The definitive biography of Hollywood icon Joan Crawford, from acclaimed film historian and New York Times bestselling biographer Scott Eyman, is “the story of Hollywood stardom itself” ( The New Yorker ). Joan Crawford burst out of her poverty-stricken youth to become a bright young movie star in the 1920s, drawing the admiration of F. Scott Fitzgerald and the attention of audiences worldwide. She flourished for decades, working across genres, from romance to westerns ( Mildred Pierce , Johnny Guitar ) to musicals and noir ( Torch Song , A Woman’s Face ). Along the way she accumulated four husbands, an Academy Award for Best Actress, and the undeniable status of a legend. One of the greatest Hollywood biographers of all time, Scott Eyman draws on never before seen documents from the Crawford estate delivering the first full telling of the movie star’s dazzling, turbulent life which is “ a cinematic experience in itself” ( Salon ). "Scott Eyman elucidates Crawford’s life and work with passionate research, candid curiosity, analytical clarity, and uninhibited enthusiasm. The book is a trove of anecdotes, quotes, and insights, but, above all, it’s the energetic pursuit of an idea: Eyman presents the story of Crawford’s rise to fame as the story of Hollywood stardom itself." —The New Yorker An "elegant, intelligent, comprehensively researched, and thoroughly absorbing new biography... Kudos to Scott Eyman for writing a smart and sensitive account that captures Joan Crawford in all her humanity." —The American Spectator "Deft writing, archival research, critical thinking and cineaste’s eye for telling details." —The Shepherd Express “This well-written, balanced, and comprehensive review of Crawford’s life and career will appeal to her fans and those who enjoy a good, juicy Hollywood saga.” — Library Journal, Starred Review “Scott Eyman’s new biography pulls together the layers of invention and reinvention that transformed malnourished Texas tomboy Lucille LeSueur into screen legend Joan Crawford with so much immediacy and Hollywood-insider detail that reading it feels like a cinematic experience in itself… It renders studio politics, contract-negotiation minutiae, costuming conflicts and production-code headaches with thrilling immediacy, note-perfect dialogue and the perfect amount of attitude.” — Salon “I knew Joan Crawford, and this is the first book written about her that gives me a portrait I can recognize. It presents her humor, her intelligence, her work ethic, her generosity, and her determination as well as her insecurity. (Eyman) ... has done a masterful job.” — Jeanine Basinger "Hollywood’s leading biographer, Scott Eyman, has outdone himself in this scintillating, revealing story of the great Joan Crawford." —Laurence Leamer "Scott Eyman’s books always bring back the Hollywood that I lived in and loved, and Joan Crawford: A Woman’s Face might be his best. He completely captures her need, her talent and her generosity, as well as her absolute determination to be the best possible version of herself. — Robert Wagner "Joan Crawford fought for everything she ever had—and moviegoers identified with her struggle and achievements. With even-handedness and empathy, Scott Eyman reveals the deeply insecure woman beneath the movie star facade. I came away with a new regard for this Hollywood survivor." —Leonard Maltin "Knowledgeable biography of the actress whose film career ran from the silents through the ’60s [and a] fully fleshed portrait of a complicated woman." — Kirkus Reviews Scott Eyman is the author or coauthor of eighteen books, including the bestseller John Wayne and Pieces of My Heart and You Must Remember This with actor Robert Wagner. Eyman, formerly the literary critic at The Palm Beach Post , also writes book reviews for The Wall Street Journal , and has written for The New York Times , The Washington Post , and the Chicago Tribune . He and his wife, Lynn, live in West Palm Beach. Prologue PROLOGUE THE FILM IS 16MM Kodachrome, so it has those “nice, bright colors” Paul Simon sang about. The cans were stacked in the back of Joan Crawford’s closet when she moved back to New York in 1955. After she died in 1977 they sat in the closets of her daughter Cathy, and of Casey LaLonde, her grandson. The expectations were that they would be the usual movie star home movies—birthday parties with the kids in Brentwood, some behind-the-scenes shots from the studio, etc. There was some of that, but there were also several cans sealed with masking tape on which was written “Charles and Me.” They were Joan Crawford home movies all right, but they weren’t what anybody had expected. From her look, and from the cars on view, the bulk of them were made in 1939 or 1940 outside New York City. There are shots of the Dakota apartment building, of Central Park in the winter as well as the spring, but mostly the atmosphere is country—a glamorous