Joan Crawford’s classic beauty, dazzling confidence, and sheer toughness made her the very definition of a star; her formidable talent won her an Oscar for Mildred Pierce and shines through in other classics such as Grand Hotel and The Women. Focusing on the often overlooked first half of her career, this is the first visual book to reclaim her place in the canon of glamour. Crawford pioneered a new depth that had not been seen before in roles for women. Her domineering charisma gave audiences a new kind of heroine, laying the path for today’s actresses from Meryl Streep to Cate Blanchett. Women—and many men—identified with her in ways they never had before. Drawing from archives around the world and including more than a hundred photos unseen in the past fifty years, Joan Crawford is sure to reintroduce fans to this ultimate Hollywood legend. "She was the perfect image of a movie star . . . You could photograph her from any angle, and the face moved beautifully."—George Cukor, director