Whatever happened to Christina Crawford of "Mommie Dearest" fame?

I recently watched a 2001 interview on YouTube with Christina Crawford on CNN's Larry King Live.  After watching the interview, I began to wonder about what had happened to the former actress and author.  Christina, now 86, is best known for her 1978 memoir Mommie Dearest, in which she describes the alleged abuse she suffered at the hands of her adopted mother, Hollywood film star Joan Crawford.  Christina was one of four children adopted by the movie icon.  

Christina was born in Los Angeles on June 11, 1939.  Her biological mother was Bernice Iva Siglar  (born November 3, 1919).  Christina told Larry King that her father was married to someone else and that he was serving in the U.S. Navy when she was born.  

Christina was the eldest of Joan's adopted children.  She was adopted months after her birth, when Joan Crawford's marriage to her second husband, (actor Franchot Tone) ended in divorce.  After the breakup, Joan decided to adopt a child.  In the 1930s, however, it was illegal in California for a single woman to adopt a child.  So, Christina's adoption was formalized in the Las Vegas, as Nevada had no such law.  According to the Internet Movie Database (IMDb), it was later revealed that "Christina was adopted by Joan Crawford through a black market baby ring."

Joan also adopted a son,, Christopher, in 1943, and identical twin daughters, Catherine and Cynthia in 1947.  In her interview with Larry King, Christina said she was only close to Christopher.

Joan Crawford and her four children

Christopher was born on October 15, 1942 and adopted by Joan and her third husband, Phillip Terry, when he was just a few months old.  His original name was Phillip Terry Jr., but it was changed to Christopher when his parents divorced in 1946.

Joan sent Christina to the prestigious Chadwick School, a boarding school in Rancho Palos Verdes, California.  Christina alleges that during her time at Chadwick, Joan only provided her with two dresses, one pair of shoes and a coat for the entire semester.  She claims that she had to wear the coat to class.  An incident occurred in which Christina was found alone with a boyfriend without permission.  When Joan heard about the incident, she transferred Christina to Flintridge Sacred Heart Academy, an all-girls Catholic day and boarding school, 

After graduating from Flintridge, Christina moved from California to Pittsburgh to attend the Carnegie Mellon School of Drama.  She dropped out after one semester and moved to New York City.  In New York, she studied at the Neighborhood Playhouse School of the Theatre, a professional conservatory for actors.  She later graduated magna cum laude from the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA),  After receiving a B.A. from UCLA, she completed her M.A. at the at the Annenberg School of Communications at University of Southern California (USC).  She then worked in the marketing department of Getty Petroleum.

Christina had an acting career before writing Mommie Dearest.  She appeared in summer stock theatre, most notably a production of Splendor in the Grass.  She also appeared in a number of Off-Broadway productions.  In 1960, she was cast in a supporting role in the crime drama film Force of Impulse, released in 1961.  In 1965, Christina appeared in Neil Simon's Barefoot in the Park, alongside Myrna Loy, a friend of Joan's.  However, she was fired when the cast complained about her unprofessional behaviour.

Publicity photo of Christina circa 1961

From 1968 to 1969, Christina played unhappy housewife Joan Borman Kane on the CBS soap opera The Secret Storm.  In October of 1968, Christina took ill and required emergency surgery to remove an ovarian tumour.  Rather than risk another young actress taking over the role, even temporarily, Joan volunteered to play the part while her daughter recovered from surgery.  At the time, Joan was in her 60s, while Christina was in her 20s.  It did not go well.  As if the age difference weren't enough, according to Bob Thomas' Joan Crawford: A Biography, CBS ignored Joan's request for no publicity.  The press was invited to her first day of rehearsal, causing Joan great anxiety.

When The New York Times asked Christina for a comment on the recast of her mother in her role, she declared,  "I couldn't exactly jump up and down in bed about it, but it was fantastic she would care that much."

In the early 1970s, Christina appeared on episodes of Medical Center, (1970), Marcus Welby M.D. (1971)., Matt Lincoln (1970), Ironside (1971) and The Sixth Sense (1972).  The Sixth Sense is Christina's las acting credit on the Internet Movie Database (IMDb).  In the Marcus Welby episode, entitled "Elegy for a Mad Dog" (Season 2, Episode 21, Air Date: March 9, 1971), Christina played a nun named Sister Mary Eileen Kirkpatrick.  In the Ironside episode, entitled "Lesson in Terror" (Season 4, Episode 24, Air Date: March 18, 1971), Christina played a character called Edie Stockton.  David Soul of Starsky and Hutch also appeared in the episode.

In November of 1978, Christina's book Mommie Dearest was released, in which she detailed allegations of cruelty and abuse against her mother. It described Joan Crawford as an extremely strict disciplinarian and an alcoholic.  Mommie Dearest caused a sensation and became a runaway bestseller.  Joan herself never read Christina's book.  The book was published in 1978 and Joan died on May 10, 1977 in New York City.  Christina and her brother Christopher, were left out of Joan's will.  It was stated that they were disinherited for reasons that were well known to them.  Nevertheless, Christina and Christopher contested the will and the court awarded them $55,000 from the estate.

Mommie Dearest sold more than a million copies, but was severely criticized by contemporaries of Joan Crawford, including Bette Davis, Joan's rival, with whom she famously feuded.  Davis, who was not Joan's biggest fan, dismissed the book as "trash,"  She declared that it was a terrible thing to do to "someone who saved you from the orphanage, foster homes."  Joan's first husband, movie star Douglas Fairbanks Jr. was also highly critical of the book.  He stated that "Joan beating her children "would not only have been out of character, but she only used covered padded hangers."

Although Christopher was supportive of Christina, her sisters were not.  In May of 1981, Cathy Crawford Lalonde, appeared on Good Morning America and denounced the allegations made by Christina.  She said, "My mother was a very warm person.  She was always there when we needed her.  She was a working mother, but she always had time for us, and as for Mommie Dearest, it's a great work of fiction.  Christina must have been in another household."  In 1979, Christina's other sister, Cindy Crawford Jordan, told reporters, "I can't understand how people believe this stupid stuff Tina has written."

Betty Barker, Joan Crawford's secretary for almost 50 years, acknowledged that Joan was indeed strict, but denied that Cristina and Christopher were ever abused.

The support for Joan did not surprise Christina or sway her.  "No, I understood Hollywood," she said.  "I knew where they were coming from - they were guilty of seeing and not saying.  It was blaming the messenger for the bad news.  Most of them are dead now; I have outlived all of them!  And I never replied to any of them, or responded.  I simply stuck to the message that I knew to be the truth."

Christina and her supporters considered Mommie Dearest to be perhaps the first memoir to document child abuse from the point of view of the child.  In a 2019 interview with The Guardian, Christina pointed out how difficult it was for her to get help.  "We didn't have laws for it.  We didn't have a social context for it, and we had shame"  She had no recourse to the authorities.  In the United States, child protection laws were not introduced until the 1960s.  The Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act was not implemented until 1974.

A 1981, film version of Mommie Dearest was made, starring Faye Dunaway as Joan Crawford.  One chapter of the book, became the most well-known scene in the movie.  Christina recounted how Joan flew into a rage after discovering a forbidden wire hanger in her daughter's closet, ripping the clothes off their hanger, throwing them on the floor and seizing Christina by the hair.

 Christina was not involved in the making of the film, which she has denounced as "grotesque" and highly inaccurate.  She stated that her mother never chopped down a tree with an axe or beat her with a wire hanger, as depicted in the film.  Although the campy film was panned by critics and initially bombed, it eventually became a commercial success and a cult classic.  

In 1981, Christina suffered a debilitating stroke, after which she spent five years in rehabilitation before relocating to the Pacific Northwest.  She then moved to rural Idaho.  Between 1994 and 1997, Christina operated a bed and breakfast in Tensed, Idaho called Seven Springs Farms.  In 2000, Christina began working as entertainment manager at the Coeur d'Alene Casino until 2007.  In 2011, Christina established the Benewah Human Rights Coalition.  She served as the non-profit organization's first president.  According to the most available information, Christina still lives in Idaho.  Hayden, Idaho continues to be listed as her publicly listed residence.  

Christina has been married three times.  Her first husband was Harvey Medinsky, a director and Broadway stage manager.  They met while Christina was appearing in the Chicago national company production of Barefoot in the Park.  The couple wed in 1966 and divorced in 1968.  

Christina was married to her second husband, producer David Koontz, from 1976 to  1986.  In 1991, she wed Michael Brazzel.  The marriage ended in 1995 (according to Wikipedia) or 1999, (according to IMDb).  When Larry King asked Christina if she attributed the failures of her marriages to her upbringing, she agreed.  Christina also mentioned to Larry that she had attempted suicide.

END NOTES

* It's interesting to note that Christina Crawford's biological mother, Bernice Iva Siglar, died on April 24, 1977, less than three weeks before the passing of Joan Crawford.       

* Joan Crawford told Christina that her biological mother died in childbirth, although she was still alive.  It was only when Christina began researching her own family history in the early 1990s that she discovered the truth.  However, by that time both of her parents had passed away.  Her mother, Bernice Iva Siglar, was a student who had an affair with a married engineer.

* Christopher Crawford died of cancer on September 22, 2006.  He passed away in Greenport, New York at the age of 63.  He was survived by his wife Gail and four children.  Christopher had a difficult life.  He tried to pursue a career as an actor, but was unable to find much success.  According to IMDb, he only appeared in two Australian films: Skyways (1979) and Holiday Island (1981).  Christopher married twice and had four children,: three from his first marriage and one from his second marriage to Gail.  He struggled with health problems and financial difficulties.

Christopher Crawford

* Christina is a Democrat and supported Bill Clinton's presidential campaign in 1992.

* Christina is the author of several books in addition to Mommie Dearest.

No Safe Place, first published January 1, 1994, deals with family violence.  It draws further on Christina's story, but adds sociological research and case histories.

The hardcover of Daughters of the Inquisition was published on January 1, 2003.  It focuses on the events that have led to modern womanhood in the western world.  It recounts chronological records of the culture, industry government and male/female relationships through the ages, including costumes, hairstyles, laws and customs.

SOURCES: The Guardian, Christina Crawford on life after Mommie Dearest: 'My mother should have been in jail,'" by Emma Brockes, June 25, 2019; All That's Interesting (allthatsinteresting.com), "'No More Wire Hangers' : Inside The Tumultuous Relationship Between Joan and Christina Crawford," by Gina Dimuro, January 6, 2025; Doms2cents (doms2cents.com), Christopher Crawford Cause of Death: The Tragic Story of Joan Crawford's Son,," Dom's Desk, October 19, 2023; Wikipedia; Internet Movie Database (IMDb)

- Joanne