Joan Crawford
“A self-made star whose ferocious drive outlasted decades of changing Hollywood fashion.”
After nearly two years off-screen and being labeled 'box-office poison,' Crawford engineered one of Hollywood's greatest comebacks with Warner Bros. Her title role as a self-sacrificing mother in 'Mildred Pierce' won the 1945 Best Actress Oscar and made her a star all over again at age 41.
Dancer to Flapper Star
Born into poverty in Texas, she danced in road shows and Broadway choruses before MGM signed her in 1925. By the late 1920s she embodied the Jazz Age flapper in hits like 'Our Dancing Daughters.'
The Comeback
Branded 'box-office poison' and idle for nearly two years, she moved to Warner Bros. Her fierce performance in 'Mildred Pierce' (1945) won the Best Actress Oscar and revived her career.
Late Career and Legacy
She kept working into the 1960s, notably the cult thriller 'What Ever Happened to Baby Jane?' opposite Bette Davis. Her image was later complicated by the memoir 'Mommie Dearest.'
Career Timeline
- 1904Born Lucille Fay LeSueur in San Antonio, Texas
- 1925Signed by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer as a contract player
- 1925Fan contest names her 'Joan Crawford'
- 1928Stardom arrives with 'Our Dancing Daughters'
- 1932Co-stars in MGM's all-star 'Grand Hotel'
- 1943Leaves MGM and signs with Warner Bros.
- 1945Stars in 'Mildred Pierce' comeback role
- 1946Wins Academy Award for Best Actress
- 1962Re-teams with Bette Davis in 'Baby Jane'
- 1977Dies in New York City at age 73
Biggest Hits
- Her stage name 'Crawford' was chosen by readers in a Movie Weekly fan contest run by MGM publicity.
- Before films she danced in traveling theatrical companies and made her way to Broadway choruses.
The Moment You Remember
As Mildred Pierce, scrubbing and saving her way toward respectability only to be wounded by her own daughter, she embodied the striving, sacrificing woman so completely that the role won her an Oscar and a second career.
Portrait: Studio publicity still (MGM) · Public domain · via Wikimedia Commons