Published on: May 8, 2026, 10:47 AM.
Updated on: May 8, 2026, 10:45 AM.
It’s been a decade since Las Vegas has showcased a genuine showgirl. The final topless feathered revue, Jubille! at Bally’s, closed its curtains in 2016. By all relevant metrics, the concept has become an artifact of the past. Yet, in a quintessentially Vegas twist, Architectural Digest (AD) recently highlighted three contemporary performers flaunting their residences as if the golden era never really faded.
The women spotlighted — Gypsy Wood, Carlotta Champagne, and Melissa Deadrich — are not the showgirls of yesteryear as defined by Donn Arden. They are dancers, models, wrestlers, and performers who have embraced the showgirl ethos without having graced the stage of Follies Bergère. Unlike their predecessors, they have acquired homes once exclusive to casino executives, moguls, and entertainers who were pivotal to midcentury Las Vegas.
According to AD, “A new generation of financially independent female entertainers — the very women who might have once been subordinate to the male executives — are now securing these vintage residences and reimagining them with extravagant decor.”
Gypsy’s Journey
Wood, a star of Spiegelworld’s The Party at Superfrico in The Cosmopolitan, is central to this narrative. This Australian performer, known for her plate-spinning and extravagant wigs, purchased a 1954 ranch-style home for $320,000 in 2022. Once owned by a casino manager or entertainment director, the house still features its original wallpaper, mirrored accents, and a Wurlitzer jukebox.
Wood preserved the house’s charm, adorning it with reclaimed casino drapes, Venetian carpets, and eclectic treasures from estate sales. She created a dressing room fit for a star like Elizabeth Taylor. Instead of a generic renovation, her home even became featured as Pamela Anderson’s residence in the 2024 movie The Last Showgirl.
Champagne’s Resurgence
Curation falls to YouTube fashion vlogger Carlotta Champagne. A model, artist, and former Playboy.com Cyber Girl, she acquired her six-bedroom residence in Paradise Palms in 2021. She endeavors to restore its lavish 1980s casino mogul-style. This neighborhood was originally developed by Irwin Molasky and Merv Adelson — the visionaries behind much of midcentury Las Vegas. It attracted the elite from the Strip, including Caesars executive Ash Resnick, Stardust executive Jerry Gordon, and entertainers like Dean Martin and Johnny Carson.
These notable figures commissioned luxurious features like rock walls, marble flooring, and sunken lounge areas. Champagne inherited one such property, complete with a leaky pool, faulty gas heaters, and a deteriorating foundation. She meticulously revitalized it, crafting a maximalist vision she calls Ho Chateau, transforming it into an eclectic homage to Vegas’s high-kitsch. Her home now boasts a mermaid coffee table sourced from the Madonna Inn, a clown-themed painting, erotic needlepoint cushions, a heart-shaped bed, a male chauvinist room, and a wig wall finished with fabric from a bygone casino.
Deadrich’s Domain
Melissa Deadrich, a professional wrestler, acquired the 1962 Lava House in Beverly Green, a Polynesian-inspired delight built during the exotic postwar era. Beverly Green was a hotspot for casino magnates and executives from the Sahara, Riviera, and Stardust.
Despite facing plumbing issues, falling fences, malfunctioning air conditioning, and foundation threats from nearby trees, Deadrich embraced the home’s tropical aesthetic. She enhanced the existing charm with lava-rock showers, wooden-paneled media rooms, tiki-inspired privacy walls, shag carpets, and intricately carved totems reminiscent of Blue Hawaii. Her residence exudes showgirl glamour — theatrical, vibrant, and steeped in Las Vegas nostalgia.
So why is Architectural Digest recognizing these performers who aren’t traditional showgirls? Even though the showgirl persona may seem extinct, her essence lives on. These women aren’t attempting to resurrect the role; they are reviving the extravagant soul. They are safeguarding the rich textures of velvet wallpaper, mirrored ceilings, lava rocks, mermaid tables, and leopard-print carpets.
While their homes never belonged to genuine showgirls, they are now vibrantly preserved by the women who embody the legacy of spectacle.