Joan Crawford was a film actress.
Joan Crawford ( born Lucille Fay LeSueur ; March 23 , c. 1904 -- May 10 , 1977 ) was an American film and television actress who began her career as a dancer and stage showgirl . In 1999 , the American Film Institute ranked Crawford tenth on its list of the greatest female stars of Classic Hollywood Cinema . Mildred Pierce is a 1945 American film noir directed by Michael Curtiz and starring Joan Crawford , Jack Carson and Zachary Scott , also featuring Eve Arden , Ann Blyth and Bruce Bennett . Possessed is a 1947 American film noir psychological drama directed by Curtis Bernhardt , starring Joan Crawford , Van Heflin , and Raymond Massey in a tale about an unstable woman 's obsession with her ex-lover .