Crawford was married four times. First to actor Douglas Fairbanks, Jr. and then to actor Franchot Tone. Her third husband was actor Phillip Terry, and her fourth and last husband was Pepsi executive Alfred Steele.
Crawford married four times. Her first three marriages ended in divorce; the last ended with the death of husband Al Steele. She adopted five children, one of whom was reclaimed by his birth mother. Crawford's relationships with her two older children, Christina and Christopher, were acrimonious.
Both Christopher and Christina successfully contested Joan's will, according to The Guardian. He also told the Los Angeles Times that he'd received $1500 from waiving his rights to Christina's book, Mommie Dearest and the 1981 film based on the book. Christopher died of cancer in 2006 at the age of 62.
On May 10, 1977, Joan Crawford died from a heart attack at her New York City apartment. At the time, outlets reported Bette's response to her colleague's death as they quoted her: "You should never say bad things about the dead, only good… Joan Crawford is dead? Good."
The Judgement of Joan: Contextualizing Crawford | Official Trailer | Netflix
Why don't we know Joan Crawford's age?
Her real age is unknown
Though no birth certificate exists for Joan Crawford (née Lucille LeSueur), everyone agrees on the March 23 date of her birth. The year is another matter. Crawford always claimed 1908, which would put her age at 16 when she was placed under contract to MGM in January 1925.
Among those who attend are: Joan's adopted children, Christina, Cathy and Cindy, and son, Christopher; Joan's secretaries, Betty Barker and Florence Walsh and Joan's Christian Science practitioner, Marque Campbell.
Actress Joan Crawford brought the dark-haired infants she'd adopted from Tennessee Children's Home Society in Memphis home to her sprawling Brentwood, Calif., mansion, in the summer of 1947. She named the twins Cathy and Cynthia.
She said on air ''My mother was a very warm person. She was always there when we needed her. She was a working mother, but she always had time for us, and as far as Mommie Dearest, it's a great work of fiction. Christina must have been in another household.
How many biological children did Joan Crawford have?
As Charlotte Chandler writes in her biography of Crawford, Not the Girl Next Door, Crawford was unable to have kids, so she adopted five: a girl, Christina, in 1940; a boy, Christopher, in 1942, who was reclaimed by his birth mother soon after; a second boy, also named Christopher, in 1943; and twin girls, Catherine ( ...
Davis's net worth at the time of her death was $2 Million after adjusting for taxes and inflation. According to her last will and testament, Bette's estate was worth $1 Million. The bulk of the estate was left to her adopted son, Michael Merrill. The other beneficiary was her close friend and assistant Kathryn Sermack.
Veteran movie star Faye Dunaway regrets signing on to play Joan Crawford in 1981 classic Mommie Dearest, because the role gave film fans the “wrong impression” of her. The film, in which the actress chilled as an abusive mum, was a huge hit but Faye insists if she could turn back time she would have passed on the role.
Notable personalities who used Tann's services included actress Joan Crawford (twin daughters, Cathy and Cynthia were adopted through the agency while daughter Christina Crawford and son Christopher were adopted through other agencies).
Actor Joan Crawford was born Lucille Fay LeSueur on March 23, 1906, in San Antonio, Texas. Her father, Thomas LeSueur, deserted the family soon after her birth.
Crawford was only five feet three. A blue-eyed redhead, she hid her freckles with makeup. Her shoulders were so wide that a studio couturier, despairing of reducing them, decided to exaggerate them instead. Padded shoulders became her fashion trademark.
Joan Crawford, born Lucille Fay LeSueur, was an American actress in film, television and theatre. Starting 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.
Joan Crawford talking about her children twins Cynthia “Cindy”, and Cathy Crawford, as well as Christina. #joancrawford #oldhollywood #classichollywood #crawford vintagehollywood.
Joan was raised a Catholic, but converted to Christian Science by the early 1940s. Joan was not always a practicing Christian Scientist during her life. She reverted deeply into Christian Science in 1975. Contrary to popular belief, Joan did not publicly endorse any political candidate or party.
Now, thanks to some 1956 archive footage from the U.C.L.A. Film & Television Archive, we can see what happened when Queen Elizabeth met some of the biggest stars of the day, including Joan Crawford, Anita Ekberg, and Marilyn Monroe.
Crawford was married to the actors Douglas Fairbanks, Jr. (1929–33), Franchot Tone (1935–39), and Phillip Terry (1942–46) and to Alfred Steele (1955–59), chairman of the Pepsi-Cola Company.
Crawford's brother was Hal LeSueur (Crawford changed her last name when she got to Hollywood because she thought the surname sounded too much like "sewer). LeSueur was also an actor, doing some bit parts in the 1930s, but was working as a motel clerk when he died at age 59 of a ruptured appendix.
Crawford adopted five children, though she was only able to raise four of them: Christina, Christopher, Cathy, and Cynthia (called Cindy). She adopted Christina first in 1940 as a single mother, originally naming her Joan Crawford Jr. before changing her mind.
