June Havoc, actress and 'Baby June' of 'Gypsy,' dies at 97 - washingtonpost.com

RIP at 97: June Havoc, actress, author and the model for Baby June of "Gypsy"

Her real name was Ellen Hovick, and she was the sister of Gypsy Rose Lee (Rose Hovick). Ellen was probably the younger, but nobody, not even she, knew for sure whether she was older or younger than Rose! Her mother kept multiple fake birth certificates for both of them, and the dates overlapped. The best guess is that June was born in late 1912, Rose in early 1911. Their birth places are also shrouded in uncertainty.

The article says:

"'Baby June' was born Ellen Evangeline Hovick in the Pacific Northwest, probably on Nov. 8, 1912. Even she was uncertain of the details, as her mother carried five different birth certificates to circumvent a patchwork of child labor laws. Some reference works put the year of her birth as late as 1916 and say she was born either in Seattle or Vancouver, British Columbia." (Rose's birthdates ranged from 1911 to 1914.)