Joan Crawford
Acting • Born 1906-03-23 – Died 1977-05-10
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.
Filmography
180 credits
What Ever Happened to Baby Jane?
Movie • 1962
Blanche Hudson
Mildred Pierce
Movie • 1945
Mildred Pierce
Daisy Kenyon
Movie • 1947
Daisy Kenyon
Possessed
Movie • 1947
Louise Howell
The Women
Movie • 1939
Crystal Allen
The Karate Killers
Movie • 1967
Amanda True
The Hollywood Revue of 1929
Movie • 1929
Self
Mannequin
Movie • 1938
Jessie Cassidy
Dead Men Don't Wear Plaid
Movie • 1982
(in "Humoresque") (archive footage)
It's a Great Feeling
Movie • 1949
Joan Crawford (uncredited)
Above Suspicion
Movie • 1943
Frances Myles
Johnny Guitar
Movie • 1954
Vienna
Grand Hotel
Movie • 1932
Flämmchen
The Unknown
Movie • 1927
Nanon Zanzi
Flamingo Road
Movie • 1949
Lane Bellamy
Humoresque
Movie • 1947
Helen Wright
A Woman's Face
Movie • 1941
Anna Holm
Queen Bee
Movie • 1955
Eva Phillips
Reunion in France
Movie • 1942
Michele de la Becque
I Saw What You Did
Movie • 1965
Amy Nelson
Strait-Jacket
Movie • 1964
Lucy Harbin
The Damned Don't Cry
Movie • 1950
Ethel Whitehead
Our Dancing Daughters
Movie • 1928
Diana 'Di' Medford
Berserk!
Movie • 1967
Monica Rivers
Autumn Leaves
Movie • 1956
Millicent Wetherby
Rain
Movie • 1932
Sadie Thompson
They All Kissed the Bride
Movie • 1942
Margaret Johanna 'M.J.' Drew
Susan and God
Movie • 1940
Susan Trexel
Dancing Lady
Movie • 1933
Janie Barlow
Love on the Run
Movie • 1936
Sally Parker
The Big Rock Candy Mountain
Movie • 1969
Self
Sadie McKee
Movie • 1934
Sadie
Trog
Movie • 1970
Dr. Brockton
Hollywood Canteen
Movie • 1944
Self
Female on the Beach
Movie • 1955
Lynn Markham
Lon Chaney: A thousand faces
Movie • 2000
Self (archive footage / uncredited)
West Point
Movie • 1928
Betty Channing
Chained
Movie • 1934
Diane Lovering
Sudden Fear
Movie • 1952
Myra Hudson Blaine
Strange Cargo
Movie • 1940
Julie
Possessed
Movie • 1931
Marian Martin aka 'Mrs. Moreland'
The Stolen Jools
Movie • 1931
Joan Crawford
The Last of Mrs. Cheyney
Movie • 1937
Mrs. Fay Cheyney
When Ladies Meet
Movie • 1941
Mary 'Minnie' Howard
The Best of Everything
Movie • 1959
Amanda Farrow
Bette and Joan
Movie • 2017
Self (archive footage)
Harriet Craig
Movie • 1950
Harriet Craig
The Caretakers
Movie • 1963
Lucretia Terry
This Woman Is Dangerous
Movie • 1952
Elizabeth Austin
Joan Crawford's Home Movies
Movie • 1942
Self
Laughing Sinners
Movie • 1931
Ivy 'Bunny' Stevens
Today We Live
Movie • 1933
Diana 'Ann' Boyce-Smith
Hollywood: The Dream Factory
Movie • 1972
Self (archive footage)
Montana Moon
Movie • 1930
Joan
Our Modern Maidens
Movie • 1929
Billie Brown
Across to Singapore
Movie • 1928
Priscilla Crowninshield
Forsaking All Others
Movie • 1934
Mary Clay
The Gorgeous Hussy
Movie • 1936
Margaret "Peggy" O'Neal
The Shining Hour
Movie • 1938
Olivia Riley Linden
Tramp, Tramp, Tramp
Movie • 1926
Betty Burton
Thou Shalt Not: Sex, Sin and Censorship in Pre-Code Hollywood
Movie • 2008
Various Roles (archive footage)
The Bride Wore Red
Movie • 1937
Anni Pavlovitch
No More Ladies
Movie • 1935
Marcia Townsend Warren
Goodbye, My Fancy
Movie • 1951
Agatha Reed
Dance, Fools, Dance
Movie • 1931
Bonnie Jordan
Our Blushing Brides
Movie • 1930
Geraldine 'Gerry' March
Torch Song
Movie • 1953
Jenny Stewart
Journey to the Unknown
Movie • 1969
Self - Host
Letty Lynton
Movie • 1932
Letty Lynton
The Story of Esther Costello
Movie • 1957
Margaret Landi
Pretty Ladies
Movie • 1925
Bobby
The Shirley Eder Tapes
Movie • 2012
Self
Oops, Those Hollywood Bloopers!
Movie • 1982
Self (archive footage)
Untamed
Movie • 1929
Alice "Bingo" Dowling
The Boob
Movie • 1926
Jane
Spring Fever
Movie • 1927
Allie Monte
Hollywood Out-takes and Rare Footage
Movie • 1983
Self (archive footage) (uncredited)
This Modern Age
Movie • 1931
Valentine 'Val' Winters
The Ice Follies of 1939
Movie • 1939
Mary McKay
I Live My Life
Movie • 1935
Kay Bentley
Paid
Movie • 1930
Mary Turner
Della
Movie • 1964
Della Chappell
Possessed
Movie • 2011
(archive footage)
Checking Out: Grand Hotel
Movie • 2004
Self / Flaemmchen (archive footage)
42nd Street: From Book to Screen to Stage
Movie • 2006
Self (archive footage)
Going Hollywood: The '30s
Movie • 1984
(archive footage)
Bette and Joan: Blind Ambition
Movie • 2006
Self (archive footage)
Johnny Guitar: A Western Like No Other
Movie • 2016
Self (archive footage)
Tell Us She Was One of You: The Hollywood Blacklist and 'Johnny Guitar'
Movie • 2016
Self (archive footage)
Johnny Guitar: A Feminist Western?
Movie • 2016
Self (archive footage)
Dream of Love
Movie • 1928
Adrienne Lecouvreur
Broadway's Dreamers: The Legacy of the Group Theatre
Movie • 1989
Self
The Law of the Range
Movie • 1928
Betty Dallas
Dear Joan: We're Going to Scare You to Death
Movie • 1972
Joan Fairchild
The Circle
Movie • 1925
Young Lady Catherine
The Duke Steps Out
Movie • 1929
Susie
The Damned Don't Cry: The Crawford Formula - Real and Reel
Movie • 2005
Self (archive)
At Home with Joan Crawford
Movie • 1953
Self
That's Entertainment!
Movie • 1974
(archive footage)
Winners Of The Wilderness
Movie • 1927
René Contrecoeur
Joan Crawford: Always the Star
Movie • 1996
Self (archive footage)
Twelve Miles Out
Movie • 1927
Jane
Fast Workers
Movie • 1933
Ivy Stevens (Archive Footage) (Uncredited)
Journey to Murder
Movie • 1971
Host
We’re Switching to Hollywood
Movie • 1931
Self
1925 Studio Tour
Movie • 1925
Self
Biography: Bette Davis — If Looks Could Kill
Movie • 1994
Self (archive footage)
That's Entertainment! III
Movie • 1994
(archive footage)
Through Many Windows
Movie • 1947
Self - Narrator
Rose-Marie
Movie • 1928
Rose-Marie
From the Ends of the Earth
Movie • 1939
Self
The Taxi Dancer
Movie • 1927
Joselyn Poe
Ben-Hur: A Tale of the Christ
Movie • 1925
Chariot Race Spectator (uncredited)
Proud Flesh
Movie • 1925
Party Guest (uncredited)
The Only Thing
Movie • 1925
Party Guest (uncredited)
The Merry Widow
Movie • 1926
Ballroom Dancer (uncredited)
Lady of the Night
Movie • 1925
Body Double for Norma Shearer
The Oscar
Movie • 1966
Joan Crawford
A Star Is Born World Premiere
Movie • 1954
Self
Sally, Irene and Mary
Movie • 1925
Irene O'Dare
A Slave of Fashion
Movie • 1925
Mannequin (uncredited)
Old Clothes
Movie • 1925
Mary Riley
Blow-Ups of 1946
Movie • 1946
Self
Brother, Can You Spare a Dime?
Movie • 1975
Self (archive footage)
Hollywood: Style Center of the World
Movie • 1940
Self
Night Gallery
Movie • 1969
Miss Menlo
Complicated Women
Movie • 2003
Self (archive footage)
That's Entertainment, Part II
Movie • 1976
(archive footage)
The Romance of Celluloid
Movie • 1937
Self (archive footage)
A New Romance of Celluloid: The Miracle of Sound
Movie • 1940
Self
How to Plan a Movie Murder
Movie • 1964
Self
Garbo, by Joan Crawford
Movie • 1969
Self - Host / Narrator (voice)
Woman on the Run
Movie • 1959
Susan Conrad
Why Be Good?: Sexuality & Censorship in Early Cinema
Movie • 2007
Self (archive footage)
The Big Parade of Comedy
Movie • 1964
Bobby (archive footage)
1939: Hollywood's Greatest Year
Movie • 2009
Self (archive footage)
Tim Conway: Timeless Comedy
Movie • 2007
Self
Paris
Movie • 1926
The Girl
The Understanding Heart
Movie • 1927
Monica Dale
Four Walls
Movie • 1928
Frieda
Screen Snapshots: Series 16, No. 12
Movie • 1937
Self (uncredited)
Screen Snapshots Series 18, No. 8
Movie • 1939
Joan Crawford
The Midshipman
Movie • 1925
Extra - Driver of Police Car (uncredited)
Joan Crawford: The Ultimate Movie Star
Movie • 2002
Self (archive footage)
Battle-Axe: the Making of 'Strait-Jacket'
Movie • 2002
Self (archive footage)
This was the MARY
Movie • 1968
Self/Narrator
Strange Witness
Movie • 1958
Ruth Marshall
Screen Snapshots Series 17, No. 6
Movie • 1938
Self
Screen Snapshots Series 10, No. 1
Movie • 1930
Self
One Must Die
Movie • 1961
The Road to Edinburgh
Movie • 1954
Mary Andrews
And One Was Loyal
Movie
Ann Howard
Rebel Range
Movie
Stella Faring
Flappers, Speakeasies, and the Birth of Modern Culture
Movie • 2010
Showbiz Ballyhoo
Movie • 1982
Self (archive footage)
Fascination: Unauthorized Story of Marilyn Monroe
Movie • 2012
Self (archive footage)
Zwischen Glück und Krone
Movie • 1959
Lykke og krone
Movie • 1962
Brigitte Bardot: The Icon of France
Movie • 2009
Betty Page the Totally Naked Truth
Movie • 2008
Hush... Hush, Sweet Charlotte
Movie • 1964
Miriam Deering in Car (uncredited)
Gay! Gay! Hollywood
Movie • 1994
The Lucy Show
TV • 1962
Joan Crawford
Route 66
TV • 1960
Morgan Harper
The Merv Griffin Show
TV • 1962
Self
The Secret Storm
TV • 1954
Joan Borman Kane
The Sixth Sense
TV • 1972
Joan Fairchild
General Electric Theater
TV • 1953
Ann Howard
General Electric Theater
TV • 1953
Ruth Marshall
General Electric Theater
TV • 1953
Mary Andrews
Dick Powell's Zane Grey Theatre
TV • 1956
Stella Faring
Dick Powell's Zane Grey Theatre
TV • 1956
Sarah / Melanie Davidson Hobbs
The Oscars
TV • 1953
Self
The Colgate Comedy Hour
TV • 1950
Self
The Man from U.N.C.L.E.
TV • 1964
Amanda True
The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson
TV • 1962
Self
The Name of the Game
TV • 1968
Committee Member (uncredited)
What's My Line?
TV • 1950
Self
Great Performances
TV • 1971
Self
The Virginian
TV • 1962
Stephanie White