As one of the most talked-about figures, Joan Crawford has built a significant fortune. Our team analyzed the latest data to provide a clear picture of their income.

What Was Joan Crawford's Net Worth?

Joan Crawford was an American actress and theatrical performer who had a net worth of $2 million at the time of her death in 1977. After adjusting for inflation, that's the same as around $10 million in today's dollars. Joan Crawford is most recognized for her roles in films during the Hollywood silent film and golden eras including "Mildred Pierce" and "The Damned Don't Cry." She won the 1946 Academy Award for Best Actress thanks to her work on "Mildred Pierce." At the peak of her career, Joan was considered the most beautiful woman in the world. She was also known for having a lifelong feud with fellow actressBette Davis. Their feud was chronicled in the 2017 FX series "Feud: Bette and Joan," in whichSusan Sarandonplayed the role of Davis andJessica Langeplayed Crawford.

Early Life

Joan Crawford was born Lucille Fay LeSueur on March 23, 1904, in San Antonio, Texas. Her mother was of Irish and Swedish descent. Her father worked as a launderer and was of French and Dutch ancestry. Her paternal great-grandparents were first cousins. She had a turbulent childhood, with her parents separating just after her birth and her older sister dying before it. She had an older brother, Hal Hays LeSueur, who was an Oscar-winning actor. Her mother remarried, and the family relocated to Lawton, Oklahoma, where her stepfather ran the Ramsey Opera House. Watching the shows and being able to see theater in a more intimate way at the opera house piqued her interest in the performing arts. As a young child, Joan knew she wanted to be a dancer, but an attempt to cut class jeopardized the possibility. In elementary school, she had an incident in which she escaped from piano lessons by jumping out of the classroom window. She landed on a broken milk bottle and had to have three surgeries to repair the damage. Hawaiian poet and US Army veteran Don Blanding was present at the time and tended to her wounds. He went on to make the experience a focus of one of his poems.

Crawford's stepfather was charged with embezzlement in 1917, and after he was acquitted of the crime, the family moved to Kansas City, Missouri, because he could no longer find work in Lawton. Her stepfather chose to put her in a private Catholic school, and she remained there as a working student after her parents divorced. Because of her working student status, Crawford didn't receive an adequate education, and this resulted in her dropping out of college due to the material being too advanced.

(Photo by Silver Screen Collection/Getty Images)

Career Highlights

Joan was offered a contract for $75 dollars a week with MGM in 1924, but she initially only received small and sometimes unbilled roles. This was primarily due to MGM's head of publicity, Pete Smith, not liking her last name, LeSueur, and believing it to sound similar to "sewer." To fix this issue, Smith presented readers of the "Movie Weekly" magazine with a poll of names in the form of a game. The top pick from the national poll was "Joan Arden," but after they realized another actress was born with that name, they settled on the second most popular "Crawford." She didn't care for the surname and wanted her first name to be pronounced "Jo Ann," but those were minor gripes.

In summary, the total wealth of Joan Crawford reflects strategic moves.

Disclaimer: All net worth figures are estimates based on public data.