The legendary actress was the worst mother in Hollywood? The adopted daughter accused her of sadism

Joan Crawford won an Oscar in 1946 for her leading role in the film “Mildred Pierce” – in which she played a hard-working mother who tries to support her very ungrateful daughter. Thirty years later, her daughter Christina Crawford shocked the public with a book in which she claimed that the actress’s life imitated art in an almost crooked mirror. In her eyes, the mother was a cruel and sadistic person – she was to abuse her children mentally and physically. It didn’t help that Joan Crawford had disinherited Christina and her adoptive brother Christopher before her death.

Joan Crawford Was Hollywood’s Worst Mother? The daughter accused her of sadism

In Joan Craword’s New York Times obituary, readers could read: “Mrs. Crawford was the quintessential superstar – the embodiment of timeless charm that for decades personified the dreams and disappointments of American women.” In a career spanning nearly five decades, Crawford starred in some of the most celebrated and lauded films of her time. In addition to her spectacular role in “Mildred Place”, the actress delighted viewers in such productions as “Possessed”, “Sudden Fear”, “What happened to Baby Jane?” or in “Our Dancing Daughters”.

The media adored Joan Crawford, and she especially stirred the public when she adopted five children. The actress could not get pregnant, so she decided to take care of orphaned babies. Christina was the eldest of her daughters – she adopted her in 1939. In 1943, the twins Catherine and Cynthia appeared, and in 1947, Christopher joined the family. Before Christina Crawford, she adopted one more child – the boy was picked up after a year by his biological mother, who decided to raise him herself.

Christina Crawford, in her autobiographical book Mommie Dearest, published in 1978, maintained that life with a famous Hollywood star was nothing like a fairy tale, but rather a nightmare. Joan Crawford was supposed to be an alcoholic who abused her children mentally and physically. Soon after, her memoirs were used as the basis for the film of the same name, starring Faye Dunaway.

What was Joan Crawford really like? Her daughter’s autobiography became a bestseller

Christina emphasized that her mother was particularly abusive to her and Christopher – she was even supposed to pin him to the bed with dogs every night so that he could not get up to the bathroom. In one of the chapters, she described the attack of fury that Joan was supposed to provoke when she discovered a wire hanger in her daughter’s wardrobe, which was forbidden in her home. The actress, in a fit of rage, was supposed to rip clothes from hangers, scatter them on the floor, and then pull Christina by the hair and ears. At the same time, she shouted “no wire hangers!” – these events were shown in one of the most famous scenes of the movie “Mommie Dearest”. In the next step, Crawford would also trash her daughter’s room, then tell her to “clean up her mess.”

The autobiography “Mommie Dearest” instantly became a bestseller, and the slogan about hangers entered the history of pop culture. The film was also extremely popular, and Joan Crawford’s cruelty was accepted as a fact. However, many people close to the actress fiercely defended her and denied Christina’s version – writes Gina Dimuro from the portal

Interestingly, even one of her greatest rivals, Bette Davis, stood up for Joan Crawford. Their quarrels and rivalry became the subject of separate films with a first-class cast years later. However, Davis, who herself said she was “not Mrs Crawford’s biggest fan”, thought Christina’s claims were exaggerated to say the least. She was to call the book “junk” and add that Christina had done a “terrible, terrible thing” to someone who “saved her from an orphanage and foster homes.” One of Joan Crawford’s ex-husbands – Douglas Fairbank Jr. – stated that beating children was completely out of Joan’s character, but admitted that she actually only used padded hangers. Betty Barker, Van Johnson, Marlene Dietrich, Myrna Loy and Katherine Hepburn also denied the reports.

In addition, twins Catherine and Cynthia did not hide the fact that they were broken by their sister’s book. Catherine announced that Christina “always lived in her own world” and also that “our mummy was the best mother anyone has ever had.” She remembered her as a warm and caring mother who once ran out in the middle of a scene from a movie set because a school teacher called her to say that Catherine had broken her wrist in the playground. Crawford showed up at school in full make-up and personally took the child to the doctor.

Joan Crawford never had the chance to read Christina’s biography because it was published after her death. The actress died on May 10, 1977 in her New York apartment of a heart attack. But she knew that her daughter was writing a book. A year before her death, she changed her will disinheriting Christina and Christopher “for reasons that are well known to them.” The twins received 77.5 thousand. dollars, and her friend and secretary Betty Baker got 35,000. The actress donated some of her money to various charities, such as the American Cancer Society, the American Heart Association, the Muscular Dystrophy Association and the Motion Picture Home nursing home.