Joan Crawford, a prominent silent film actress turned Hollywood star, is not only known for her successful career but also for her tumultuous personal life, especially in relation to her children.
Unable to have biological children, Crawford adopted her first child, Christina, in 1940.
Two years later, she adopted a son named Christopher with her third husband, actor Phillip Terry.
However, when Christopher was taken back by his birth mother, Crawford and Terry adopted another boy.
Initially known as Phillip Terry Jr, Crawford decided to rename him Christopher when her marriage with Terry ended.
In 1947, Crawford completed her family by adopting twins Cathy and Cindy.
Unfortunately, Crawford's relationship with her children was far from harmonious.
After the actress passed away from a heart attack in 1977, Christina and Christopher accused their mother of abuse, claiming that she prioritized fame over her children.
Christina documented her experiences in the revealing memoir “Mommie Dearest,” published in 1978.
The book portrays Crawford as a controlling alcoholic who would physically harm her children when they misbehaved.
In 1981, it was adapted into a movie starring Faye Dunaway.
The memoir received significant criticism, particularly from Cathy and Cindy, who asserted that they had never experienced any abusive behavior from their mother.
It was evident that Christina and Christopher's relationship with Crawford was strained, as reflected in her will.
Although Crawford reportedly left $77,500 each (equivalent to around $380k/£279k today) to Cathy and Cindy from her $2 million estate, she did not leave anything to her eldest two children.
In her will, Crawford stated, “It is my intention to make no provision herein for my son, Christopher, or my daughter, Christina, for reasons which are well known to them.”
Christina is shown here in 2013 at a photo call for her live show, “Surviving Mommie Dearest,” in New York City.
Bette Davis, another silver screen star and Crawford's rival, surprisingly came to her defense when “Mommie Dearest” was published.
Davis stated, “I was not Miss Crawford's biggest fan but… what she did not deserve was that detestable book written by her daughter.
I've forgotten her name.
Horrible.”
Ironically, Davis didn't have to imagine the feeling for long.
Her daughter Barbara, also known as B.D., was born in 1947.
Bette and her daughter reportedly had a good relationship until B.D.
became a born-again Christian and unsuccessfully tried to convert her mother.
In 1985, Davis, who had battled cancer and suffered strokes earlier in the decade, traveled to England to star in one of her final films, “Murder with Mirrors.”
Upon returning to America, she discovered that B.D.
had published “My Mother's Keeper,” a shocking memoir portraying her as an alcoholic bully.
Unlike Christina Crawford, B.D.
didn't wait until her mother's passing to release her tell-all memoir.
The book faced backlash, with many assuming she had followed Christina's footsteps after witnessing how “Mommie Dearest” propelled her writing career.
B.D.
‘s brother Michael disowned her and never spoke to her again.
Davis herself only communicated with her daughter through an open letter in her own memoir, where she denounced “My Mother's Keeper” for its “glaring lack of loyalty.”
Unsurprisingly, the legendary actress disinherited her daughter and chose to divide her fortune, estimated between $1 million and $3 million at the time of her death in 1989, between Michael and a friend.
