The three-time Oscar nominee tells the magazine how she thought the memorable role was going to be a "window into a tortured soul," but in the end, she found it to be very different, even harmful to her career.
During the Inside the Actor's Studio interview, Dunaway explained that the film was based on an exploitation memoir. She had hoped that the film adaptation would be more nuanced, but the final product, she admitted, was just as exploitative.
Bette Davis, longtime rival of Crawford, denounced the book, stating, "I was not Miss Crawford's biggest fan, but, wisecracks to the contrary, I did and still do respect her talent. What she did not deserve was that detestable book written by her daughter. I've forgotten her name. Horrible."
Christina has repeatedly stated that the film is highly inaccurate, and that the portrayal of her mother in the film is nothing like the real Joan Crawford, emphasizing that she never wrote in her book that Joan chopped down a tree with an axe, or beat her with a wire hanger as depicted in the film.
Onlookers could not help but admire her shining new veneers. Twice-married Miss Dunaway has previously complained about the state of her teeth and five years ago contemplated getting braces. She said at the time: "You just sort of let your teeth go for a while. But it's time to have something done.
Faye Dunaway Regrets Playing Joan Crawford in 'Mommie Dearest'
What did Joan Crawford do to her teeth?
Teeth! One of the reasons Joan Crawford looked so different in the 1930s from the 1920s was that she had her front teeth capped, which made her lips look fuller, her teeth longer and whiter, and helped give her a "femme fatale" smile.
Mommie Dearest was kaput, and Dunaway's career was in a bigger hole than ever. As one could guess after its reputation was established, the film failed to earn any Oscar nomination.
Dunaway never fired back at Davis before Davis passed away, but revealed some of her thoughts towards Davis in her 1995 autobiography Looking For Gatsby. She wrote, "I was silent too long about ... Bette Davis.
Bette was well aware of Crawford's reputation, saying at one point: “She slept with every star at MGM. Of both sexes.” At some point though, Crawford also moved in to seduce Davis, but Davis wouldn't have it. Perhaps in revenge, Crawford flaunted her affair with Tone, the object of Davis' desire.
Joan Crawford died in 1977. The movie Mommie Dearest was released in 1981. So, unless Joan Crawford “abused” Faye Dunaway from the grave, there is no story there.
An icy, elegant blonde with a knack for playing complex and strong-willed female leads, Academy Award winner Faye Dunaway was an enormously popular actress in films and television during the 1960s and into the 1970s, starring in several films which defined what many would come to call Hollywood's "second Golden Age." ...
Christopher Crawford, depicted in the movie as having been strapped into his bed by his mother -- the film doesn't explain that this was Joan's attempt to curb his sleepwalking -- seems to be the only one of Joan's four children who felt "Mommie Dearest" accurately portrayed his childhood.
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 ( ...
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.
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.
Faye Dunaway is an American actress. Dunaway won an Academy Award for Best Actress for her performance in Network after receiving previous nominations for the critically acclaimed films Bonnie and Clyde and Chinatown.
