Happy 85th Birthday, Nancy Sinatra! See the Singer’s Life and Career in Photos

Nancy Sinatra’s Childhood

Nancy Sinatra was born in Jersey City, New Jersey, on June 8, 1940, to legendary singer Frank Sinatra and his first wife Nancy Barbato. She was the eldest of three children, growing up with brother Frank Jr. and sister Christina.

In the late ‘50s, Nancy attended the University of California, Los Angeles to study dance, music and voice, but she dropped out after one year.

Nancy’s Bond with Father Frank Sinatra

Nancy married pop singer Tommy Sands in a 1960 ceremony held in Las Vegas. Throughout their relationship, she set aside her musical aspirations, admitting to the Irish Times that she “made the stumbling block.”

“I was living in a fairy tale,” she told PEOPLE of their marriage in 2021. “He was not happy being married, and one day he just left.”

Nancy Sinatra’s On-Screen Career

She made her film debut in the 1964 movie For Those Who Think Young and acted in two more of American International Pictures’ “beach party” flicks, Get Yourself a College Girl (also 1964) and The Ghost in the Invisible Bikini (1966).

‘These Boots Are Made for Walkin’’

At the end of 1965, Nancy recorded the Lee Hazlewood-written song “These Boots Are Made for Walkin’,” which became a career-defining hit. It reached No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 and earned her two Grammy nominations at the 9th annual ceremony.

The song — which was later covered by Billy Ray Cyrus and Jessica Simpson — was initially meant for Hazlewood to sing, but Nancy convinced him to let a woman record it.

“I just told him the truth: that I didn’t think it was good for a man to sing it, that it sounded kind of ugly, and that a girl should sing it and it would be better. And he realized I was right,” Nancy told Rolling Stone in 2021.

Nancy Sinatra and Elvis Presley in ‘Speedway’

In 1968, Nancy starred opposite Elvis Presley in the 1968 musical Speedway, playing the rock star’s love interest, IRS agent Susan Jacks. The movie was her last acting endeavor, aside from cameos as herself on China Beach and The Sopranos.

Reflecting on working with the late Presley to PEOPLE in 2021, she said, “I know he was the funniest man and probably the most serious man I knew, both people in one.”

Nancy Sinatra’s Commercial Success

She went on to land multiple chart hits in the years following her divorce from Sands, including a Bond theme song and a duet with her father, “Somethin’ Stupid.” Frank and Nancy became the first and only father-daughter duo to hit No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100, and it also earned them a nomination for Record of the Year at the 10th annual Grammys. 

“He knew I was nervous, but he made it fun,” Nancy told PEOPLE of recording with her dad. “He was silly and funny and made the nerves go away.”

Nancy Sinatra’s Marriage to Hugh Lambert

After marrying choreographer and dancer Hugh Lambert in 1970, the couple welcomed two daughters together: AJ, born in 1974, and Amanda, born in 1976. The pair remained together until Hugh’s death from cancer in 1985.

On March 31, 2025, she posted a birthday tribute to her late husband 40 years after his death. “Hughie was a wonderful man, so funny and very handsome, with warm hazel eyes and great hair,” she wrote on Facebook. “I adored him. He was the love of my life and I’ll miss him for the rest of my days.

‘Frank Sinatra, My Father’ and ‘Frank Sinatra, An American Legend’

She published two books about her famous dad, the authorized biography Frank Sinatra, My Father in 1985 and Frank Sinatra: An American Legend in 1995. After her father’s death in 1998 at age 82, Nancy told the Vancouver Sun that it was difficult to grieve someone who had such a ubiquitous presence and impact.

“The man was probably one of the most photographed people who ever lived,” she said. “You hear his music everywhere, without warning. It’s like constantly being bombarded, like somebody putting their fingers in the wound. No, it’s not easy.”

Nancy Sinatra Receives Her Hollywood Walk of Fame Star

She received her Hollywood Walk of Fame star in a 2006 ceremony with her mother, also named Nancy, and siblings in attendance. Nancy Sr. died in 2018 at age 101, and the “Boots” singer called her mom “the most influential person” in her life.

“I still rely on her wisdom, kindness, sweetness and her toughness. She was a strong lady,” she said in 2021.

Nancy Sinatra as a Mom

Nancy raised her two daughters with Hugh alone after his 1985 death. Every year, the singer posts birthday wishes to her children on Instagram. 

For AJ’s 50th birthday in May 2024, Nancy recalled “complications” like a “miscarriage on stage” before she and Hugh welcomed their eldest daughter. “I was finally a mom and my dad finally had a blue-eyed child in his life,” she wrote under a baby photo. “Happy HAPPY birthday, AJ! I love you so much and I’m very proud of you and your father would be too.”

“I’m so lucky,” she told PEOPLE of motherhood in 2021.

Nancy Sinatra’s Life Now

The singer remains active on social media, promoting her daughter AJ’s projects, reflecting on the past and celebrating her friends and family members. 

She credits her enduring legacy to her fans’ continued support over the years: “Without them, there would be no Nancy right now. She’d just be an old lady getting older,” she said.