Jean Veloz died at her her Los Angeles home (Picture: Getty)
Dancer Jean Veloz, who was best known for her Lindy Hop routines, has died at the age of 98.
The late star’s manager and close friend Rusty Frank told the Hollywood Reporter that she died at home in Los Angeles on Sunday [January 15].
‘Jean innovated a style of swing dance that was admired around the world,’ he said.
‘It was silky smooth and greatly contrasted the more jitterbug style prevalent during the 1930s-’40s.’
He continued: ‘Every moment spent with Jean was a lesson on how to live a life. Her positive attitude was unparalleled, her love of people immense.’
Veloz was born on March 1, 1924, and had a passion for dance stemming from her youth and had prevailed in a jitterbug competition in Santa Maria, California with her brother Raymond against 500 other dancers.
Veloz was known for her incredible routines (Picture: Chad Scott)
She appeared on Little Big Shots: Forever Young alongside US talk show host Steve Harvey (Picture: Getty)
After the competition, she appeared in a variety of musical comedies including the 1943 hit Swing Fever Jive Junction from the same year. In 1945 she starred in The Horn Blows at Midnight.
Veloz – whose real name was Jean Grinnell Phelps – earned a Screen Actors Guild card after winning a talent show at Hollywood Legion Stadium, leading to her being cast in the production.
In 2010, her manager Frank paid tribute to her in an event called A Tribute to the Groovie Movie. The production honoured the dancer’s creative contributions to the industries over the decades.
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More recently, she’s been a part of The Bachelorette. In 2016, she was given a role of dance instructor on the show, before she appeared on Little Big Shots: Forever Young alongside host Steve Harvey a year later.
Veloz made multiple appearances over the years as a special guest artist at dance festivals across the globe, the last one in February 2020 at Rock That Swing in Germany before the Covid-19 pandemic.
She is survived by her niece, Stacey.
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Veloz died at her her Los Angeles home on Sunday.
