Joan Crawford born Lucille Fay LeSueur March 23 1908 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 MetroGoldwynMayer 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 Crawfords fame rivaled MGM colleagues Norma Shearer and Greta Garbo Crawford often played hardworking young women who find romance and financial success These ragstoriches stories were well received by Depressionera audiences and were popular with women Crawford became one of Hollywoods 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 PepsiCola 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
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