Miguel Ferrer
American actor (1955-2017)
Lana Turner was a legendary American actress who rose to fame in the mid-1940s as both a glamorous pin-up model and a talented film star. Despite intense media scrutiny, she had a successful career spanning nearly five decades, earning critical acclaim and commercial success for her roles in films like The Postman Always Rings Twice and Peyton Place.
Table of Contents
About the Lana Turner
Julia Jean “Lana” Turnerwas an American actress. Over a career spanning nearly five decades, she achieved fame as both a pin-up model and a film actress, as well as for her highly publicized personal life. In the mid-1940s, she was one of the highest-paid American actresses and one of MGM’s biggest stars, with her films earning approximately one billion dollars in 2024 currency for the studio during her 18-year contract with them. Turner is frequently cited as a popular culture icon due to her glamourous persona and a screen legend of the Golden Age of Hollywood. She was nominated for numerous awards.
Born to working-class parents in Idaho, Turner spent her childhood there before her family relocated to California. In 1936, at the age of 15, she was discovered by a talent scout while shopping at the Top Hat malt shop in Hollywood. At the age of 16, she was signed to a personal contract by Warner Bros. director Mervyn LeRoy, who took her with him when he transferred to MGM in 1938. She soon attracted attention by playing a murder victim in her screen debut, LeRoy’s film They Won’t Forgetand Peyton Placeearned her a David di Donatello Award for Best Foreign Actress. She spent most of the 1970s in semi-retirement, making her final film appearance in 1980. She accepted a much-publicized and lucrative recurring guest role in the television series Falcon Crest in 1982, with the series subsequently garnering notably high ratings. She was diagnosed with throat cancer in 1992, and died three years later at the age of 74.
Frequently Asked Questions
Lana Turner was an American actress who achieved fame as both a pin-up model and a film actress during the Golden Age of Hollywood. She had a successful career spanning nearly five decades and was one of the highest-paid American actresses in the mid-1940s.
Lana Turner was born Julia Jean ,Lana, Turner on February 8, 1921, in Idaho to working-class parents. She spent her childhood in Idaho before her family relocated to California.
At the age of 15, Lana Turner was discovered by a talent scout while shopping at the Top Hat malt shop in Hollywood. She was signed to a personal contract by Warner Bros. director Mervyn LeRoy, who later took her with him when he transferred to MGM in 1938.
Lana Turner starred in several critically acclaimed films during her career, including the film noir Johnny Eager (1941), the musical Ziegfeld Girl (1941), the horror Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (1941), the romantic war drama Somewhere I’ll Find You (1942), the film noir The Postman Always Rings Twice (1946), and the drama Peyton Place (1957), for which she received an Academy Award nomination for Best Actress.
In 1958, intense media scrutiny surrounded Lana Turner when her lover Johnny Stompanato was stabbed to death by her teenage daughter, Cheryl Crane, during a domestic struggle in their home.
Despite the highly publicized incident with her daughter, Lana Turner’s career continued to thrive. Her next film, Imitation of Life (1959), proved to be one of the greatest commercial successes of her career, and her starring role in Madame X (1966) earned her a David di Donatello Award for Best Foreign Actress.
Lana Turner spent most of the 1970s in semi-retirement, making her final film appearance in 1980. However, she did accept a much-publicized and lucrative recurring guest role in the television series Falcon Crest in 1982.
9 Quotes by Lana Turner
- 1.
The truth is, sex doesn’t mean that much to me now.
Lana TurnerAmerican actress (1921-1995)
- 2.
My life has been a series of emergencies.
Lana TurnerAmerican actress (1921-1995)
- 3.
I’m so gullible. I’m so damn gullible. And I am so sick of me being gullible.
Lana TurnerAmerican actress (1921-1995)
- 4.
I’ve always loved a challenge.
Lana TurnerAmerican actress (1921-1995)
- 5.
A gentleman is simply a patient wolf.
Lana TurnerAmerican actress (1921-1995)
- 6.
I would rather lose a good earring than be caught without make-up.
Lana TurnerAmerican actress (1921-1995)
- 7.
It’s said in Hollywood that you should always forgive your enemies – because you never know when you’ll have to work with them.
Lana TurnerAmerican actress (1921-1995)
- 8.
A successful man is one who makes more money than his wife can spend. A successful woman is one who can find such a man.
Lana TurnerAmerican actress (1921-1995)
- 9.
Humor has been the balm of my life, but it’s been reserved for those close to me, not part of the public Lana.
Lana TurnerAmerican actress (1921-1995)