Joan Crawford
Known for: Acting
Joan Crawford (born Lucille Fay LeSueur; March 23, 1906 – May 10, 1977) was an American actress. She started 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 parts, 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 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". After an absence of nearly two years from the screen, Crawford staged a comeback by starring in Mildred Pierce (1945), for which she won the Academy Award for Best Actress. In 1955, she became involved with the Pepsi-Cola Company, through her marriage to company president Alfred Steele. After his death in 1959, Crawford was elected to fill his vacancy on the board of directors but was forcibly retired in 1973. She continued acting in film and television regularly through the 1960s, when her performances became fewer; after the release of the horror film Trog in 1970, Crawford retired from the screen. Following a public appearance in 1974, after which unflattering photographs were published, Crawford withdrew from public life. She became more and more reclusive until her death in 1977.
Filmography
Series
The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson
Self
1962
Series
Great Performances
Self
1971
Series
Dick Powell's Zane Grey Theatre
Stella Faring
1956
Series
Dick Powell's Zane Grey Theatre
Sarah / Melanie Davidson Hobbs
1956
Series
The Merv Griffin Show
Self
1962
Series
The Lucy Show
Joan Crawford
1962
Series
The Virginian
Stephanie White
1962
Series
What's My Line?
Self
1950
The Secret Storm
Joan Borman Kane
1954
Series
Route 66
Morgan Harper
1960
Series
The Colgate Comedy Hour
Self
1950
Series
The Name of the Game
Committee Member (uncredited)
1968
Series
The Oscars
Self
1953
Series
The Man from U.N.C.L.E.
Amanda True
1964
Series
Startime
Self
1959
Series
The Sixth Sense
Joan Fairchild
1972
Film
Jaws @ 50: The Definitive Inside Story
Self (archive footage)
2025
Film
What Ever Happened to Baby Jane?
Blanche Hudson
1962
Film
Grand Hotel
Flämmchen
1932
Film
Johnny Guitar
Vienna
1954
Film
Mildred Pierce
Mildred Pierce
1945
Film
Dead Men Don't Wear Plaid
(in "Humoresque") (archive footage)
1982
Film
The Women
Crystal Allen
1939
Film
That's Entertainment, Part II
(archive footage)
1976
Film
A Woman's Face
Anna Holm
1941
Series
General Electric Theater
Ann Howard
1953
Series
General Electric Theater
Ruth Marshall
1953
Series
General Electric Theater
Mary Andrews
1953
Film
The Oscar
Joan Crawford
1966
Film
Hush... Hush, Sweet Charlotte
Miriam Deering in Car (uncredited)
1964
Film
Hollywood Out-takes and Rare Footage
Self (archive footage) (uncredited)
1983
Film
Ben-Hur: A Tale of the Christ
Chariot Race Spectator (uncredited)
1925
Film
Strait-Jacket
Lucy Harbin
1964
Film
Flamingo Road
Lane Bellamy
1949
Film
Daisy Kenyon
Daisy Kenyon
1947
Film
That's Entertainment!
(archive footage) (uncredited)
1974
Film
Above Suspicion
Frances Myles
1943
Film
Strange Cargo
Julie
1940
Film
Possessed
Marian Martin aka 'Mrs. Moreland'
1931
Film
That's Entertainment! III
(archive footage)
1994
Film
Sudden Fear
Myra Hudson Blaine
1952
Film
Hollywood Canteen
Self
1944
Film
Brother, Can You Spare a Dime?
Self (archive footage)
1975
Film
Lykke og krone
1962
Film
Night Gallery
Miss Menlo
1969
Film
Reunion in France
Michele de la Becque
1942
Film
The Damned Don't Cry
Ethel Whitehead
1950
Film
Dancing Lady
Janie Barlow
1933
Film
Queen Bee
Eva Phillips
1955
Film
Humoresque
Helen Wright
1947
Film
The Best of Everything
Amanda Farrow
1959
Bob Hope's World of Comedy
Self (archive footage)
1976
Film
Hollywood: Style Center of the World
Self
1940
Film
Rain
Sadie Thompson
1932
Film
Possessed
Louise Howell
1947
Film
The Hollywood Revue of 1929
Self
1929
Film
I Saw What You Did
Amy Nelson
1965
Film
The Unknown
Nanon Zanzi
1927
Film
Chained
Diane Lovering
1934
Film
Berserk!
Monica Rivers
1967
Film
The First 100 Years: A Celebration of American Movies
Self (archive footage)
1995
Film
It's a Great Feeling
Joan Crawford (uncredited)
1949
Film
Hollywood: The Dream Factory
Self (archive footage)
1972
Film
Harriet Craig
Harriet Craig
1950
Film
The Romance of Celluloid
Self (archive footage)
1937
Broadway's Dreamers: The Legacy of the Group Theatre
Self
1989
Film
Autumn Leaves
Millicent Wetherby
1956
Film
When Ladies Meet
Mary 'Minnie' Howard
1941
Film
Trog
Dr. Brockton
1970
Film
Oops, Those Hollywood Bloopers!
Self (archive footage)
1982
Film
1939: Hollywood's Greatest Year
Self (archive footage)
2009
Film
A Star Is Born World Premiere
Self
1954
Film
Complicated Women
Self (archive footage)
2003
Film
The Stolen Jools
Joan Crawford
1931
Film
Goodbye, My Fancy
Agatha Reed
1951
Film
Joan Crawford: Always the Star
Self (archive footage)
1996
Film
Our Blushing Brides
Geraldine 'Gerry' March
1930
Film
Sadie McKee
Sadie
1934
Film
Forsaking All Others
Mary Clay
1934
Film
I Live My Life
Kay Bentley
1935
Film
Going Hollywood: The '30s
(archive footage)
1984
Film
The Merry Widow
Ballroom Dancer (uncredited)
1926
Film
1925 Studio Tour
Self
1925
Film
The Karate Killers
Amanda True
1967
Film
The Gorgeous Hussy
Margaret "Peggy" O'Neal
1936
Film
A New Romance of Celluloid: The Miracle of Sound
Self
1940
Film
Mannequin
Jessie Cassidy
1938
Film
Today We Live
Diana 'Ann' Boyce-Smith
1933
Film
Fascination: Unauthorized Story of Marilyn Monroe
Self (archive footage)
2012
Film
Letty Lynton
Letty Lynton
1932
Film
The Big Parade of Comedy
Bobby (archive footage)
1964
Film
Hollywood: The Selznick Years
Self - Janie Barlow (archive footage) (uncredited)
1961
Film
This Woman Is Dangerous
Elizabeth Austin
1952
Film
Spine Tingler! The William Castle Story
Self (archive)
2007
Film
Female on the Beach
Lynn Markham
1955
Film
Our Modern Maidens
Billie Brown
1929
Film
Untamed
Alice "Bingo" Dowling
1929
Film
Torch Song
Jenny Stewart
1953
Film
Zwischen Glück und Krone
1959
Film
Lady of the Night
Body Double for Norma Shearer
1925
Film
Stardust: The Bette Davis Story
Self (archive footage) (voice)
2006
Film
Joan Crawford: The Ultimate Movie Star
Self (archive footage)
2002
Film
Susan and God
Susan Trexel
1940
Film
The Last of Mrs. Cheyney
Mrs. Fay Cheyney
1937
Film
Dance, Fools, Dance
Bonnie Jordan
1931
Film
Brigitte Bardot: The Icon of France
2009
Film
Paid
Mary Turner
1930
Film
The Boob
Jane
1926
Film
The Ice Follies of 1939
Mary McKay
1939
Film
Across to Singapore
Priscilla Crowninshield
1928
Film
Tell Us She Was One of You: The Hollywood Blacklist and 'Johnny Guitar'
Self (archive footage)
2016
Film
Johnny Guitar: A Western Like No Other
Self (archive footage)
2016
Film
The Shining Hour
Olivia Riley Linden
1938
Film
Why Be Good?: Sexuality & Censorship in Early Cinema
Self (archive footage)
2007
Film
Tramp, Tramp, Tramp
Betty Burton
1926
Film
They All Kissed the Bride
Margaret Johanna 'M.J.' Drew
1942
Film
The Duke Steps Out
Susie
1929
Film
Laughing Sinners
Ivy 'Bunny' Stevens
1931
Film
Fast Workers
Ivy Stevens (Archive Footage) (Uncredited)
1933
Film
The Caretakers
Lucretia Terry
1963
Film
The Bride Wore Red
Anni Pavlovitch
1937
Film
The Midshipman
Extra - Driver of Police Car (uncredited)
1925
Film
No More Ladies
Marcia Townsend Warren
1935
Film
The Circle
Young Lady Catherine
1925
Film
The Casting Couch
1995
Film
From the Ends of the Earth
Self
1939
Film
Montana Moon
Joan
1930
Film
Sally, Irene and Mary
Irene O'Dare
1925
Film
West Point
Betty Channing
1928
Film
42nd Street: From Book to Screen to Stage
Self (archive footage)
2006
Film
Pretty Ladies
Bobby
1925
Film
This Modern Age
Valentine 'Val' Winters
1931
Legends in Light: The Photography of George Hurrell
Self (archive footage)
1995
Film
The Story of Esther Costello
Margaret Landi
1957
Film
Flappers, Speakeasies, and the Birth of Modern Culture
2010
Film
The Road to Edinburgh
Mary Andrews
1954
Film
Lon Chaney: A Thousand Faces
Self (archive footage / uncredited)
2000
Film
Screen Snapshots Series 18, No. 8
Joan Crawford
1939
Film
Showbiz Ballyhoo
Self (archive footage)
1982
Checking Out: Grand Hotel
Self / Flaemmchen (archive footage)
2004
Film
Our Dancing Daughters
Diana 'Di' Medford
1928
Film
Time, the Comedian
Art Student (as Lucille LeSueur)
1925
Film
Bardelys the Magnificent
Court Gossip (uncredited)
1926
Film
Battle-Axe: the Making of 'Strait-Jacket'
Self (archive footage)
2002
Film
The Law of the Range
Betty Dallas
1928
Film
Screen Snapshots: Series 16, No. 12
Self (uncredited)
1937
Film
Journey to Murder
Host
1971
Film
Proud Flesh
Party Guest (uncredited)
1925
Film
Strange Witness
Ruth Marshall
1958
Film
The Green Fog
2018
Film
Della
Della Chappell
1964
Film
Love on the Run
Sally Parker
1936
Film
Spring Fever
Allie Monte
1927
Film
Garbo, by Joan Crawford
Self - Host / Narrator (voice)
1969
Film
Dear Joan: We're Going to Scare You to Death
Joan Fairchild
1972
Film
Winners Of The Wilderness
René Contrecoeur
1927
Film
The Taxi Dancer
Joselyn Poe
1927
Film
Tim Conway: Timeless Comedy
Self (archive footage)
2007
Film
Rose-Marie
Rose-Marie
1928
Film
Journey to the Unknown
Self - Host
1969
Film
A Slave of Fashion
Mannequin (uncredited)
1925
Film
Thou Shalt Not: Sex, Sin and Censorship in Pre-Code Hollywood
Various Roles (archive footage)
2008
Film
One Must Die
1961
Film
Screen Snapshots Series 17, No. 6
Self
1938
Film
Dream of Love
Adrienne Lecouvreur
1928
Film
We’re Switching to Hollywood
Self
1931
Film
Twelve Miles Out
Jane
1927
Woman on the Run
Susan Conrad
1959
Film
The Understanding Heart
Monica Dale
1927
Possessed
(archive footage)
2011
Film
Four Walls
Frieda
1928
Film
And One Was Loyal
Ann Howard
Film
Biography: Bette Davis — If Looks Could Kill
Self (archive footage)
1994
Film
Gay! Gay! Hollywood
1994
Film
Joan Crawford's Home Movies
Self
1942
Film
The Only Thing
Party Guest (uncredited)
1925
Film
Blow-Ups of 1946
Self
1946
Film
Rebel Range
Stella Faring
Film
Johnny Guitar: A Feminist Western?
Self (archive footage)
2016
Film
Bette and Joan: Blind Ambition
Self (archive footage)
2006
Film
This was the MARY
Self/Narrator
1968
Film
Old Clothes
Mary Riley
1925
Film
Bette and Joan
Self (archive footage)
2017
Film
Screen Snapshots Series 10, No. 1
Self
1930
Film
At Home with Joan Crawford
Self
1953
Film
The Damned Don't Cry: The Crawford Formula - Real and Reel
Self (archive)
2005
Film
Paris
The Girl
1926
The Shirley Eder Tapes
Self
2012
Film
The Big Rock Candy Mountain
Self
1969
Film
Through Many Windows
Self - Narrator
1947
Film
How to Plan a Movie Murder
Self
1964