Minnelli Tried to Track Down the Real Sally
Minnelli famously based most of her performance and appearance in Cabaret on Louise Brooks. Still, she originally had another plan in mind: she wanted to meet ‘the real Sally Bowles’ and sit down with her, learning more about her story, the way she moved, the way she sang, etc. in order to create a realistic depiction of the character.
Jean Ross. Source: Wikimedia Commons
Minnelli even went so far as to place ads in local newspapers asking for the real Sally Bowles to meet up with her. Unfortunately, she didn’t seem to realize that ‘Sally Bowles’ was a fake name that had been invented purely for the show. The woman on which the character was originally based was called Jean Ross and lived in England. At the time the film was being made, she was living in London and focusing on her family life, as well as political activism.