Trivia

Following the failure of No Leave, No Love (1946), she suffered a major breakdown and attempted suicide, spending eight months in a New York sanatorium. This cost her the lead in the London stage production of "Annie Get Your Gun".

Cole Porter once sent her a message: "You may sing any song of mine at any time for the rest of your life.".

Was offered a contract with MGM in 1944, rumored to be worth $250,000. She made just one film in America the following year (No Leave, No Love (1946)) in which she sang three songs. Poor reviews, in addition to a strict diet and fitness regimen imposed by the studio, contributed to her having a breakdown and she attempted suicide. She subsequently returned home to England.

She made her professional debut at the age of 14. A year later, she made her first appearance on stage, billed as the "Schoolgirl Songstress" at the Royal Hippodrome in Salford. Her first big break came in "Black Velvet" at the London Hippodrome in 1940.

In 1954 she became the first female star to have her own one-hour series on British TV, The Pat Kirkwood Show (1954). That same year she broke box-office records with a three-month sold-out cabaret show at the Desert Inn in Las Vegas, NV.

Stepmother of Stacey Gregg through her third marriage.

Publicity tagged her as "Britain's Betty Grable".

Was the daughter of a shipping clerk.

Noël Coward wrote the West End (London) musical "Ace of Clubs" (1950) especially for her.