Joan Crawford- The leading lady of the late-twenties and thirties, Crawford was considered box-office poison by Hollywood by 1940.


And this was BEFORE they knew about the child-beating and wire-hanger issues. In 1945, Crawford took on the role of Mildred Pierce, winning an Academy Award and developing the mouthy, independent broad image we associate with her now. Crawford was bonafide movie star again, and I'll bet some scary ass-whippings were handed out at the studio.