Princess Cheyenne: My Life As Boston's Most Famous Stripper

by Lucy Wightman

“Lucy Wightman's journey from the blue-blooded culture of Lake Forest, Illinois, to Boston's Combat Zone is an unflinching dive into a bygone era. It’s a complex character study and rare introspective look into the psyche of an intellectually gifted adult entertainer. At times Princess Cheyenne reads like a Pynchon novel, while at others it’s an inspiring paean to the pursuit of adult freedom, sexuality, and self-discovery.”—Dave Wedge, New York Times bestselling author of Riding with Evil, Boston Strong, and Blood & The Untold Story of Marvelous Marvin Hagler's Battle for Glory

How did a debutante from Lake Forest, Illinois, end up in Boston's notorious “Combat Zone” and become its most famous stripper? What led her to convert to Islam and get engaged to Cat Stevens? And how did she end up traveling and performing with Andy Kaufman and hosting a radio show for the sexually bewildered opposite Dr. Ruth?
In 1977, an eighteen-year-old Lucy Johnson stripped out of her bellbottoms and Birkenstocks and was crowned the feature attraction at the Naked i Cabaret. Local and national media took note of her toney background and, for the next eleven years, she strutted her way into Beantown history as the "Socialite Stripper."
In Princess Cheyenne, Lucy Wightman recounts her wild, Zeligesque life both in and out of the Naked i. Smart and uproarious, this is the untold story of a legendary performer whose stage name is synonymous with “The Zone,” Boston's most mythical district, and a fount of nostalgia and wonder to this day.

Genres: Memoir, Nonfiction

281 pages, Hardcover

First published May 20, 2025

Reviews

[Lesa Milas · Rating 5 out of 5]

For a reader who enjoys memoirs, especially those offering insights into unfamiliar worlds, "Princess Cheyenne" by Lucy Wightman is fascinating. The book explores Wightman's experiences as "Boston's most famous stripper" in the Combat Zone during the 1970s and 80s.
Wightman's honesty and wit are compelling. The story is told in a way that feels like a casual conversation, sharing the unexpected details of her life as she experienced it. The memoir begins with the description a privileged upbringing and transitions to the unique environment of the Naked i Cabaret, a club in Boston’s Combat Zone. Her memoir provides insight into this period of her life and her journey of self-discovery. 
Beyond her exotic dancing career, the memoir also covers other aspects of her life, and the influential people in it. The story behind her relationship with Cat Stevens and her exploration of the Islamic faith add another dimension to the story. Their differing lifestyles and religious beliefs led to the end of the relationship. Her interactions with figures like Andy Kaufman are also interesting.
Wightman depicts the realities of her profession without glamorization or judgment. She takes her readers on a candid and sometimes humorous look at the world of stripping, its absurdities, and the varied characters she encountered along the way.
While the memoir primarily focuses on her life and career as an exotic dancer, it also introduces the reader into Wightman’s next chapter as a wife and mother, and the tragic circumstances that lead to the death of her daughter which had a profound impact on her. 
Overall, "Princess Cheyenne" is a captivating and thought-provoking read that goes beyond her exotic dancing career. It's a story of self-discovery, resilience, and challenging societal expectations, told in an engaging and authentic voice. The book offers a glimpse into an unconventional life, and is thus this reader would highly recommended it.

[Meghan Walker · Rating 5 out of 5]

More Please!

I devoured this book in two sittings. I had to sleep and work in between the two sessions. I couldn’t wait to get back it. Lucy’s life and writing style are captivating and inspiring. I sure hope she wants to write more.

[William Stanwood · Rating 5 out of 5]

My life with women has been curious, and this memoir helped me consider the point of view of a woman for relationships. Also how body can be presented.
I believe any man could find new incite into gender, libido, and sex considering this explication. In my eightieth decade some of my memories and interpretations and beliefs have been provoked.

[CarolineFromConcord · Rating 3 out of 5]

I thought this book was fascinating and well written -- although author Lucy Wightman, in telling different media outlets about her life over the years, was inconsistent about the facts. For example, according to this, her official, version, she was never a debutant or in the Social Register. Her mother had been a debutant and appeared in one edition of the Social Register, and probably wanted Lucy to follow the same path. But from early childhood, Lucy's contrarian, independent streak should have alerted her mother that her only child was born to be wild.

Lucy Johnson (later known as stripper Princess Cheyenne) was born in 1959 in a wealthy Chicago enclave, where she refused to wear a shirt in the heat: "boys didn't!" She was kicked out of a series of schools for drugs and insubordination, and then, acting on an obsession with rock star Cat Stevens (later, called Yusuf Islam), she left home. She haunted Stevens in New York, got up close and personal, went to live in a Vermont commune, traveled cross country with a much older man, ended up in Boston, and became a stripper because she liked to dance.

There are quite a few chapters on going to London a couple years later, after Stevens had converted to Islam, and going to his office. She had not kept in touch. It turned out he was prone to what I'd call magical thinking. He'd apparently been praying for an American girl to convert to Islam and marry, and here she was. She spent several days converting and steeping herself in rituals for conservative women. She took it very seriously. She met his family.

But Yusuf sent Lucy back to the US and said he would be in touch and bring her back to marry him. She waited a long time, behaving demurely, but it soon became apparent the marriage wasn't going to happen.

She missed the fun of dancing and went back to performing at the Naked i in Boston's so-called Combat Zone, where she remained off and on until Mayor Flynn "cleaned up" the Combat Zone.

I'll stop there, although there's a lot more in the book.

I have a question, but it's really a question for Wikipedia: Why is Princess Cheyenne's Wikipedia entry and Yusuf Islam's entry purged of all reference to their almost marrying? Do people with highly paid lawyers get to remove actual facts?

This book is worth a read if you can handle occasional gross details. Anyway, you may not find them gross.

[Susan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lucy Wightman writes the way she strips: fun and without apologies. Her memoir is a collection of stories told simply and amusingly, with all the delightful details and sensory descriptions, but little of the pesky narrative beyond chronology. It’s as if she’s telling us: Here I am, you figure it out. But maybe that’s the only pose you can strike when you’ve got stories like Lucy’s. Her arc is almost Greek goddess (there I go, attempting to get literary) with astoundingly high flights and devastating falls (only briefly mentioned in the Acknowledgements and “Unacknowledgements” section), but she certainly doesn’t tell it that way. I knew Lucy briefly when we took writing classes together at Emerson College, and I remember some of these stories in their earliest forms. It was shocking then, and it is now, for most people to get an authentic peek into the backstage life of women who strip for money, and Lucy does us all an enormous favor by shining her flashlight in every crevice. See? she tells us, Not so scary after all, is it? But she leaves sexual and gender politics aside, except for the assertion that she owns all her own choices. There is not a single sentence about her costume of a glittering headdress and “Princess Cheyenne” moniker in the context of a greater cultural understanding. And though she draws many (often contradictory) sketches of her parents, we have no deeper insight into how this privileged, suburban girl overthrew her social conditioning. But Lucy tells us she has always been less interested in meditation and more drawn to action. So read this book for what it is: a series of dances constructed by a singularly free-spirited entertainer.

[Kathleen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fun, interesting story.
Socialite Lucy Wightman details her journey from wealthy debutant to becoming the famous
"Princess Cheyenne" in Boston's Combat Zone in the late 1970s. Along the way, she becomes infatuated, and eventually engaged to, Cat Stevens.
The engagement is called off when it's decided she wouldn't be "a good Muslim wife." She went on to develop a deep love and friendship with the famous comedian Andy Kaufman which lasted until his death in 1984.
I love this book for so many reasons... First, it will dispel myths about strippers (no they are not sex workers). She brings humor and stories to her coworkers... women you would love to be besties with. They will have you howling with stories and experiences yet warm your heart with a deep sense of caring for each other and their families while working toward a better future.
Aside from Lucy's humor and fearless adventurism, it's her deep sense of humanity that stands out.
She meets people where they are, doesn't judge and she's accepting and kind. She sees the goodness of people because she is good.
Wonderful coming of age story and the quest to find your place.

[Susan Ovans · Rating 5 out of 5]

No one who saw Princess Cheyenne physically bare all at The Naked i in Boston’s bustling Combat Zone during the ’70s and ’80s will be in the least surprised that she brings the same wit, grace, and fearlessness to telling her singular story.
But readers may be surprised to learn how smart the celebrated stripper is, how she remained authentic, outspoken, and unbowed despite the nightly grind of bump and grind over the course of 11 years.
And her anecdotes about some of the true characters who threw themselves at her feet – the famous, like singer Cat Stevens and comedian Andy Kaufman, some infamous fetishists who must remain unnamed, as well as colleagues, costumers, customers, and the local and national celebrities who happily hobnobbed with the saucy seductress – will keep readers fascinated and titillated until the final curtain.

[Lauren Kane · Rating 2 out of 5]

Very poorly written but I liked learning about the Boston of the past. She had a very interesting life.

[Brett Peruzzi · Rating 5 out of 5]

Lucy Wightman’s account of becoming Princess Cheyenne—the most famous stripper in Boston’s Combat Zone—would be entertaining on that premise alone. But her memoir offers much more than that. From a precocious rebellion against her privileged WASP upbringing, to an engagement to one of the biggest names in 1970s rock, a brief period practicing Islam, and a romantic relationship with one of the era’s hottest comedians, Wightman’s life unfolds as a series of surprising and fascinating turns.

The book is consistently engaging, candid, and often humorous, capturing both the cultural moment and Wightman’s unapologetic independence. The inclusion of photographs from her life and times adds texture and immediacy to the story, making it all the more vivid.

Entertaining, eye-opening, and impossible to put down—highly recommended.

[Kristen · Rating 1 out of 5]

I do not DNF books as a rule so I think of it as a tremendous achievement to have stuck to this rule with this book. It took me forever to finish despite being such a short book because I kept wanting to put it down again and again. Truthfully, though, I’m most disappointed in Jim, Margery, and their producers for not more properly vetting their guests.

[Chatham Fan · Rating 5 out of 5]

I knew the author before she moved to Boston. She used to tell stories about Cat Stevens and I wasn’t really sure if she was embellishing or not. Then I ran into her again in Boston and she told me about her “vocation” and I thought she’d gone off the deep end. Because we all change over the years and our perspectives on life often change along with us, I decided to read “Princess Cheyenne”. While Lucy lived a life that I could never imagine I felt that the book was thoughtfully told. Factual and funny without being too raunchy. Somewhat matter of fact and it read like a true memoir of that time in her life without being an ok offensive tell all. Just goes to show that our perspectives do change over time. I’m glad she’s getting positive press. I know nothing of her troubles as a practicing therapist. My review is based solely on her experiences in Boston at the Naked Eye. And for that reason I was fascinated.

[Stacey · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this memoir! It was so interesting to read about Boston’s “Combat Zone”- I had no background about this area. The reason for not giving a five star review was mostly because of my own personal limited knowledge of this time period and the parts about Yusuf didn’t hold my interest as much as other parts. Overall an eye-opening read, filled with rich history of Boston in the 80s and a fascinating life of Lucy!