Jeanne Crain: Celebrating the Beauty and Talent of a Hollywood Icon
Discover the life and legacy of Jeanne Crain, a talented actress whose beauty and charm lit up the screen during Hollywood’s golden era.
Jeanne Crain was born in California on May 25, 1925. She moved to Los Angeles with her family when her father began teaching at a local school. Living in Los Angeles, she began auditioning at an early age. One of them was for a role in an Orson Welles film , but she failed. In 1941, she also auditioned for The Song of Bernadette (1943).
In 1943, she had a small role in Between the Blonde and the Brunette (1943) , starring Alice Faye. The following year, she had her first credited role in Young Love. Her first major film success was Hearts in Love (1945), in which she starred alongside the acclaimed actor Dana Andrews.
The end of the 1940s brought her great prominence. In 1949 alone, she starred in three successful films: Who’s the Unfaithful? (1949), Lady Windermere’s Fan (1949) and What the Flesh Inherits (1949). What the Flesh Inherits addresses a racial issue that is very present in the United States. Directed by Elia Kazan , the drama tells the story of Pinky, a young African-American woman who, because she has no black features, pretends to be white in order to study nursing.
The film was very controversial since its release, and was even banned in some regions. It turns out that at the time, showing interracial couples was even against the law in some US states. In addition, actresses like Lena Horne were rejected for the role because the producers thought a white actress would bring better results at the box office. Despite all the controversy, Jeanne was nominated for an Oscar.
She starred alongside Cary Grant in the romantic comedy They Called It a Sin (1951). Here she played a woman who, after discovering she was pregnant, became involved with the doctor who was loved by everyone in town. However, Jeanne was a little tired of these types of roles and began to seek out characters that she considered stronger. Thus, she appeared in films such as The Man Without Direction (1955) and I Cried for You (1957). However, with the arrival of the 60s, and so many children, her career was put on hold.
On the night of December 31, 1945, she married Paul Brinkman. She was 20 years old and he was 27. Paul tried his hand at acting, but was unsuccessful. He then decided to dedicate himself to a missile manufacturing company and became a top executive. Although they had several separations and betrayals on both sides throughout their marriage, they remained together until the end of his life, in 2003. The actress and Paul had 7 children: Paul, Michael, Timothy, Jeanine, Lisabette, Maria and Christopher.
After retiring from acting, Jeanne and her husband spent much of their lives on the farm. She died two months after her husband’s death, on December 14, 2003, from a heart attack. She was 78 years old.
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