Today Barbara Stanwyck is remembered primarily as the matriarch of the family known as the Barkleys on the TV western The Big Valley, wherein she played Victoria, and from the hit drama The Colbys. But she was known to millions of other fans for her movie career, which spanned the period from 1927 until 1964, after which she appeared on television until 1986. It was a career that lasted for 59 years. She was born Ruby Stevens on July 16, 1907, in Brooklyn, New York. She went to work at the local telephone company for $14 a week, but she had the urge (a dream--that was all it was) somehow to enter show business. When not working, she pounded the pavement in search of dancing jobs. The persistence paid off. Barbara was hired as a chorus girl for the princely sum of $40 a week, much better than the wages she was getting from the phone company. She was 17, and she was going to make the most of the opportunity that had been given her.

In 1928 Barbara moved to Hollywood, where she was to start one of the most lucrative careers filmdom had ever seen. She was an extremely versatile actress who could adapt to any role. Barbara was equally at home in all genres, from melodramas, such as Forbidden and Stella Dallas, to thrillers, such as Double Indemnity, one of her best films, also starring Fred MacMurray (as you have never seen him before). She also excelled in comedies such as Remember the Night and The Lady Eve. Another genre she excelled in was westerns, Union Pacific being one of her first and TV's The Big Valley (her most memorable role) being her last. In 1983, she played in the ABC hit mini-series The Thorn Birds, which did much to keep her in the eye of the public. She turned in an outstanding performance as Mary Carson.

Barbara was considered a gem to work with for her serious but easygoing attitude on the set. She worked hard at being an actress, and she never allowed her star quality to go to her head. She was nominated for four Academy Awards, though she never won. She turned in magnificent performances for all the roles she was nominated for, but the "powers that be" always awarded the Oscar to someone else. However, in 1982 she was awarded an honorary Academy Award for "superlative creativity and unique contribution to the art of screen acting." Sadly, Barbara died on January 20, 1990, leaving 93 movies and a host of TV appearances as her legacy to us.



Forbidden (1932): $50,000

Godmother of Bobbie Poledouris. Her stage name was inspired by a theatrical poster that read "Jane Stanwyck in 'Barbara Frietchie.'". In 1944, when she earned $400,000, the government listed her as the nation's highest-paid woman. According to biographical film Barbara Stanwyck: Fire and Desire (1991) (TV), Stanwyck became a model for women actors. Such stars as Sally Field and Virginia Madsen have publicly pointed to Stanwyck as their model. Sister of actor Bert Stevens. Was of Scots-Irish and English descent. Inducted into the Hall of Great Western Performers of the National Cowboy and Western Heritage Museum in 1973. Her son, Dion Anthony "Tony" Fay, was born in February 1932. He was adopted on December 5, 1932. Was listed #11 on the American Film Institute's "100 Years of The Greatest Screen Legends." She was voted the 40th "Greatest Movie Star of All Time" by Entertainment Weekly. Picked up the starring role in Ball of Fire (1941) after Ginger Rogers dropped out. She lost a kidney in 1971. In 1985, her house was destroyed in a fire. She was upset to lose all of Robert Taylor's love letters. Her siblings were named Maude, Mable, Mildred ("Millie"), and Malcolm Byron ("Bert") Stevens. Her parents were Byron and Catherine McGee Stevens. Has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame located at 1751 Vine St. Her papers are in the American Heritage Center, University of Wyoming, PO Box 3924, Laramie, WY 82071. Her performance as Phyllis Dietrichson in Double Indemnity (1944) is ranked #98 on Premiere Magazine's 100 Greatest Performances of All Time list (2006). Was best friends for many years with Frank Sinatra's first wife, Nancy. William Holden was considered to be too lightweight for the lead role in Golden Boy (1939), but Stanwyck urged producers to keep him in the picture and it was through her efforts he was kept in the picture, and the role made him a star. In 1978, at the The 50th Annual Academy Awards (1978) (TV), before starting the presentation of the sound award, Holden publicly thanked her for what she did. She nearly broke down in tears and kissed Holden, and the exchange received thunderous audience applause. Biography in: "The Scribner Encyclopedia of American Lives". Volume Two, 1986-1990, pages 796-798. New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 1999. She with Linda Evans in two series: "The Big Valley" (1965) and "Dynasty" (1981). Profiled in "Back in the Saddle: Essays on Western Film and Television Actors", Gary Yoggy, ed. (McFarland, 1998). When she was awarded an Honorary Oscar for lifetime achievement, the statuette was presented to her by John Travolta who later confessed that the experience was his supreme Oscar moment. Stanwyck had been a Travolta family favorite for years. [1982] Was considered for the role of Margo Channing in All About Eve (1950) after Claudette Colbert was forced to pull out of the project due to back injury. However the part was given to Bette Davis, who went on to receive a Best Actress Oscar nomination for her performance. Best remembered for her role on TV for her starring role as matriarch Victoria Barkley on "The Big Valley" (1965). Actors Peter Breck, Lee Majors and Linda Evans were said to be huge fans of hers, as little children. Together, all grown up, all three have co-starred alongside Stanwyck in the successful 1960s, western series, "The Big Valley" (1965). Godmother of Tori Spelling.