Actress. A Hollywood silver screen legend, her career spanned six decades from the silent film era up to the early 1970s, appearing in over 80 films during her career. Her ever-expressive eyes, coupled with her overpainted lips, and the will of steel made her of the most legendary and enduring Hollywood personae of all time. Born Lucille Fay LeSueur, as a young girl, she dreamed of becoming a dancer and joined a traveling revue when she became a young adult. She was spotted by theater producer Jacob Shubert who hired her to appear as a chorus girl in his 1924 Broadway show "Innocent Eyes". Shortly afterwards, she was signed by Metro-Golden-Mayer Studios and went to Hollywood where she made her film debut in "Lady of the Night" followed by "The Circle", "Pretty Little Ladies", "The Only Thing", "The Merry Widow", and "Irene and Mary" (all 1925). She propelled into stardom in her role as the flapper 'Diana Medford' in the 1928 film "Our Dancing Daughters". In 1929 she transitioned into sound films with "Untamed", followed by the 1930 films "Montana Moon", "Our Blushing Brides", and "Paid". Her other notable films include "Dancing Lady" (1933), "No More Ladies" (1935), "The Gorgeous Hussy" (1936), "The Last of Mrs. Cheyney" (1937), "The Women" (1939), "Hollywood Canteen" (1944), "Mildred Pierce" (1945, for which she won an Academy Award for Best Actress in a Leading Role), "Humoresque" (1946), "Possessed" (1947, for which she received an Academy Award nomination), "The Damned Don't Cry!" (1950), "Harriet Craig" (1950), "Sudden Fear" (1952, for which she received an Academy Award nomination), "Torch Song" (1953), "Autumn Leaves" (1956), "What Ever Happened to Baby Jane?" (1962), "Strait-Jacket" (1964), "I Saw What You Did" (1965), Berserk!" (1967), and the television film "Night Gallery" (1969). Her final film was the science fiction horror "Trog" (1970), after which she ended her career with television appearances on "The Tim Conway Show", "The Virginian", and "The Sixth Sense". Her final years were spent in seclusion, and she died from a heart attack in her New York City apartment. She published two autobiographies, "A Portrait of Joan: The Autobiography of Joan Crawford" (1962) and "My Way of Life" (1971). She was married four times, the first to actor Douglas Fairbanks, Jr. (1929, divorced in 1933), actor Franchot Tone (1935, divorced in 1939), actor Phillip Terry (1942, divorced in 1946), and Pepsi-Cola CEO Alfred Steele (1955, his death in 1959). She has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame for her contributions to films. The American Film Institute voted her the 10th greatest female star of the American cinema.
Actress. A Hollywood silver screen legend, her career spanned six decades from the silent film era up to the early 1970s, appearing in over 80 films during her career. Her ever-expressive eyes, coupled with her overpainted lips, and the will of steel made her of the most legendary and enduring Hollywood personae of all time. Born Lucille Fay LeSueur, as a young girl, she dreamed of becoming a dancer and joined a traveling revue when she became a young adult. She was spotted by theater producer Jacob Shubert who hired her to appear as a chorus girl in his 1924 Broadway show "Innocent Eyes". Shortly afterwards, she was signed by Metro-Golden-Mayer Studios and went to Hollywood where she made her film debut in "Lady of the Night" followed by "The Circle", "Pretty Little Ladies", "The Only Thing", "The Merry Widow", and "Irene and Mary" (all 1925). She propelled into stardom in her role as the flapper 'Diana Medford' in the 1928 film "Our Dancing Daughters". In 1929 she transitioned into sound films with "Untamed", followed by the 1930 films "Montana Moon", "Our Blushing Brides", and "Paid". Her other notable films include "Dancing Lady" (1933), "No More Ladies" (1935), "The Gorgeous Hussy" (1936), "The Last of Mrs. Cheyney" (1937), "The Women" (1939), "Hollywood Canteen" (1944), "Mildred Pierce" (1945, for which she won an Academy Award for Best Actress in a Leading Role), "Humoresque" (1946), "Possessed" (1947, for which she received an Academy Award nomination), "The Damned Don't Cry!" (1950), "Harriet Craig" (1950), "Sudden Fear" (1952, for which she received an Academy Award nomination), "Torch Song" (1953), "Autumn Leaves" (1956), "What Ever Happened to Baby Jane?" (1962), "Strait-Jacket" (1964), "I Saw What You Did" (1965), Berserk!" (1967), and the television film "Night Gallery" (1969). Her final film was the science fiction horror "Trog" (1970), after which she ended her career with television appearances on "The Tim Conway Show", "The Virginian", and "The Sixth Sense". Her final years were spent in seclusion, and she died from a heart attack in her New York City apartment. She published two autobiographies, "A Portrait of Joan: The Autobiography of Joan Crawford" (1962) and "My Way of Life" (1971). She was married four times, the first to actor Douglas Fairbanks, Jr. (1929, divorced in 1933), actor Franchot Tone (1935, divorced in 1939), actor Phillip Terry (1942, divorced in 1946), and Pepsi-Cola CEO Alfred Steele (1955, his death in 1959). She has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame for her contributions to films. The American Film Institute voted her the 10th greatest female star of the American cinema.
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Bio by: William Bjornstad