← Back to explore

Joan Crawford

Acting

Born March 23, 1906 · San Antonio, Texas, USA

Died May 10, 1977

Also known as Lucille Fay LeSueur · Lucille Le Sueur · Billie Cassin

Biography

Joan Crawford was an American actress. She began 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 roles, 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 manage to 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".

Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA

Awards & recognition

  • Golden Globe Cecil B. DeMille Award · 1970
  • Academy AwardBest Actress · 1946
  • star on Hollywood Walk of Fame
  • Academy AwardBest Actress · 1953 · nominated
  • Academy AwardBest Actress · 1948 · nominated
Show all 6 awards →
  • Academy AwardBest Actress · 1946 · nominated

Filmography50+ titles

What Ever Happened to Baby Jane?

1962as Blanche Hudson

Spine Tingler! The William Castle Story

2007as Self (archive)

Mildred Pierce

1945as Mildred Pierce

Jaws @ 50: The Definitive Inside Story

2025as Self (archive footage)

Joan Crawford: Always the Star

1996as Self (archive footage)

The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson

1962as Self

Harriet Craig

1950as Harriet Craig

The Unknown

1927as Nanon Zanzi

That's Entertainment!

1974as (archive footage) (uncredited)

Johnny Guitar

1954as Vienna

Hush...Hush, Sweet Charlotte

1964as Miriam Deering in Car (uncredited)

Sudden Fear

1952as Myra Hudson Blaine

Hollywood Canteen

1944as Self

Ben-Hur: A Tale of the Christ

1925as Chariot Race Spectator (uncredited)

The Women

1939as Crystal Allen

The Man from U.N.C.L.E.

1964as Amanda True

The Lucy Show

1962as Joan Crawford

Flamingo Road

1949as Lane Bellamy

That's Entertainment! III

1994as (archive footage)

That's Entertainment, Part II

1976as (archive footage)

Autumn Leaves

1956as Millicent Wetherby

The Damned Don't Cry

1950as Ethel Whitehead

What's My Line?

1950as Self

Humoresque

1946as Helen Wright

Strange Cargo

1940as Julie

Sadie McKee

1934as Sadie

Grand Hotel

1932as Flämmchen

Possessed

1931as Marian Martin aka 'Mrs. Moreland'

Across to Singapore

1928as Priscilla Crowninshield

The Colgate Comedy Hour

1950as Self

Possessed

1947as Louise Howell

When Ladies Meet

1941as Mary 'Minnie' Howard

The Bride Wore Red

1937as Anni Pavlovitch

Dancing Lady

1933as Janie Barlow

Spring Fever

1927as Allie Monte

A Woman's Face

1941as Anna Holm

Dead Men Don't Wear Plaid

1982as (in "Humoresque") (archive footage)

Route 66

1960as Morgan Harper

Paid

1930as Mary Turner

The Merry Widow

1925as Ballroom Dancer (uncredited)

Daisy Kenyon

1947as Daisy Kenyon

Rain

1932as Sadie Thompson

Strait-Jacket

1964as Lucy Harbin

The Virginian

1962as Stephanie White

Susan and God

1940as Susan Trexel

Love on the Run

1936as Sally Parker

The Caretakers

1963as Lucretia Terry

Goodbye, My Fancy

1951as Agatha Reed

Reunion in France

1942as Michele de la Becque

Dance, Fools, Dance

1931as Bonnie Jordan