Lucille Fay LeSueur, best known by her stage as Joan Crawford began her career as a dancer. As a chorus girl, Joan Crawford made her Broadway debut. Her professional career spanned six decades (55 years). She is well-known for playing a variety of roles and delivering varied performances.

Joan Crawford’s  Biography

Joan Crawford was born in San Antonio, Texas.

She was the third child of Anna Bell Johnson and Thomas E. LeSueur, a construction worker.

Daisy LeSueur, Crawford’s older sister, and her brother Hal LeSueur both died before Lucille was born.

Thomas LeSueur left the household when Lucille was 10 months old.

Crawford’s mother later married Henry J. Cassin.

Crawford lived in Lawton, Oklahoma, with her family. Joan adored seeing vaudeville acts at Henry’s Theater.

Crawford didn’t realize Cassin wasn’t her biological father until her brother Hal disclosed the truth.

She preferred the name Billie as a child.

Cassin allegedly began sexually assaulting her when she was eleven years old, and the abuse continued until she entered the Catholic girls’ school St. Agnes Academy.

Crawford had just finished the first grade of school. Her ambition was to become a dancer.

She attended St. Stephens College in Columbia, Missouri, in 1922, but dropped out because she wasn’t prepared.

Facts of Joan Crawford

Joan Crawford’s  Marriage, Husband

Joan Crawford has been married four times. The woman’s first husband was Douglas Fairbanks Jr.

Despite marrying in 1929, they divorced four years later, in 1933. She married Franchot Tone in 1935.

Their union was dissolved in 1939. In 1942, she remarried, this time to Phillip Terry.

They divorced in 1946. Alfred Steele, with whom she last married in 1955, died in 1959.

Joan adopted five children, one of whom was eventually returned.

Her four adopted children are Christina Crawford, Cindy Crawford, Christopher Crawford, and Cathy Crawford.

Rumors circulated that Crawford’s two oldest children, Christina and Christopher, had a troubled relationship with her.

Christina wrote an upcoming book called “Mommy Dearest” after Joan died, which detailed how cruel Joan had been to her children.

According to the book, Joan may have exploited her adoption of children as a public relations ploy since her adopted daughter Chistina thought she was unfit to be a mother.

Joan Crawford’s Height, weight, and age

Joan Crawford died at the age of 73 on March 23, 1904. She weighed 49 kg and stood 160.02 cm tall.

Joan Crawford’s Career, Producer

Jacob J. Shubert initially spotted Crawford dancing in Detroit under the alias Lucille LeSueur.

Then she appeared in his Innocent Eyes performance in New York City.

Pete Smith, who saw in her the potential to become a great star but also saw the necessity to change her name, ran a “Name the Star” contest in Movie Weekly to determine her new stage name.

Despite her preference was “Joan Arden,” Joan Crawford was chosen instead.

Her name was Lucille LeSueur in her first film, Lady of the Night, released in 1925.

She worked tirelessly and quickly established herself. Joan was named one of WAMPAS’s Baby Stars in 1926.

The following year, she and Charles Ray performed in Paris.

She immediately climbed to prominence as a major romantic female actor, collaborating with several of MGM’s top male stars.

Crawford appeared in Lon Chaney Sr.’s 1927 picture The Unknown.

In 1927, she co-starred with William Haines in the film Spring Fever.

Although Crawford featured in Across to Singapore in 1928, it was her portrayal as Diana Medford in Our Dancing Daughters that made her famous internationally.

Crawford worked hard on her diction and elocution talents, and she successfully moved to talkies to lose her Southwestern accent.

Her first full-voiced part was in Untamed, a 1929 film co-starring Robert Montgomery.

Montana Moon was a tremendous hit when it was initially released in 1930.

Her third picture, Paid, starring Robert Armstrong, was also a success.

Crawford was engaged by MGM for five films in 1931. Crawford was a huge success in Letty Lynton (1932).

Her outfit, which had exaggerated ruffled sleeves, became famous instantly and was even purchased by Macy’s. Crawford’s films from the 1930s were among the most popular and profitable of the era. No More Ladies (1935), Today We Live (1933), and (1936), The Gorgeous Hussy

Crawford’s portrayal of Fay Cheyney in The Last of Mrs. Cheyney (1937) gained her the title of the first “Queen of the Movies” by Life magazine, but her fame swiftly faded.

She returned in The Women in 1939, playing the destructive Crystal Allen.

Crawford was dubbed “Box Office Poison” in an open letter published on May 3, 1938 in the Independent Film Journal.

Crawford signed a three-film deal with Warner Bros for $50000. T

he first film she worked on for the studio was Hollywood Canteen (1944).

Her cinematic career was revived after she won an Oscar for her role in Mildred Pierce, which was released in 1945.

Humoresque (1946) was her next film, while Possessed (1947) earned her her second Academy Award nomination.

Crawford also took part in the radio show! She made her final public appearance on September 23, 1974, at a book party co-hosted by her old friend Rosalind Russell at New York City’s Rainbow Room.

Crawford canceled all public engagements, began declining interviews, and began leaving her homeless and less after seeing the gruesome photographs published the next day in the newspapers.

Due to oral difficulties, she required round-the-clock nursing care. She stopped drinking in 1974.

Joan Crawford’s net worth

Joan Crawford, an American actress, was worth $8 million.

At the time of her death, she had a net worth of roughly $2 million.

Her annual salary was estimated to be around $65,250,000.

Crawford’s adoptive twins, Cathy and Cindy Crawford, acquired her estate.

Christina Crawford and Christopher Crawford, on the other hand, were left out.

Joan was a well-known actress in the early 1990s.

She appeared in almost 30 films and garnered awards such as the Academy Award.

Crawford began her career as a dancer and evolved into a skillful and adaptable actress.

She died from a heart attack on May 10, 1977.