Being afflicted with polio didn't deter Cyd Charisse from taking dancing lessons at the age of six. She continued taking ballet lessons and at the age of 13 she joined the Ballet Russe. After a couple of uncredited appearances in musicals, Charisse made her acting debut in the 1943 movie, Something to Shout About. She continued acting in movies like The Harvey Girls (1946), Tension (1949), Singin' in the Rain (1952), The Band Wagon (1953), Brigadoon (1954), It's Always Fair Weather (1955), Party Girl (1958), The Silencers (1966) and Warlords of Atlantis (1978). Charisse stopped acting when musicals took a backseat in the 1960's. She was married to Nico Charisse, her former dance teacher in 1939. Cyd Charisse married again in 1948, after her divorce from Nico in 1947. Her second husband, Tony Martin was an American singer and actor. He remained by her side until her death in 2008 due to a heart attack.