"These boots are made for walkin',
And that's just what they'll do,
And one of these days these boots are gonna walk all over you..."

When you are the kid of an iconic legend, it isn’t surprising that some are going to feel that any success you achieve is merely the result of name recognition. But while Nancy Sinatra’s name may have gotten her foot in the door, she did something few chips off the old block are able to achieve – she delivered the goods. Always provocative, undeniably talented, Nancy Sinatra was the exception to the rule.

Perhaps as no surprise, Nancy’s childhood was filled with hours of singing, dancing and acting lessons and it was clear that her sites were set on a show-biz career when she continued those studies at UCLA. One of her earliest public appearances was on her father’s variety show in 1960, singing “You Make Me Feel So Young/Old” with dear old dad. Reprise Records, who handled Frank, decide to offer her a recording contract as well in 1961, but she had little to show for it, failing to put a hit on the charts for the next four years.  Lee Hazlewood proceeded to take Nancy under his wing and together, they created a new image and a new sound for the young singer. She was now sporting heavy eye makeup, blond hair and the latest designs from Carnaby Street, as well as a lower, more sultry voice that she displayed in the 1966 single, “These Boots Were Made for Walking.” The efforts paid off handsomely, with the song going to #1 on the charts and earning three Grammy nominations.

A string of hits followed over the next year, including “Sugar Town” and “How Does That Grab You.” She also sang a couple of duets with her mentor, each flirting with a more psychedelic sound – “Jackson” and “Some Velvet Morning.” Their two singing styles, hers seductive and his with a spoken word kind of grittiness complimented each other perfectly and helped keep her star rising. Nancy also continued her acting aspirations, taking roles in The Wild Angels, as well as working alongside Elvis in Speedway. She sang the theme song for the latest James Bond film, You Only Live Twice and landed her second #1 hit on the pop charts with “Somethin’ Stupid,” a duet featuring her and her iconic dad. The song became the biggest seller to date between a father and daughter, and became one Frank’s biggest hits, which is saying something.

In 1967, Nancy was given her own television special, Movin’ With Nancy, which aired on NBC. The show is best remembered for the kiss she shared onstage with dad’s old  Rat Pack cohort, Sammy Davis Jr. It was the first interracial kiss ever to be shown on network television. She made appearances on shows such as The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour and Rowan Martin’s Laugh-In, both which catered to a counter-culture audience, and made a notable trip to Vietnam in the same year. Returning home, she embarked on a series of Vegas appearances, becoming a regular on the strip. By the 70s, however, she was ready to step out of the spotlight, opting to focus on her family and raising children. In 1985, she penned a book called Frank Sinatra: My Father, a warm affectionate memoir of growing up with the chairman of the board.

Then, in 1995, fans were delighted to see her make a comeback. She did a controversial photo shoot for Playboy magazine, with her father’s approval, and started making the rounds again on the talk show circuit, promoting her first album in many years, One More Time. In later years, she has seen the occasional resurgence in popularity, thanks to her music occasionally showing up in Quinton Terrantino films, and still donates much of her time to a cause dear to her, that of Vietnam Veterans. She recently made an appearance on one of the last episodes of The Sopranos, following in the footsteps of her brother, Frank Jr.

It’s been a long and colorful career for the singer/actress and one that clearly showed her as a talent in her own right. Those celebrated boot, it turns out, walked all over the world and back again, and an adoring public followed her every step of the way.