Lana Turner had an acting ability that belied the "Sweater Girl" image MGM thrust upon her, and even many of her directors admitted that they knew she was capable of greatness (check out The Postman Always Rings Twice). Unfortunately, her private life - seven marriages, affairs almost too numerous to mention, a long bout with alcoholism and the famous incident where her gangster lover, Johnny Stompanato, was killed by her daughter, Cheryl Crane - came to overshadow her professional accomplishments.



Imitation of Life (1959): 50% of the film's profits
The Postman Always Rings Twice (1946): $4,000 a week

Born at 12:30pm-PST In her autobiography, she stated that her true birthdate is February 8, 1921. She stated that "I am one year younger than the records show." One daughter: Cheryl Crane (fathered by Steve Crane). She was set to appear in Anatomy of a Murder (1959) with James Stewart until she objected to the off-the-rack wardrobe that director Otto Preminger had selected for her. Lee Remick took over the role. Measurements: 34C-25-34 ("The Sweater Girl" -1940), 35 1/2C-24 1/2-36 (from "Movieland Pin-Ups"- 1954), 34C-26-38 (from her autobiography), (Source: Celebrity Sleuth magazine). Her auburn hair was bleached for Idiot's Delight (1939). She was withdrawn from the film, but the fact that she had become a blonde not only changed her screen image but gave her such an outgoing, swinging personality that Hollywood called her the Nightclub Queen. In the movie Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (1941) with Spencer Tracy and Ingrid Bergman she was originally supposed to play the part of Ivy, the tart, and Bergman was supposed to play the innocent girl engaged to Tracy but Bergman wanted Turner's part and so the roles were switched. She was a true American hybrid, with a mixture of Scottish, Irish, Dutch and English ancestry. Is portrayed by Brenda Bakke in L.A. Confidential (1997) In Italy, almost all of her films were dubbed by either Lidia Simoneschi or Rosetta Calavetta. She was occasionally dubbed by Dhia Cristiani. Campaigned for Franklin Delano Roosevelt in the 1944 presidential election. Featured in "Femme Noir: Bad Girls of Film" by Karen Burroughs Hannsberry (McFarland, 1998). Sister-in-law of Daniel Topping during her marriage to his brother, Henry Topping.