Elizabeth Marie Tall Chief, known as "Betty Marie" to friends and family, was born in Fairfax, Oklahoma, on January 24, 1925, to Alexander Joseph Tall Chief (1890–1959), a member of the Osage Nation, and his wife, Ruth (née Porter), of Scottish-Irish descent. Her father grew up rich as a result, never working "a day in his life." In her autobiography, Tall Chief explained "As a young girl growing up on the Osage reservation in Fairfax, Oklahoma, I felt my father owned the town. He had property everywhere. The local movie theater on Main Street, and the pool hall opposite, belonged to him. Our 10-room, terracotta-brick house stood high on a hill overlooking the reservation."
In 1933 the family moved to Beverly Hills, California where she could receive proper ballet training. At 17 she left California and auditioned in New York City, New York, joining the Ballet Russe de Monte Carlo. In 1947 she joined the New York City Ballet retiring in 1960 and moving to Illinois. Tallchief was considered America's first major prima ballerina, and was the first native American to hold the rank. She died in April 2013 and is interned in Illinois.
The terracotta-brick house is located on several acres with a long entrance north of Fairfax. The house hasn’t been lived in for many years and has fallen pray to vandals.