---
name: "Jeanne Crain"
canonical: "https://film.one/person/jeanne-crain"
roles: ["Actor"]
born: "25 May 1925"
died: "14 December 2003"
reviewed_on_fi1m: 2
average_fi1m_score: 74
average_as: "actor"
average_over: 2
updated: "2026-09-20T01:56:51.746704+00:00"
licence: "© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL."
---

# Jeanne Crain

Actor. Born 25 May 1925 in Barstow, California, USA. Died 14 December 2003.

## Details

- **Work:** Actor
- **Born:** 25 May 1925, Barstow, California, USA
- **Died:** 14 December 2003
- **Active:** 1945–1949
- **Also known as:** Jeanne Elizabeth Crain, Jeanne Crain Brinkman
- **Academy Awards:** 1 Oscar nomination
- **Average Fi1m score:** 74, as actor, over 2 titles
- **Elsewhere:** https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jeanne_Crain, https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q238032, https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0002022/, https://www.themoviedb.org/person/82170

## Fi1m on Jeanne Crain

> Fox's girl at the window through the late 1940s: pretty, natural, easy to be fond of, and seldom asked for more. Her best moments are the still ones, and the studio rarely trusted her to sing them herself.

Ten minutes into *State Fair* (1945) a farm girl stands at a farmhouse window in a dress she has nowhere to wear and sings that she is miserable and does not know why. We had settled in for a pleasant afternoon and had a lump in the throat before the song was over. Hammerstein's lyric and Rodgers's drifting tune did most of it, but the face did the rest: Jeanne Crain looking out at nothing, wanting something she cannot name. Her singing voice was usually somebody else's, most often Louanne Hogan's. What Crain herself brought to a scene was the look, and for a few years the look was enough.

Twentieth Century Fox found her after beauty contests and a screen test for Orson Welles, gave her an uncredited bit in *The Gang's All Here* (1943), and by *Home in Indiana* (1944) and *State Fair* had decided what she was for: the wholesome girl next door, then the young wife, in Technicolor romances and musicals. The parts got bigger without changing much. She was Ruth Berent opposite Gene Tierney in *Leave Her to Heaven* (1945), top of the bill for Joseph L. Mankiewicz in *A Letter to Three Wives* (1949), and Ann Gilbreth in the family comedy *Cheaper by the Dozen* (1950). Otto Preminger directed her three times, Mankiewicz twice, and Dana Andrews played opposite her twice, level and watchful and a little tired, as he played everyone. *Pinky* (1949), for Elia Kazan, is the one occasion the studio handed her a hard dramatic lead and expected her to carry it, and she was credible in it.

What worked is plain enough. She was natural and unforced, and in a nostalgic picture that asks its heroine mainly to be there and be pleasant she was exactly right. What did not work is what directors and critics kept saying about her: that she was bland, that the feeling did not go far down, that the early work in films like *In the Meantime, Darling* (1944) was weak. We would not put it much differently. In *State Fair*, once the song is over, she is pretty and pleasant and not much more, and Hammerstein's screenplay, which gives the young people chat rather than scenes, does nothing to help her. The camera was kind to her stillness; the writing seldom gave her anything to do with it.

She wanted out of it. In the mid-1950s she left Fox, dyed her hair red and took tougher, more glamorous parts in westerns and dramas, *Man Without a Star* (1955), as Reed Bowman, among them. The films came less often from the 1960s and stopped with *Skyjacked* (1972). Start with *State Fair* and start at the window. Fox never quite worked out what to do with that face once the music stopped.

## Biography

Jeanne Crain was an American actress. Born in Barstow, California, she made her film debut in an uncredited role in *The Gang's All Here* (1943) and gained early notice in *Home in Indiana* (1944). She starred as Margy Frake in the musical *State Fair* (1945).

Crain appeared in numerous films for 20th Century Fox through the 1940s and 1950s. Her roles included Ruth Berent in *Leave Her to Heaven* (1945), Deborah Bishop in *A Letter to Three Wives* (1949), and the title role in *Pinky* (1949), for which she received an Academy Award nomination for Best Actress. Other credits include *Cheaper by the Dozen* (1950), *People Will Talk* (1951), *Man Without a Star* (1955), and *The Joker Is Wild* (1957).

She continued working into the 1970s, with her final film role in *Skyjacked* (1972). Crain was married to Paul Brinkman from 1945 until his death in 2003; they had seven children.

*Sources: en.wikipedia.org, imdb.com, catalog.afi.com.*

## On Fi1m (2)

- *A Letter to Three Wives* (1949), Fi1m 79, as Deborah Bishop — [page](https://film.one/film/a-letter-to-three-wives.md)
- *State Fair* (1945), Fi1m 70, as Margy Frake — [page](https://film.one/film/state-fair.md)

## Complete filmography (46)

Every credit, newest first. Titles without a page can be requested for review on the HTML page.

- *Skyjacked* (1972), as Mrs. Clara Shaw
- *The Night God Screamed* (1971), as Fanny Pierce
- *The Name of the Game* (1968), series, as Mrs. McKendricks
- *Hot Rods to Hell* (1967), as Peg Phillips
- *Burke's Law* (1963), series, as Amy Booth, Polly Martin, Lorraine Turner
- *Invasion 1700* (1962), as Helen
- *Pontius Pilate* (1962), as Claudia Procula
- *Nefertiti, Queen of the Nile* (1961), as Nefertiti
- *Twenty Plus Two* (1961), as Linda Foster
- *Madison Avenue* (1961), as Peggy Shannon
- *Guns of the Timberland* (1960), as Laura Riley
- *Riverboat* (1959), series, as Laura Sutton
- *Meet Me in St. Louis* (1959), as Rose Smith
- *The Great Gatsby* (1958), as Daisy Fay Buchanan
- *The Joker is Wild* (1957), as Letty Page
- *The Tattered Dress* (1957), as Diane Blane
- *The Fastest Gun Alive* (1956), as Dora Temple
- *Gentlemen Marry Brunettes* (1955), as Connie Jones / Mitzi Jones
- *The Second Greatest Sex* (1955), as Liza McClure
- *Man Without a Star* (1955), as Reed Bowman
- *Duel in the Jungle* (1954), as Marian Taylor
- *Vicki* (1953), as Jill Lynn
- *City of Bad Men* (1953), as Linda Culligan
- *Dangerous Crossing* (1953), as Ruth Stanton Bowman
- *General Electric Theater* (1953), series, as Hope, Marion Miller
- *O. Henry's Full House* (1952), as Della (segment "The Gift of the Magi")
- *Belles on Their Toes* (1952), as Ann Gilbreth
- *The Model and the Marriage Broker* (1951), as Kitty Bennett
- *Schlitz Playhouse of Stars* (1951), series, as Ruth Elliot
- *People Will Talk* (1951), as Deborah Higgins
- *Take Care of My Little Girl* (1951), as Liz Erickson
- *I'll Get By* (1950), as Jeanne Crain (uncredited)
- *Cheaper by the Dozen* (1950), as Ann Gilbreth
- *Pinky* (1949), as Patricia "Pinky" Johnson
- *The Fan* (1949), as Lady Margaret 'Meg' Windermere
- *A Letter to Three Wives* (1949), as Deborah Bishop — Fi1m 79, [page](https://film.one/film/a-letter-to-three-wives.md)
- *Apartment for Peggy* (1948), as Peggy Taylor
- *You Were Meant for Me* (1948), as Peggy Mayhew
- *Margie* (1946), as Marjorie "Margie" MacDuff
- *Centennial Summer* (1946), as Julia Rogers
- *Leave Her to Heaven* (1945), as Ruth Berent
- *State Fair* (1945), as Margy Frake — Fi1m 70, [page](https://film.one/film/state-fair.md)
- *Winged Victory* (1944), as Helen
- *In the Meantime, Darling* (1944), as Margaret 'Maggie' Preston
- *Home in Indiana* (1944), as Charlotte 'Char' Bruce
- *The Gang's All Here* (1943), as Chorus Girl / Pool Party Guest (uncredited)

## Gallery

- ![Jeanne Crain](https://film.one/media/person/1226789/gallery-a405187e0966.jpg) Jeanne Crain — New York Sunday News, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons (https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/d2/Jeanne_Crain_1948.JPG?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=thumbnail_unscaled)
- ![Jeanne Crain by Phil Stern, 1954](https://film.one/media/person/1226789/gallery-d100196744e6.jpg) Jeanne Crain by Phil Stern, 1954 — Phil Stern) [1], Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons (https://thumb.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/c/c9/Jeanne_Crain_by_Phil_Stern%2C_1954.jpg/1280px-Jeanne_Crain_by_Phil_Stern%2C_1954.jpg?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=thumbnail)
- ![Pin-up photo of Jeanne Crain for the Aug. ?, 1945 issue of Yank, the Army Weekly, a weekly U.S. Army magazine fully staffed by enlisted men.](https://film.one/media/person/1226789/gallery-f4d4344e4bcb.jpg) Pin-up photo of Jeanne Crain for the Aug. ?, 1945 issue of Yank, the Army Weekly, a weekly U.S. Army magazine fully staffed by enlisted men. — U.S. Army, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons (https://thumb.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/3/37/Jeanne_Crain.jpg/1280px-Jeanne_Crain.jpg?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=thumbnail)
- ![Jeanne Crain with her husband Paul Brinkman/ aka Paul Brooks, 1954](https://film.one/media/person/1226789/gallery-b97984af05e0.jpg) Jeanne Crain with her husband Paul Brinkman/ aka Paul Brooks, 1954 — Photographer not credited (probably Phil Stern), Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons (https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/7b/Jeanne_Crain_1954_.jpg?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=thumbnail_unscaled)
- ![Jeanne Crain](https://film.one/media/person/1226789/gallery-87c90d4e3a91.jpg) Jeanne Crain — Image via TMDB
- ![Jeanne Crain](https://film.one/media/person/1226789/gallery-3c7ea9661889.jpg) Jeanne Crain — Image via TMDB
- ![Jeanne Crain](https://film.one/media/person/1226789/gallery-f972ca134b53.jpg) Jeanne Crain — Image via TMDB
- ![Jeanne Crain dancing with her husband Paul Brooks at the Mocambo, 1946](https://film.one/media/person/1226789/gallery-afa4ab03c583.jpg) Jeanne Crain dancing with her husband Paul Brooks at the Mocambo, 1946 — Photographer not credited, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons (https://thumb.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/4/4f/Jeanne_Crain_dancing_with_her_husband_Paul_Brooks_at_the_Mocambo%2C_1946.jpg/1280px-Jeanne_Crain_dancing_with_her_husband_Paul_Brooks_at_the_Mocambo%2C_1946.jpg?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=thumbnail)
- ![Jeanne Crain](https://film.one/media/person/1226789/gallery-a19cd7e61389.jpg) Jeanne Crain — Image via TMDB
- ![Jeanne Crain](https://film.one/media/person/1226789/gallery-505c2090d5c6.jpg) Jeanne Crain — Image via TMDB
- ![Jeanne Crain](https://film.one/media/person/1226789/gallery-e385b734f9b1.jpg) Jeanne Crain — Image via TMDB

## Awards

### Academy Awards — 0 won, 1 nominated

- 1950: Best Actress (nominated), for *Pinky*

*From Wikidata, which records wins more completely than nominations.*

---
© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL. Canonical: https://film.one/person/jeanne-crain