Peppy Miller

Living… in Hollywood in the swinging, late 1920s. Peppy isn’t wealthy… but boy is she peppy! She is an aspiring dancer, but from the way she sashays from one audition to the next across Los Angeles as if it were one massive set piece, you’d think she’s already made it.

Profession… dancer. Peppy specializes in tap, though her style is less grounded in the traditional fundamentals, but defined rather by her incredible flair. If she’s dancing in a group, she’s the one you gravitate toward watching.

Interests… performing. It’s all Peppy ever wanted to do. George Valentin, the silent film star, tells her, “If you want to be an actress, you have to have something the others don’t.” It is her genuine love of entertainment, along with her oodles of gumption, that promise to take her to the top.

Relationship Status… nursing a massive crush on George Valentin. One evening, after a showing of Valentin’s “A Russian Affair,” she sneaks under the security cordon and crashes the silent film star’s media photo shoot. A photographer snaps a picture of her planting a kiss on his cheek that ends up on the cover of Variety under the headline “Who’s That Girl?” From then on, she and Valentin are friends. She eventually gets a boyfriend, but she tells Valentin he is just a “toy.”

Challenge… making it in show business. With some luck and the help of Valentin, she secures a spot in Kinograph Studio’s new film. She is just an extra, but it is her first step towards stardom. With the industry-rattling advent of sound films – “talkies” – she may have a chance. As she tells a reporter: “Make way for the young!” But the talkies could be the beginning of the end for Valentin.

Personality… quirky free-spirit and dreamer. She’s also a skilled conversationalist with strong social awareness. Yes, Peppy is quite the package! Though she is undoubtedly very pretty, her charisma and warmth shine even brighter than her looks. She is radiance personified.