Allegra Kent Allegra Kent Allegra Kent (born August 11, 1937) is an American ballet dancer, actress, children's book author and columnist. Iris Margo Cohen was born to Jewish parents, Harry Herschel and Shirley (née Weissman) Cohen, and later changed her name to Allegra Kent. Kent grew up in what she later described as a dysfunctional environment. In "Once a Dancer: An Autobiography", she describes her Texan father – "who liked to substitute 'Cowboy' for Herschel" – as having "a gambler's soul and a restless nature". She describes her Wisznice-born immigrant mother as feeling "neither European nor American; she was ashamed of her
Allegra Kent Swan", with Holiday House Books for Young People, illustrated by Caldecott Medalist Emily Arnold McCully. It has received good reviews from "The New York Times","Kirkus Reviews", and "School Library Journal". She eventually had plastic surgery on her nose and chin at the insistence of her mother in an attempt to make her look "less Jewish". The operation was botched and Kent fell into a deep depression because of it. Balanchine dropped several roles for her because of it. In 2013, "Ballerina Swan" was adapted for the stage as a dance piece by New York City Children's Theater, featuring choreographer Michael