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IMDbPro

Joan Bennett(1910-1990)

  • Actress
  • Soundtrack
IMDbProStarmeterSee rank
Joan Bennett
Dark Shadows: Episode 1024
Play trailer1:54
Episode #1.1024 (1970)
12 Videos
99+ Photos
Joan Geraldine Bennett was born on February 27, 1910, in Palisades, New Jersey. Her parents were both successful stage actors, especially her father, Richard Bennett, and often toured the country for weeks at a time. In fact, Joan came from a long line of actors, dating back to the 18th century. Often, when her parents were on tour, Joan and her two older sisters, Constance Bennett, who later became an actress, and Barbara were left in the care of close friends. At the age of four, Joan made her first stage appearance. She debuted in films a year later in The Valley of Decision (1916), in which her father was the star and the entire Bennett clan participated. In 1923 she again appeared in a film which starred her father, playing a pageboy in The Eternal City (1923). It would be five more years before Joan appeared again on the screen. In between, she married Jack Marion Fox, who was 26 compared to her young age of 16. The union was anything but happy, in great part because of Fox's heavy drinking. In February of 1928 Joan and Jack had a baby girl they named Adrienne. The new arrival did little to help the marriage, though, and in the summer of 1928 they divorced. Now with a baby to support, Joan did something she had no intention of doing--she turned to acting. She appeared in Power (1928) with Alan Hale and Carole Lombard, a small role but a start. The next year she starred in Bulldog Drummond (1929), sharing top billing with Ronald Colman. Before the year was out she was in three more films--Disraeli (1929), The Mississippi Gambler (1929) and Three Live Ghosts (1929). Not only did audiences like her, but so did the critics. Between 1930 and 1931, Joan appeared in nine more movies. In 1932 she starred opposite Spencer Tracy in She Wanted a Millionaire (1932), but it wasn't one she liked to remember, partly because Tracy couldn't stand the fact that everyone was paying more attention to her than to him. Joan was to remain busy and popular throughout the rest of the 1930s and into the 1940s. By the 1950s Joan was well into her 40s and began to lessen her film appearances. She made only eight pictures, in addition to appearing in two television series. After Desire in the Dust (1960), Joan would be absent from the movie scene for the next ten years, resurfacing in House of Dark Shadows (1970), reprising her role from the Dark Shadows (1966) TV series as Elizabeth Collins Stoddard. Joan's final screen appearance was in the Italian thriller Suspiria (1977). Her final public performance was in the TV movie Divorce Wars: A Love Story (1982). On December 7, 1990, Joan died of a heart attack in Scarsdale, New York. She was 80 years old.
BornFebruary 27, 1910
DiedDecember 7, 1990(80)
BornFebruary 27, 1910
DiedDecember 7, 1990(80)
IMDbProStarmeterSee rank
  • Nominated for 1 Primetime Emmy
    • 5 wins & 5 nominations total

Photos1039

Joan Bennett and Doris Canfield in Big Brown Eyes (1936)
Joan Bennett and Walter Pidgeon in Big Brown Eyes (1936)
Cary Grant and Joan Bennett in Big Brown Eyes (1936)
Joan Bennett in Big Brown Eyes (1936)
Cary Grant and Joan Bennett in Big Brown Eyes (1936)
Cary Grant, Joan Bennett, and Isabel Jewell in Big Brown Eyes (1936)
Joan Bennett and Isabel Jewell in Big Brown Eyes (1936)
Joan Bennett in Big Brown Eyes (1936)
Cary Grant and Joan Bennett in Big Brown Eyes (1936)
Joan Bennett in Big Brown Eyes (1936)
Joan Bennett and Joe Sawyer in Big Brown Eyes (1936)
Spencer Tracy and Joan Bennett in Father of the Bride (1950)

Known for:

Suspiria (1977)
Suspiria
7.3
  • Madame Blanc
  • 1977
Scarlet Street (1945)
Scarlet Street
7.7
  • Katharine 'Kitty' March
  • 1945
Edward G. Robinson and Joan Bennett in The Woman in the Window (1944)
The Woman in the Window
7.6
  • Alice Reed
  • 1944
Joan Bennett, George Sanders, and Walter Pidgeon in Man Hunt (1941)
Man Hunt
7.2
  • Jerry Stokes
  • 1941

Credits

Edit
IMDbPro

Actress

  • Divorce Wars: A Love Story (1982)
    Divorce Wars: A Love Story
    • Adele Burgess
    • TV Movie
    • 1982
  • Lisa Eilbacher in This House Possessed (1981)
    This House Possessed
    • Rag Lady
    • TV Movie
    • 1981
  • Paul Shenar and Cindy Williams in Suddenly, Love (1978)
    Suddenly, Love
    • Mrs. Graham
    • TV Movie
    • 1978
  • Suspiria (1977)
    Suspiria
    • Madame Blanc
    • 1977
  • Sam Groom in Police Surgeon (1971)
    Police Surgeon
    • Cortessa
    • TV Series
    • 1972
  • The Eyes of Charles Sand (1972)
    The Eyes of Charles Sand
    • Aunt Alexandria Sand
    • TV Movie
    • 1972
  • Don Ameche, Joan Bennett, Michael Burns, and Monie Ellis in Gidget Gets Married (1972)
    Gidget Gets Married
    • Claire Ramsey
    • TV Movie
    • 1972
  • Dark Shadows (1966)
    Dark Shadows
    • Flora Collins
    • Elizabeth Collins Stoddard
    • Flora Collins (PT) ...
    • TV Series
    • 1966–1971
  • Love, American Style (1969)
    Love, American Style
    • Edith (segment "Love and the Second Time")
    • TV Series
    • 1971
  • Dan Dailey and Julie Sommars in The Governor & J.J. (1969)
    The Governor & J.J.
    • Joan Darlene Delaney
    • TV Series
    • 1970
  • House of Dark Shadows (1970)
    House of Dark Shadows
    • Elizabeth Collins Stoddard
    • 1970
  • Gene Barry in Burke's Law (1963)
    Burke's Law
    • Denise Mitchell
    • TV Series
    • 1965
  • Tuesday Weld in Mr. Broadway (1964)
    Mr. Broadway
    • Mrs. Kelsey
    • TV Series
    • 1964
  • Joan Bennett, Raymond Burr, Brett Halsey, Martha Hyer, and Ken Scott in Desire in the Dust (1960)
    Desire in the Dust
    • Mrs. Marquand
    • 1960
  • Too Young to Go Steady
    • Mary Blake
    • TV Series
    • 1959

Soundtrack

  • The DuPont Show of the Month (1957)
    The DuPont Show of the Month
    • performer: "Let's Make It Christmas All Year 'Round"
    • TV Series
    • 1957
  • Humphrey Bogart, Joan Bennett, Peter Ustinov, and Aldo Ray in We're No Angels (1955)
    We're No Angels
    • performer: "Sentimental Moments"
    • 1955
  • Joan Bennett and Fredric March in Trade Winds (1938)
    Trade Winds
    • performer: "Prelude Opus 28 No. 7" (1834) (uncredited)
    • 1938
  • Jack Benny, Richard Arlen, Ben Blue, Judy Canova, George Kelly, James V. Kern, Ida Lupino, Billy Mann, Gail Patrick, Martha Raye, The Yacht Club Boys, and Charles Adler in Artist and Models (1937)
    Artists and Models Abroad
    • performer: "What Have You Got That Gets Me"
    • 1938
  • Katharine Hepburn, Joan Bennett, Frances Dee, and Jean Parker in Little Women (1933)
    Little Women
    • performer: "Abide with Me" (1861) (uncredited)
    • 1933
  • Joan Bennett, Bill Banker, Joe E. Brown, George Gibson, Howard Harpster, Kenneth Haycraft, Ray Montgomery, Tim Moynihan, Otto Pommerening, Russell Saunders, Wear Schoonover, Paul Scull, and Red Sleight in Maybe It's Love (1930)
    Maybe It's Love
    • performer: "Maybe It's Love" (1930), "All American" (1930) (uncredited)
    • 1930
  • Joan Bennett and Harry Richman in Puttin' on the Ritz (1930)
    Puttin' on the Ritz
    • performer: "Alice in Wonderland" (1930)
    • 1930

Videos12

Trailer
Trailer 2:39
Trailer
Trailer
Trailer 1:03
Trailer
Official Trailer
Trailer 1:08
Official Trailer
Official Trailer
Trailer 3:46
Official Trailer
We're No Angels
Trailer 2:19
We're No Angels
Father of the Bride
Trailer 2:11
Father of the Bride
Little Women
Trailer 3:01
Little Women
Dark Shadows: Episode 365
Trailer 1:49
Dark Shadows: Episode 365
Dark Shadows: Episode 212
Trailer 1:44
Dark Shadows: Episode 212
Dark Shadows: Episode 1024
Trailer 1:54
Dark Shadows: Episode 1024
Dark Shadows: Episode 725
Trailer 1:43
Dark Shadows: Episode 725
Dark Shadows: Episode 703
Trailer 2:00
Dark Shadows: Episode 703

Personal details

Edit
  • Height
    • 5′ 3½″ (1.61 m)
  • Born
    • February 27, 1910
    • Palisades, New Jersey, USA
  • Died
    • December 7, 1990
    • Scarsdale, New York, USA(heart attack)
  • Spouses
      David Morris WildeFebruary 14, 1978 - December 7, 1990 (her death)
  • Children
    • Melinda Markey
  • Parents
      Richard Bennett
  • Relatives
      Barbara Bennett(Sibling)
  • Other works
    "House and Garden" (USA), 1940, Vol. 78, Iss. 5, pg. 23-25, 62 (section 2), by Joan Bennett, "Joan Bennett's House."
  • Publicity listings
    • 3 Print Biographies
    • 13 Articles
    • 1 Pictorial
    • 27 Magazine Cover Photos

Did you know

Edit
  • Trivia
    She made five films for Fritz Lang, more than any other American actor or actress who worked with him (many actors disliked working with Lang).
  • Quotes
    I don't think much of most of the films I made, but being a movie star was something I liked very much.
  • Trademark
      Often played untrustworthy but sexy femme fatales
  • Nickname
    • Joanie
  • Salary
    • Dark Shadows
      (1966)
      $333 per episode

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