Joan Crawford
Biography
Joan Crawford (born Lucille Fay LeSueur; March 23, 1906 – May 10, 1977) was an American actress. She started her career as a dancer in traveling theatrical companies before debuting on Broadway. Crawford was signed to a motion picture contract by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer in 1925. Initially frustrated by the size and quality of her parts, Crawford launched a publicity campaign and built an image as a nationally known flapper by the end of the 1920s. By the 1930s, Crawford's fame rivaled MGM colleagues Norma Shearer and Greta Garbo. Crawford often played hardworking young women who find romance and financial success. These "rags-to-riches" stories were well received by Depression-era audiences and were popular with women. Crawford became one of Hollywood's most prominent movie stars and one of the highest paid women in the United States, but her films began losing money. By the end of the 1930s, she was labeled "box office poison". After an absence of nearly two years from the screen, Crawford staged a comeback by starring in Mildred Pierce (1945), for which she won the Academy Award for Best Actress. In 1955, she became involved with the Pepsi-Cola Company, through her marriage to company president Alfred Steele. After his death in 1959, Crawford was elected to fill his vacancy on the board of directors but was forcibly retired in 1973. She continued acting in film and television regularly through the 1960s, when her performances became fewer; after the release of the horror film Trog in 1970, Crawford retired from the screen. Following a public appearance in 1974, after which unflattering photographs were published, Crawford withdrew from public life. She became more and more reclusive until her death in 1977.
Known For
Blanche Hudson
What Ever Happened to Baby Jane?
Mildred Pierce
Mildred Pierce
Daisy Kenyon
Daisy Kenyon
Louise Howell
Possessed
Crystal Allen
The Women
Amanda True
The Karate Killers
Self
The Hollywood Revue of 1929
Jessie Cassidy
Mannequin
(in "Humoresque") (archive footage)
Dead Men Don't Wear Plaid
Joan Crawford (uncredited)
It's a Great Feeling
Frances Myles
Above Suspicion
Vienna
Johnny Guitar
Flämmchen
Grand Hotel
Nanon Zanzi
The Unknown
Lane Bellamy
Flamingo Road
Helen Wright
Humoresque
Anna Holm
A Woman's Face
Eva Phillips
Queen Bee
Michele de la Becque
Reunion in France
Amy Nelson
I Saw What You Did
Lucy Harbin
Strait-Jacket
Ethel Whitehead
The Damned Don't Cry
Diana 'Di' Medford
Our Dancing Daughters
Monica Rivers
Berserk!
Millicent Wetherby
Autumn Leaves
Sadie Thompson
Rain
Margaret Johanna 'M.J.' Drew
They All Kissed the Bride
Susan Trexel
Susan and God
Janie Barlow
Dancing Lady
Sally Parker
Love on the Run
Self
The Big Rock Candy Mountain
Sadie
Sadie McKee
Dr. Brockton
Trog
Self
Hollywood Canteen
Lynn Markham
Female on the Beach
Self (archive footage / uncredited)
Lon Chaney: A Thousand Faces
Betty Channing
West Point
Diane Lovering
Chained
Myra Hudson Blaine
Sudden Fear
Julie
Strange Cargo
Marian Martin aka 'Mrs. Moreland'
Possessed
Joan Crawford
The Stolen Jools
Mrs. Fay Cheyney
The Last of Mrs. Cheyney
Mary 'Minnie' Howard
When Ladies Meet
Amanda Farrow
The Best of Everything
Self (archive footage)
Bette and Joan
Harriet Craig
Harriet Craig
Lucretia Terry
The Caretakers
Elizabeth Austin
This Woman Is Dangerous
Self
Joan Crawford's Home Movies
Ivy 'Bunny' Stevens
Laughing Sinners
Diana 'Ann' Boyce-Smith
Today We Live
Self (archive footage)
Hollywood: The Dream Factory
Joan
Montana Moon
Billie Brown
Our Modern Maidens
Priscilla Crowninshield
Across to Singapore
Mary Clay
Forsaking All Others
Margaret "Peggy" O'Neal
The Gorgeous Hussy
Olivia Riley Linden
The Shining Hour
Betty Burton
Tramp, Tramp, Tramp
Various Roles (archive footage)
Thou Shalt Not: Sex, Sin and Censorship in Pre-Code Hollywood
Anni Pavlovitch
The Bride Wore Red
Marcia Townsend Warren
No More Ladies
Agatha Reed
Goodbye, My Fancy
Bonnie Jordan
Dance, Fools, Dance
Jerry March
Our Blushing Brides
Jenny Stewart
Torch Song
Self - Host
Journey to the Unknown
Letty Lynton
Letty Lynton
Margaret Landi
The Story of Esther Costello
Bobby
Pretty Ladies
Self
The Shirley Eder Tapes
Self (archive footage)
Oops, Those Hollywood Bloopers!
Alice "Bingo" Dowling
Untamed
Jane
The Boob
Allie Monte
Spring Fever
Self (archive footage) (uncredited)
Hollywood Out-takes and Rare Footage
Valentine 'Val' Winters
This Modern Age
Mary McKay
The Ice Follies of 1939
Kay Bentley
I Live My Life
Mary Turner
Paid
Della Chappell
Della
(archive footage)
Possessed
Self / Flaemmchen (archive footage)
Checking Out: Grand Hotel
Self (archive footage)
42nd Street: From Book to Screen to Stage
(archive footage)
Going Hollywood: The '30s
Self (archive footage)
Bette and Joan: Blind Ambition
Self (archive footage)
Johnny Guitar: A Western Like No Other
Self (archive footage)
Tell Us She Was One of You: The Hollywood Blacklist and 'Johnny Guitar'
Self (archive footage)
Johnny Guitar: A Feminist Western?
Adrienne Lecouvreur
Dream of Love
Self
Broadway's Dreamers: The Legacy of the Group Theatre
Betty Dallas
The Law of the Range
Joan Fairchild
Dear Joan: We're Going to Scare You to Death
Young Lady Catherine
The Circle
Susie
The Duke Steps Out
Self (archive)
The Damned Don't Cry: The Crawford Formula - Real and Reel
Self
At Home with Joan Crawford
(archive footage)
That's Entertainment!
René Contrecoeur
Winners Of The Wilderness
Self (archive footage)
Joan Crawford: Always the Star
Jane
Twelve Miles Out
Ivy Stevens (Archive Footage) (Uncredited)
Fast Workers
Host
Journey to Murder
Self
Wir schalten um auf Hollywood
Self
1925 Studio Tour
Self (archive footage)
Biography: Bette Davis — If Looks Could Kill
(archive footage)
That's Entertainment! III
Self - Narrator
Through Many Windows
Rose-Marie
Rose-Marie
Self
From the Ends of the Earth
Joselyn Poe
The Taxi Dancer
Chariot Race Spectator (uncredited)
Ben-Hur: A Tale of the Christ
Party Guest (uncredited)
Proud Flesh
Party Guest (uncredited)
The Only Thing
Ballroom Dancer (uncredited)
The Merry Widow
Body Double for Norma Shearer
Lady of the Night
Joan Crawford
The Oscar
Self
A Star Is Born World Premiere
Irene O'Dare
Sally, Irene and Mary
Mannequin (uncredited)
A Slave of Fashion
Mary Riley
Old Clothes
Self
Blow-Ups of 1946
Self (archive footage)
Brother, Can You Spare a Dime?
Self
Hollywood: Style Center of the World
Miss Menlo
Night Gallery
Self (archive footage)
Complicated Women
(archive footage)
That's Entertainment, Part II
Self (archive footage)
The Romance of Celluloid
Self
A New Romance of Celluloid: The Miracle of Sound
Self
How to Plan a Movie Murder
Self - Host / Narrator (voice)
Garbo, by Joan Crawford
Susan Conrad
Woman on the Run
Self (archive footage)
Why Be Good?: Sexuality & Censorship in Early Cinema
Bobby (archive footage)
The Big Parade of Comedy
Self (archive footage)
1939: Hollywood's Greatest Year
Self
Tim Conway: Timeless Comedy
The Girl
Paris
Monica Dale
The Understanding Heart
Frieda
Four Walls
Self (uncredited)
Screen Snapshots: Series 16, No. 12
Joan Crawford
Screen Snapshots Series 18, No. 8
Extra - Driver of Police Car (uncredited)
The Midshipman
Self (archive footage)
Joan Crawford: The Ultimate Movie Star
Self (archive footage)
Battle-Axe: the Making of 'Strait-Jacket'
Self/Narrator
This was the MARY
Ruth Marshall
Strange Witness
Self
Screen Snapshots Series 17, No. 6
Self
Screen Snapshots Series 10, No. 1
One Must Die
Mary Andrews
The Road to Edinburgh
Margaret Hughes
Because I Love Him
Ann Howard
And One Was Loyal
Stella Faring
Rebel Range
Flappers, Speakeasies, and the Birth of Modern Culture
Self (archive footage)
Showbiz Ballyhoo
Self (archive footage)
Fascination: Unauthorized Story of Marilyn Monroe
Personal Info
Known For
Acting
Known Credits
157
Gender
Female
Birthday
1906-03-23
Place of Birth
San Antonio, Texas, USA
Also Known As
Lucille Fay LeSueur