The Fate of Jo Ann Marlowe: The Sad Story of the Former Child Star

The other day, I was watching The Strange Woman (1946), directed by Edgar G. Ulmer. The film features Hedy Lamarr as Jenny, a young woman who uses her beauty to manipulate men and amass wealth. But it was the actress portraying her as a child who caught my attention. I found her very talented, and upon seeking information about her life, I encountered a tragic existence.

Born on December 15, 1935, in Nebraska, little Jo Ann Marlowe was vacationing in Hollywood with her relatives when she was spotted in a restaurant and invited for screen tests. The little girl was just four years old, and in 1942, she made her debut in Yankee Doodle Dandy (1942), directed by Michael Curtiz. She wasn’t credited in this and the subsequent films in which she made small appearances. However, in 1945, she was cast to act alongside Joan Crawford and Ann Blyth in >Mildred Pierce. In the film that earned Crawford an Oscar, she portrayed Kay, Mildred’s younger daughter:

n the following years, she participated in some productions, but her career never took off. Perhaps for this reason, at 15, she made her last appearance Never a Dull Moment (1950). After stepping away from the screens, Jo Ann continued her studies and graduated in Law from Loyola University in Los Angeles. In 1960, at 25, she married John F. Dunne. Three years later, their only daughter, Kimberly, was born. However, the couple ended up divorcing in 1968.

Jo Ann was a successful lawyer when she suffered a terrible car accident in late 1968. As a result, she sustained injuries that left her in a coma. Aware of her condition, her mother took her home. The former actress would never wake up or see her daughter grow: she remained in a coma for 22 years until she passed away on January 2, 1991, at the age of 55. Her mother passed away only in 2011. Unfortunately, Jo Ann is just a note, often uncredited in some old films

Fontes: Findagrave, Greatentertainersarchives

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Carla Marinho Leal

Writer, traveler and above all, curious about many subjects. She has studied cinema since 2002 and is a Specialist in Cinematographic Studies from UNICAP. Founder of the blog Purviance and the website Cinemaclássico. She loves Charles Chaplin, Raj Kapoor and constantly browses films from all over the world.

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