rose Shore and she was born in Winchester, TN. Stricken with polio at 18 months of age, she recovered after receiving the Sister Kenny treatment. She became a cheerleader at Hume-Fogg High School in Nashville, and went on to graduate from Vanderbilt University in 1938, where she majored in Sociology. She took voice and acting lessons on the side and sang on radio station WSM in Nashville. In 1938 she left Tennessee for New York City and began singing on radio station WNCW in New York. Her first recordings were with bandleader Xavier Cugat and later changed her named to Dinah after success with her song of the same name. She received numerous Emmy Awards for television specials and productions and appeared in many films. She was married to actor George Montgomery and they had one daughter and adopted a son.



She had a long love affair with Burt Reynolds, who was 20 years younger than she was. The first female star to have her own prime-time TV variety show. A childhood bout with polio left her with a deformed leg. For the rest of her life, she wore either long dresses or slacks to cover this up. Member of Alpha Epsilon Phi sorority. Her ex-husband, George Montgomery, and her two children were with her when she died. Dinah Shore Drive is named for her. It spans the cities of Rancho Mirage and Cathedral City (near Palm Springs) California. Per 1920/1930 census records, her parents were Russian-born Jews. Her father was a prosperous dry goods merchant in Tennessee. Inducted into the World Golf Hall of Fame in 1994. Her daughter, Melissa Montgomery, expressed extreme anger towards her mother as a child and teenager because she resented her fame. Lived in a one story house in Mission Hills Country Club, located in Rancho Mirage, California. Was also good friends with all of her neighbors. Among them were Donald Donovan and Geraldine Donovan. She was awarded 3 Stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame for Recording at 6901 Hollywood Boulevard; for Radio at 1751 Vine Street; and for Television at 6916 Hollywood Boulevard in Hollywood, California.