Classic Hollywood actresses were products carefully branded by their respective studios. Their contracts were strict and controlling. Image was everything.
Stars such as Judy Garland, Bette Davis, and Joan Crawford were all under their respective studio's thumb. All found themselves in the family way at one point in their career. The studios made the problem go away to protect their stars' virginal images. Abortions were not talked about openly but were a common practice.
Fame is not easy to cope with. "These newly wealthy men and women didn’t know how to control their money, their bodies, or their lives, spending, cavorting, and reveling in excess,” Anne Helen Petersen explained in Scandals of Classic Hollywood. Studios began to write morality clauses in their stars' contracts because of this, forbidding pregnancy and even marriage in some cases.
Joan Crawford did not have the easiest start in life. She was determined to make something of herself. Kenneth Anger describes her as a “gutsy jazz baby” who was able to navigate Hollywood's ups and downs. “Joan knew where she came from and did not want to go back there," he explained.
Joan was married to fellow actor Douglas Fairbanks Jr. from 1929 to 1933. During a bumpy patch in their short relationship, she had an affair with Clark Gable. When she got pregnant, Howard Strickling, MGM's head of publicity, arranged for an abortion. Joan lied to Douglas about the situation, telling him she lost the baby because she fell on the set of Rain.
Bette Davis and Joan did not agree on most things but both women willingly got abortions. Bette supported her whole family including her mother, sister, and husband. She worried if she had a child, she wouldn't work again. Bette got an abortion before tackling role of Mildred in Of Human Bondage. She would go on to win her first Oscar for it.
Bette did not seem to regret her decision. She told biographer Charlotte Chandler if she hadn't got an abortion she would “missed the biggest role in her life thus far.” She also might not have gotten to play “Jezebel, Judith, Elizabeth, Charlotte, and Margo Channing.” She added: “But I didn’t miss any of these roles, and I didn’t miss having a family." Later in life, she would have three children.
An actress who was given less agency in her own life was Judy Garland. She was controlled not only by the studio system but also her parents. She got her start in the family vaudeville act.
Judy married bandleader David Rose in 1941 without MGM's approval. The studio made her return to work 24 hours later. In The Golden Girls of MGM author Jane Ellen Wayne explained that this didn't give Judy the studio's okay to have a child. “Married or not, the MGM girls maintained their virginal image,” she wrote. When Judy got pregnant, her mother and the studio partnered up to get her to have an abortion. She had another two years later after having an affair with Tyrone Power.
Judy was not the only woman Tyrone got pregnant. Lana Turner also found herself in a similar situation. Howard became known as "the fixer."
