Joan Crawford was born Lucille Fay LeSueur on March 23, 1904, in San Antonio, Texas. Her parents separated before she was born. The family was poor and Joan worked as a maid to pay for her school tuition. Her first marriage, to James Welton, lasted less than a year. When she was nineteen she won an amateur dance contest and decided to go to Hollywood. There are rumors that in her early days she appeared in pornographic films. In 1925 she was offered a contract with MGM. Joan was given bit parts in movies like Pretty Lady and The Circle. Her big break came when she landed the lead role in the 1928 film Our Dancing Daughters. She married actor Douglas Fairbanks Jr in 1929. Their marriage lasted four years. She worked with Clark Gable in eight movies including Laughing Sinners and Dancing Lady. The two stars had an off-screen romance that lasted for decades. Joan became one of the most successful actresses of the 1930s with starring roles in The Women, Grand Hotel, and Rain. She loved her fans and personally responded to much of her fan mail. In October 1935 she married actor Franchot Tone. She wanted to have a baby but suffered several miscarriages. Joan divorced Franchot in 1939. That same year she adopted a daughter, Christina.

Joan would later adopt a son named Christopher and twin daughters named Cynthia and Cathy. She married Phillip Terry, an actor, in 1942, but the marriage ended after four years. Joan was bisexual and enjoyed numerous affairs with women. After making several flops MGM dropped her contract in 1943. Joan made a comeback with the 1945 drama Mildred Pierce. She won an Academy Award for her performance. Two years later she was nominated for another Oscar for her role in Possessed. Joan married Pepsi-Cola executive Alfred Steel in 1956. After his death in 1959 Joan served on the board of directors of Pepsi-Cola. In 1963 she teamed up with her longtime rival Bette Davis to star in the horror film What Ever Happened to Baby Jane?. Now in her fifties Joan had a drinking problem and was having trouble finding work. She appeared in low budget movies like Berserk and Trog. Joan died on May 10, 1977, from pancreatic cancer. She was cremated and her ashes were interred at Ferncliff Cemetery in Hartsdale, New York. In her will she left a small sum of money to Cathy and Cynthia and nothing to Christopher and Christina. A few years later Christina wrote a book, Mommie Dearest, that portrayed Joan as an abusive mother. Cathy and Cynthia have always disputed Christina's claims.