Jeanne Crain

She married Paul Brinkman, a businessman and former actor, on December 31, 1945. They filed for divorce in early 1956 but were reconciled in December 1956.

She had seven children, four sons and three daughters - Paul Fredrick, Michael Anthony, Timothy Peter, Jeanie Cherie, Lisabett A., Maria J. and Christopher.

Jeanne Crain died of a heart attack on December 14, 2003, in Santa Barbara, California.

Jeanne Crain was born on May 25, 1925 Elizabeth Jeanne Crain in Barstow, California, a small town in the Mojave Desert.

She grew up in Los Angeles where the family had moved after her birth.

Her father was an Irish high-school teacher named George A. Crain who later became the head of the English department of the ‘Inglewood High School’ in Los Angeles. Her mother was Loretta Carr. She had a younger sister named Rita Marie who was born in January, 1927.

Her initial schooling was at ‘Inglewood High School’ in Los Angeles.

She studied acting at the ‘University of California, Los Angeles’ and then at the ‘St. Mary’s Academy’.

Jeanne Crain made her Hollywood debut with an uncredited film ‘The Gang’s All Here’ in 1943.

In 1944 she started getting noticed for her roles in ‘Home in Indiana’, ‘The Winged Victory’ and ‘In the Meantime, Darling’.

In 1945 she got greater success in a musical titled ‘State Fair’ with original scores from Rodgers and Hammerstein. She sang ‘It Might as Well Be Spring’ and other songs in the film which were dubbed by Louanne Hogan.

The classic melodrama ‘Leave Her to Heaven’ in 1946, was another of her hits where she portrayed the role of a ‘good girl’ against the evil scheming of ‘Gene Tierney’.

In 1946 she appeared in the Jerome Kern musical ‘Centennial Summer’ where her voice was again dubbed by Louanne Hogan, She also acted also in ‘Margie’.

Jeanne Crain won the ‘Miss Long Beach’ title in the ‘Miss California’ beauty pageant in 1941 and became a runner-up during the ‘Miss America’ finals.

In 1941 she won the ‘Interscholastic Shakespearean Contest’ held at the ‘Occidental College’.

She was named ‘Camera Girl of 1942’ and her pictures were published on the covers of magazines such as ‘Coronet’, ‘Ladies Home Journal’ and ‘True Romance’ in 1942.

She won an Oscar nomination for the ‘Best Actress’ for her role in ‘Pinky’ in 1949.