Birth: August 17, 1893New York, United States Death: November 22, 1980California, United States Childhood Mae West was born as Mary Jane West on August 17, 1893 in Brooklyn, New York. Mae, as she was called, was the second child of parents John and Tillie. Their first child Katie had passed away after only a few …
Birth: November 9, 1914Vienna, Austria Death: January 19, 2000Florida, United States Childhood Hedy Lamarr was born as Hedwig Eva Maria Kiesler on November 9, 1914 in Vienna, Austria. She was the only child of successful banker Emil and pianist Gertrud. Her parents were Jewish, a fact Hedy would later deny after growing up during the …
Birth: March 23, 1904 (depending on source)Texas, USA Death: May 10, 1977New York, USA Childhood Joan Crawford was born as Lucille Fay LeSueur in San Antonio, Texas on March 23, 1904 (depending on the source). Around the time she was born, her father left the already struggling family. Alone with two children, Lucille and her …
Birth: November 17, 1925Illinois, USA Death: October 2, 1985California, USA Childhood Rock Hudson was born as Roy Harold Sherer Jr. on November 17, 1925 in Illinois. He was the only child of Kay and Roy Sr. His father left the family when Rock was little and he and his mother moved in with his grandmother. …
Birth: April 5, 1908 Massachusetts, USA Death: October 6, 1989 Paris, France Childhood Bette Davis was born as Ruth Elizabeth Davis on April 5, 1908 in Massachusetts. Bette was the first child of newlyweds Ruth and Harlow Davis. Harlow was still going to law school and was not happy about being a father so soon. …
Birth: April 5, 1900 Wisconsin, USA Death: June 10, 1967 California, USA Childhood Spencer Bonaventure Tracy was born April 5, 1900 in Wisconsin. He was the second son of Caroline and John. They were a loving and happy family, but John had inherited the ‘family curse’ of alcoholism and would go on drinking binges where …
Birth: May 4, 1929 Elsene, Belgium Death: 20 January, 1993 Tolochenaz, Switzerland Childhood Audrey Hepburn was born as Audrey Kathleen Hepburn-Ruston on May 4th 1929 in Brussels, Belgium. She was born into a privileged family: her mother Ella was a Dutch baroness and her British father Joseph had a good job at a loan company …
Birth: August 6, 1911 New York, United States Death: April 26, 1989 California, United States Childhood Lucille Ball was the first child of DeDe and Henry Ball, a young couple who were very much in love. It was a happy time and little Lucy was spoiled with love and affection. Unfortunately, this was cut short …
Birth: March 3, 1911 Kansas City, United States Death: June 7, 1937 Los Angeles, United States Childhood Jean Harlow was born as Harlean Harlow Carpenter on March 3, 1911 in Kansas City. She was never called by her given name though; everyone who knew her called her Baby and would do so for the rest …
Birth: 26 January 1925 Ohio, United States Death: 26 September 2008 Connecticut, United States Childhood Paul Leonard Newman was born on January 25, 1926 in Cleveland, Ohio. He was the second son of Theresa and Arthur, who owned the profitable sporting goods store Newman-Stern. Paul was close to his mother, whereas his father took a …
Birth: 27 December 1901 Berlin, Germany. Death: 6 May 1992 Paris, France Childhood Marlene Dietrich was born as Maria Magdalene Dietrich on 27 December 1901 in Berlin, Germany. She was the second child to Josephine, a housewife, and Louis, a police lieutenant. Josephine ran the household with an iron fist, but Louis was rarely home. He …
Birth: 22 May 1907 Surrey, England Death: 8 July 1989 West Sussex, England Childhood Laurence Kerr Olivier was born on 22 may 1907 in Dorking, England. He was the youngest of three children and the apple of his mother’s eye. His father was a strict High Anglican priest who was very cold towards his youngest …
Birth: December 24, 1922 North Carolina, United States Death: January 25, 1990 London, England Childhood Ava Lavinia Gardner was born on Christmas Eve, 1922 in the small community of Grabtown in North Carolina. Her parents were farmers and she was the youngest of seven children. When Ava was a toddler a fire burned down her …
Birth: December 12, 1912 New Jersey, United States Death: May 14, 1998 California, United States Childhood Frank Sinatra’s birth on December 12, 1915 was a rough one. The 13.5 pound baby almost died and it was so traumatic for his mother, that he remained an only child. His parents, Marty and Dolly, were Italian immigrants. …
Birth: May 20, 1908 Pennsylvania, United States Death: July 2, 1997 California, United States Childhood James Stewart, who was called Jimmy, was born on May 20th, 1908 in Indiana as the oldest child to Elizabeth and Alexander Stewart. His father was a hard-working, stern man who was very involved in Jimmy’s life. His mother was …
Birth: May 12, 1907 Connecticut, United States Death: June 29, 2003 Connecticut, United States Childhood Katharine Houghton Hepburn was born into an extraordinary family. Her father Thomas Hepburn was a urologist and helped establish the New England Social Hygiene Association which educated people about venereal disease. Her mother Katharine ‘Kit’ Houghton became the head of …
Birth: 18 september, 1905 Stockholm, Sweden Death: 15 april, 1990 New York, United States Childhood Greta Garbo was born as Greta Lovisa Gustafsson on 18 september 1905 in Stockholm, Sweden. Her parents, Karl and Anna, already had two children: Sven and Alva. The family was very poor and lived in a neighborhood that was seen …
Birth: April 3, 1924 Nebraska, United States Death: July 1, 2004 Los Angeles, United States Childhood Marlon Brando was born into an unconventional household. His mother Dorothy Pennebaker, known as Dodie, was an actress and a very spirited woman. But during her marriage she became an alcoholic. His father, Marlon Brando Sr., was a chemical …
Birth: June 10, 1922 Minnesota, United States Death: June 22, 1969 London, England Childhood Before Judy Garland, became Judy Garland she was Frances Ethel Gumm. She was named after her parents, but was called ‘baby’. Frances was the youngest child of Ethel and Frank, two vaudevillians who ran a movie theater.