Biography
Joan Crawford was an American actor, also credited as Lucille Fay LeSueur, Lucille Le Sueur, Billie Cassin and Lucille Fay Le Sueur. She began her career as a dancer in travelling theatrical companies and on Broadway before signing a contract with Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer in 1925.
Crawford appeared as Self in The Hollywood Revue of 1929 (1929). Among the films for which she is known are Grand Hotel (1932), The Women (1939), Mildred Pierce (1945), Johnny Guitar (1954), What Ever Happened to Baby Jane? (1962) and Hush... Hush, Sweet Charlotte (1964). She won the Academy Award for Best Actress for Mildred Pierce.
In 1955 she became involved with the Pepsi-Cola Company through her marriage to its president Alfred Steele. After his death in 1959 she served on the board of directors until 1973. She continued to act in film and television through the 1960s.
