Joan Crawford (born Lucille Fay LeSueur; March 23 1905 – May 10 1977) was an Academy Award-winning American actress. The American Film Institute named Crawford among the Greatest Female Stars of All Time, ranking her at number 10.

Starting as a dancer, Crawford was signed to a motion picture contract by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios in 1925 and played in small parts. By the end of the '20s, as her popularity grew, she became famous as a youthful flapper. At the beginning of the 1930s, Crawford's fame rivaled that of fellow MGM colleagues Norma Shearer and Greta Garbo. She was often cast in movies in which she played hardworking young women who eventually found romance and financial success. These "rags to riches" stories were well-received by Depression-era audiences. Women, particularly, seemed to identify with her characters' struggles. By the end of the decade, Crawford remained one of Hollywood's most prominent movie stars, and one of the highest paid women in the U.S.

Moving to Warner Bros. in 1943, Crawford won an Academy Award for her performance in Mildred Pierce and achieved some of the best reviews of her career in the following years. In 1955, she became involved with PepsiCo, the company run by her last husband, Alfred Steele. Crawford was elected to fill his vacancy on the board of directors after his death in 1959, but was forcibly retired in 1973. She continued acting regularly into the 1960s, when her performances became fewer, and retired from the screen in 1970 after the release of the horror film Trog.

Crawford was born Lucille Fay LeSueur in San Antonio, Texas, the third child of Tennessee-born Thomas E. LeSueur (1868–1938) and Anna Bell Johnson (1884–1958). Her older siblings were Daisy LeSueur, who died very young, and Hal LeSueur. Although Crawford was of mostly English descent, her surname originated from her great-great-great-great grandparents, David LeSueur and Elizabeth Chastain, who were French Huguenots that immigrated from London in the early 1700s to Virginia, where they lived for several generations.

Crawford's father was said to have abandoned the family in Texas; Crawford later said she had been only a few months old when her father left. Her mother later married Henry J. Cassin. The family lived in Lawton, Oklahoma, where Cassin ran a movie theater. The 1910 Comanche County, Oklahoma, Federal Census, enumerated on April 20, showed Henry and Anna living at 910 "D" Street in Lawton. Crawford was then five years old, thus showing that 1905 was her likely year of birth, although later on, she would shave some years off and claim she was born in 1908.

Growing up, Crawford preferred the nickname "Billie," and she loved watching vaudeville acts perform on the stage of her stepfather's theater. Her ambition was to be a dancer. Unfortunately, she cut her foot deeply on a broken milk bottle when she leapt from the front porch of her home in an attempt to escape piano lessons and run and play with friends. Crawford was unable to attend elementary school for a year and a half and ultimately had three operations on her foot. She eventually overcame the injury and returned not only to walking normally, but to dancing as well.

Around 1916, Crawford's family moved to Kansas City, Missouri. Cassin was first listed in the City Directory in 1917, living at 403 East Ninth Street. While still in elementary school, Crawford was placed in St. Agnes Academy, a Catholic school in Kansas City. Later, after her mother and stepfather broke up, she stayed on at St. Agnes as a work student. She then went to Rockingham Academy as a work student. In 1922, Crawford registered at Stephens College in Columbia, Missouri, and gave her year of birth as 1906. She attended Stephens for less than a year, however, as she recognized that she was not academically prepared for college.

Crawford began as a dancer in a chorus line under the name Lucille LeSueur, eventually making her way to New York City. In 1924, she signed a contract with MGM, and arrived in Culver City, California, in January, 1925.

Crawford started out in silent films. As Lucille LeSueur, her first film was Pretty Ladies in 1925, which starred ZaSu Pitts. Pretty Ladies was the first and only time Crawford used her birth name professionally. In the book, Stardust and Shadows: Canadians in Early Hollywood, Crawford is quoted as saying that it was Sam De Grasse who said that her name LeSueur sounded too much like 'sewer.' A contest in the fan magazine, Movie Weekly, became the source of her well-known stage name. The female contestant who entered the name Joan Crawford was awarded $500. Though Crawford reportedly detested the name at first, saying it sounded like "crawfish," and called herself JoAnne for some time, she eventually became used to it. Her friend, actor William Haines, quipped, "You're lucky. They could have called you Cranberry and served you up with a Turkey!"

Crawford first made an impression on audiences in Edmund Goulding's Sally, Irene and Mary (1925), in which she played Irene, a struggling chorus girl who meets a tragic end. The following year, she was named one of the WAMPAS Baby Stars, along with Mary Astor, Mary Brian, Dolores Costello, Dolores Del Rio, Janet Gaynor and Fay Wray. For the next two years, Crawford consolidated on these gains, appearing in increasingly important movies. In 1926, she made Paris, where she was able to show her sex appeal. It was also during this time that she was the romantic interest for some of MGM's leading male stars, among them Ramon Novarro, William Haines, John Gilbert and Tim McCoy.

Crawford's most unusual movie from this period was The Unknown (1927), starring Lon Chaney, Sr. as Alonzo, a carnival knife thrower with no arms. Crawford played his skimpily clad young carnival assistant, Nanon Zanzi, who he hopes to marry. She stated that she learned more about acting from watching Chaney work in this movie than from anything else in her long career.

In 1928, Crawford starred opposite Ramon Novarro, as Priscilla Crowninshield in Across to Singapore, but it was her role as Diana Medford in Our Dancing Daughters (1928) that catapulted her to stardom. The role also established her as a symbol of modern 1920s-style femininity that rivalled the image of Clara Bow, who was then Hollywood's foremost flapper. A stream of hits followed Our Dancing Daughters, including two more flapper-themed movies, in which Crawford embodied for her legion of fans (many of whom were women) an idealized vision of the free-spirited, all-American girl.

Crawford tirelessly studied diction and elocution to rid herself of her Southwestern accent. Her first talkie was Untamed (1929), opposite Robert Montgomery, which was a box office success. The movie proved to be an important milestone for the durable star, as she made an effective transition to sound movies. One critic wrote, "Miss Crawford sings appealingly and dances thrillingly as usual; her voice is alluring and her dramatic efforts in the difficult role she portrays are at all times convincing."

During the early 1930s, Crawford modified her image to better fit the hard-scrabble conditions of Depression-era America. In this new role, she played a glamorized version of the working girl who relied on her intelligence, looks and sheer determination to get ahead in life. This persona was fully realized in Possessed (1931), where Crawford was teamed with Clark Gable. During production, the two stars began an affair that resulted in an ultimatum from studio chief Louis B. Mayer to Gable that the affair end. Gable chose his career over the relationship, although their affair would resume spasmodically and secretly for many years. Upon release, Possessed was an enormous hit.

An indication of Crawford's superstar-status was the studio's decision to cast her in its most prestigious movie of 1932, the all-star extravaganza, Grand Hotel.

Crawford achieved continued success with Letty Lynton (1932), now considered the "lost" Crawford film due to a plagiarism case that forced MGM to withdraw it soon after release. As a result, it has never since been shown theatrically, on television, or made available on VHS/DVD. The film is mostly remembered today because of the Letty Lynton dress, designed by Adrian: a white cotton organdy gown with large mutton sleeves, puffed at the shoulder. It was with this gown that Crawford's broad shoulders began to be accentuated by costume; this would become a trademark for the actress along with, later in her career, emphasized eyebrows and ankle strap shoes. When the Letty Lynton dress was copied by Macy's in 1932, it sold over 500,000 replicas nationwide.

Following the success of Possessed, Gable was starred in a series of steamy pairings opposite Crawford, in which they established themselves as a formidable romantic duo of the 1930s. Their rollicking smash hit Dancing Lady (1933), in which Crawford received top billing over Gable, was the only movie to feature Robert Benchley, Nelson Eddy, Fred Astaire and the Three Stooges all together in one movie. Crawford's next two movies with Gable, Chained (1934) and Forsaking All Others (also 1934), were both big hits, being among the top money makers of the mid-1930s, and marked Crawford's peak at MGM as a popular star at the box office.

By the end of the decade, Crawford had adopted a more sophisticated image in which her characters seemed to be defined as much by their glamorous clothing, beautiful accessories, and carefully styled hair and make-up as by any meaningful character trait. However, fans soon grew tired of this remote "clothes horse" persona and eventually Crawford's movies began to lose money. In 1938, she was one of the unfortunate stars to be labeled "box-office poison," along with Katharine Hepburn, Greta Garbo, Marlene Dietrich, Mae West and Fred Astaire.

Crawford somewhat rectified her position at MGM through a fruitful collaboration with director George Cukor. She first played bitchy home-wrecker Crystal Allen in Cukor's comedy The Women (1939), then capitalized on this success in two more movies under his direction, Susan and God (1940) and A Woman's Face (1941).

Eager to promote their new generation of female stars (among them Greer Garson, Lana Turner, Judy Garland, Hedy Lamarr and the resurgent Katharine Hepburn), the management at MGM began to view Crawford as a bad investment. After 18 years at the studio, Crawford's contract was terminated by mutual consent on June 29, 1943. In lieu of one more movie owed under her contract, MGM bought out her contract for $100,000. That same day, the studio had already cleared out her bungalow.

Upon leaving MGM, Crawford signed with Warner Bros. for $500,000 for three movies and was placed on the payroll on July 1, 1943. She appeared as herself in the star-studded production Hollywood Canteen (1944). She was also cast in the title role of Mildred Pierce (1945), in which she played opposite Jack Carson, Zachary Scott, Eve Arden, Ann Blyth and Butterfly McQueen. Director Michael Curtiz and producer Jerry Wald developed the property from the popular James M. Cain novel, which was adapted for the screen by Ranald MacDougall. Crawford was not, in fact, first choice for the role of Mildred Pierce, even though it would become the defining role of her career. Bette Davis was the studio's first choice and was offered first refusal. Davis turned the role down, as she did not want to play the mother of a 17-year-old daughter - Ann Blyth. Curtiz also didn't want Crawford; he refused to work with her, telling Jack Warner, "With her high-hat airs and her goddamn shoulder pads, she's a has-been." His first choice was Barbara Stanwyck, following her success in Double Indemnity (film) (1944). Curtiz only agreed to Crawford being cast as Mildred Pierce after she took a voluntary screen test to prove her suitability for the part, during which she had to endure Curtiz bellowing at her down his megaphone, "Okay, start shooting that no-good motherf***ker washerwoman's daughter!" The final product of Mildred Pierce was a commercial and artistic triumph. It epitomized the lush visual style and the hard-boiled film noir sensibility that defined Warner Bros. movies of the late 1940s. Crawford earned the Academy Award for Best Actress in a Leading Role for her performance.

On the strength of Mildred Pierce, Crawford established herself as the chief leading lady at Warner Bros., effectively stealing the limelight from the former queen of the studio, Bette Davis, and apparently sowing the seeds for the future conflict and discord Crawford endured with Davis on two films. There were opportunities at Warner Bros. for collaborative roles along side Davis, which Crawford both sought and in some cases was offered. These were the following:


Ethan Frome (1944)
- Warner Bros. owned the rights to this picture in 1943, which Crawford said was "one of the main reasons" she signed with the studio after almost 20 years with MGM. Crawford approached Jack Warner regarding Ethan Frome as a joint venture with Davis and Gary Cooper. Both Davis and Warner agreed that Cooper would be perfect in the role of Edith Wharton's tragic hero. The problem was that Crawford wanted to play Mattie, the servant girl Ethan falls for - and for Davis to be cast as his nagging, harridan wife. Crawford said, "That was my dream. When I brought it up to Jack Warner, he suggested I move slowly, because Miss Davis had her heart set on the property, but in the younger role." Warner dissmissed the whole idea when Davis declared that if she did the film, she would be playing Mattie, telling Warner, "Joan's far too old, and besides, she can't act!" A film version of Ethan Frome was not made until 1993.


Time To Sing (1947) - This was the story of two retired stage actresses who team up for a tour of summerstock theatres. A similar story to RKO's Stage Door (1937), starring Katharine Hepburn and Ginger Rogers. The project was intended to team Crawford with Davis, however, it was never made..


Caged (1950) - A prison drama based on the novel, Women Without Men, by Virginia Kellogg. The story surrounded a female prison warden who attempts to rehabilitate a prisoner before she becomes a hardened criminal. In 1973, Crawford said, "I knew of a women's prison picture; it was written by Virginia Kellogg and later became Caged [1950] with Eleanor Parker and Agnes Moorehead." This too was intended to pair Crawford with Davis - who made it clear that she would not be starring in any "dyke movie."

Crawford and Davis would not appear in a motion picture together until the 1962 film, What Ever Happened To Baby Jane?.



From 1945-1952, Crawford reigned as a top star and respected actress, appearing in such roles as Helen Wright in Humoresque (1946), Louise Howell Graham in Possessed (1947, for which she was nominated for a second Oscar as Best Actress) and the title role in Daisy Kenyon (also 1947).

Crawford's other movie roles of the era include Lane Bellamy in Flamingo Road (1949), a dual role in the film noir The Damned Don't Cry (1950) and her performance in the title role of Harriet Craig (1950) at Columbia Pictures. After filming This Woman Is Dangerous (1952), Crawford asked to be released from her Warner Bros. contract. As she had done so before, Crawford triumphed as Myra Hudson in Sudden Fear (1952) at RKO, which was also the movie that introduced her co-star, Jack Palance, to the screen and earned Crawford a third and final Oscar nomination for Best Actress.

Besides acting in motion pictures, Crawford also worked in radio and television. She appeared numerous times in episodes of anthology TV shows in the 1950s and, in 1959, made a pilot for her own series, The Joan Crawford Show. However, the show was never picked up by a network.

Besides her work as an actress, from 1955 to 1973, Crawford traveled extensively on behalf of husband Al Steele's company, Pepsi Cola Company. Two days after Steele's death in 1959, Crawford was elected to fill his vacancy on the board of directors.

Crawford was the recipient of the sixth annual "Pally Award," which was in the shape of a bronze Pepsi bottle. It was awarded to the employee making the most significant contribution to company sales.

In 1973, Crawford retired from the company at the behest of company executive Don Kendall, whom Crawford had referred to for years as "Fang."

After her triumph in RKO's Sudden Fear (1952), Crawford continued to star in films that ranged from the cult western Johnny Guitar (1954) to the drama Autumn Leaves (1956), opposite a young Cliff Robertson. By the early 1960s, however, Crawford's status in motion pictures had diminished significantly.

Crawford's career rebounded when she accepted the role of "Blanche Hudson" in the highly successful thriller, What Ever Happened To Baby Jane? (1962), directed by Robert Aldrich. She played the part of a physically disabled woman, a former A-list movie star in conflict with her psychotic sister. Despite the actresses' earlier tensions, Crawford suggested Bette Davis for the role of Jane. The movie was completed and became a blockbuster.

Crawford went on to play Lucretia Terry in the United Artists movie The Caretakers (1963). Davis was nominated for an Academy Award that year for her performance as "Baby Jane" in What Ever Happened To Baby Jane? which led to Crawford aggressively, but secretly, campaigning against her. Unbeknown to Davis, Crawford had contacted all of the Oscar nominees beforehand to tell them that she would be happy to accept the Oscar on their behalf if they were unable to attend the ceremony. Both Davis and Crawford were backstage when the absent Anne Bancroft was announced as the winner. Crawford reportedly elbowed her way past Davis and said, "Excuse me, I have an Oscar to accept." That same year, Crawford went on to star as Lucy Harbin in William Castle's horror/mystery Strait-Jacket (1964).

Aldrich cast Crawford and Davis to work together again in Hush... Hush, Sweet Charlotte (1964), but Crawford soon entered a hospital with an illness that was reportedly feigned in order to get out of the commitment reportedly due to a campaign of harassment by Davis . After a prolonged absence, Aldrich was forced to replace Crawford with Olivia de Havilland.

Upon her release from the hospital after her Hush... Hush, Sweet Charlotte debacle, Crawford played the role as Amy Nelson in I Saw What You Did (1965), another William Castle vehicle. She next starred as Monica Rivers in Herman Cohen's horror/thriller Berserk! (1968). After the film's release, Crawford then guest-starred as herself on The Lucy Show. The episode, "Lucy and the Lost Star," caused much celebrity fodder as title star Lucille Ball had a very public feud with Crawford during filming. According to Ball, Crawford was often drunk on the set and could not memorize her lines. Ball was said to have requested several times to replace Crawford with Gloria Swanson, who was supposed to have originally filled the role, but bowed out at the last minute. When asked during an interview how she had liked working with Ball, Crawford's response was, "And they call me a bitch!"

In October 1968, Crawford's 29-year-old daughter, Christina (who was then acting in New York on the TV soap opera The Secret Storm), fell ill and needed immediate medical attention. Crawford offered to fill in for her and play her daughter's role until she was well enough to return, which the producer readily agreed to. The implausibility of Crawford (then 63) playing a 28-year-old woman was coupled by her apparent state of intoxication on the live telecast. Christina was fired from the role the following year. In her memoir, Mommie Dearest, Christina claimed her mother's behaviour contributed to her firing.

Crawford's appearance in a 1969 episode of Night Gallery, entitled, "Eyes," marked one of Steven Spielberg's earliest directing jobs.

Crawford starred on the big screen one final time, playing Dr. Brockton in Herman Cohen's sci-fi/horror Trog (1970), rounding out a career spanning 45 years and over 80 motion pictures.

Crawford made four more TV appearances, as Stephanie White in an episode of The Virginian (1970), entitled "The Nightmare"; as a board member in an episode of The Name of the Game (1971), entitled "Los Angeles"; as Allison Hayes in the made-for-TV movie Beyond the Water's Edge (1972); and as Joan Fairchild (her final screen performance) on an episode of the television series, The Sixth Sense, entitled, "Dear Joan: We're Going To Scare You To Death" (1972).

In 1929, at the time she wed Douglas Fairbanks Jr. at St. Patrick's Cathedral in New York, Crawford purchased a mansion at 426 North Bristol Avenue in Brentwood, located midway between Beverly Hills and the Pacific Ocean. The home would be her primary residence for the next 26 years. During that period, Crawford had her home decorated and redecorated by William Haines, her former silent movie co-star and lifelong friend, who was much in demand as an interior designer after receiving Crawford's recommendation.

Crawford had four confirmed husbands: actors Douglas Fairbanks, Jr. (married June 3 1929 in New York-divorced 1933); Franchot Tone (married October 11 1935 in New Jersey-divorced 1939); Phillip Terry (married July 21 1942 at Hidden Valley Ranch in Ventura County, California-divorced 1946); and Pepsi-Cola president Alfred N. Steele (married May 10 1955 in Las Vegas, Nevada-his death 1959). A rumored first marriage to musician James Welton (married 1923-divorced 1924) has never been confirmed.

Crawford moved to a lavish penthouse apartment at 2 East 70th St. with her last husband, Alfred Steele. He died there on April 19, 1959. Crawford then sold her Brentwood mansion and stayed in New York, moving to a smaller apartment, number 22-G in the Imperial House. She later moved to a smaller apartment in the same building (Apt.# 22-H) where she died, aged 72. She kept a small apartment in Los Angeles for her frequent trips there. Crawford was well-known for her relationship with her fans, often sending thousands of handwritten replies to fan letters each month. She also worked tirelessly with her official fan club, which disappeared after her death. It re-established in 2007.http://www.crawfordfans.com/index.html

Crawford adopted five children, though she raised only four.

The first was Christina (born June 11 1939), whom Crawford adopted in 1940 while a single, divorced woman.

The second was a boy she named Christopher (born April 1941), whom Crawford adopted in June of that year. In 1942, his biological mother discovered his whereabouts and reclaimed the child as her own. The third child was Christopher Terry (born 1943). Crawford and Philip Terry adopted him that same year, and he remained her son, as Christopher Crawford, after she and Terry divorced. According to Christina, Crawford had changed this second birth date to October 15 because she was afraid he would also be taken away. He died of cancer on September 22, 2006 in Greenport, New York.

The fourth and fifth children were twin girls Cynthia "Cindy" Crawford and Cathy Crawford (both born January 13, 1947). Crawford adopted them in June of that year, while she was a single, divorced woman. They were twins born in Dyersburg, Tennessee, to an unwed mother who died seven days after their birth. They said that Crawford was afraid their biological parents might try to get them back and would therefore say they were not twins. Their version is consistent with newspaper reports at the time of their adoption.

Crawford was raised Catholic by her stepfather, Henry Cassin, a Roman Catholic (although he and Crawford's mother ultimately divorced). Crawford insisted on marrying Douglas Fairbanks, Jr., who was not Catholic, at St. Patrick's Cathedral in New York City.

By the late 1930s, Crawford attended The Church of Christ, Scientist. She would bring her adopted children to that church regularly, but not always weekly. Although Crawford practiced Christian Science, she sought medical care for herself and her children when necessary. She regarded the Christian Scientist doctrine as an ideal, not a practical reality, according to Mommie Dearest.

Christina Crawford attended the Flintridge Sacred Heart Academy For Girls for her junior and senior years of high school, along with the daughters of non-Catholic actresses Virginia Field and Lana Turner. Christina Crawford stated in her memoir, Mommie Dearest, that the Catholic doctrines she was taught came as a shock following her experiences with Christian Science. Christina also stated in Mommie Dearest that Crawford considered herself a Catholic, though, she stopped practicing the faith nearly 50 years before her death.

Shortly after Crawford's death, the eldest of her four children, Christina, published a bestseller exposé entitled, Mommie Dearest, which contained allegations that Crawford was emotionally and physically abusive to her and her brother Christopher. Though many of Crawford's friends, as well as her other two daughters, harshly criticized and disputed the book's claims, other friends of her mother supported the abuse claims made in the book, and her reputation was severely tarnished. The book was later made into a movie, also entitled, Mommie Dearest, starring Faye Dunaway as Crawford.

In 1970, Crawford was presented with the Cecil B. DeMille Award by John Wayne on the Golden Globes, which was telecast from the Coconut Grove at The Ambassador Hotel in Los Angeles. She also spoke at her alma mater, Stephens College, from which she never graduated.

Crawford's book, My Way of Life, was published in 1971 by Simon and Schuster. Those expecting a racy tell-all would be disappointed, but much of Crawford's meticulous ways were revealed in her advice on grooming, wardrobe, exercise, and even food storage.

In September 1973, Crawford moved from apartment 22-G to the smaller apartment 22-H in the Imperial House. Her last public appearance was September 23 1974, at a party honoring her old friend Rosalind Russell at New York's Rainbow Room. Russell was battling breast cancer at the time and died two years later in 1976. On May 8 1977, Crawford gave away her beloved Shih Tzu "Princess Lotus Blossom," which signaled to her close friends that the end was near.

Crawford died two days later at her New York apartment from a heart attack, while also ill with pancreatic cancer. According to her daughter Christina, Crawford's alleged last words were "Damn it...Don't you dare ask God to help me," which were directed at her housekeeper, who had begun to pray out loud. However, other sources indicate that Crawford was found dead on the bedroom floor by her housemaid. A funeral was held at Campbell Funeral Home, New York, on May 10 1977. All four of her adopted children attended, as did her niece, Joan Crawford LeSueur (aka Joan Lowe), who was the daughter of her late brother, Hal LeSueur (died in 1963). In her will, which was signed October 28 1976, Crawford bequeathed to her two youngest children, Cindy and Cathy, $77,500 each from her $2,000,000 estate. However, she explicitly disinherited the two eldest, Christina and Christopher. In the last paragraph of the will, she wrote, "It is my intention to make no provision herein for my son Christopher or my daughter Christina for reasons which are well known to them."

A memorial service was held for Crawford at All Souls' Unitarian Church on Lexington Avenue in New York on May 16, 1977, and was attended by, among others, her old Hollywood friend Myrna Loy. Christina Crawford arrived late. Another memorial service, organized by George Cukor, was held on June 24 in the Samuel Goldwyn Theater at the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences in Beverly Hills, California.

Crawford was cremated and her ashes placed in a crypt with her last husband, Al Steele, in Ferncliff Cemetery, Hartsdale, New York.

Crawford's hand and foot prints are immortalized in the forecourt of Grauman's Chinese Theater on Hollywood Boulevard in Hollywood. She also has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 1750 Vine Street. In 1999, Playboy listed Crawford as one of the "100 Sexiest Women of the 20th century," ranking her #84.

* Filmography of Joan Crawford

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* <a class="externalLink" href="http://www.tcmdb.com/participant/participant.jsp?participantId=40864|83574&afiPersonalNameId=null">Joan Crawford at Turner Classic Movies</a> * The Best of Everything * The Films of Joan Crawford * The Joan Crawford Fan Club * Legendary Joan Crawford *The Concluding Chapter of Crawford * Photographs of Joan Crawford