Barbara Stanwyck

This is a fascinating biography of one the finest actresses of Hollywood's Silver Age. Barbara Stanwyck (1907-1990) rose from the ranks of chorus girl to become one of Hollywood's most talented leading women - and America's highest paid woman in the mid-1940s. Shuttled among foster homes as a child, she took a number of low-wage jobs while she made the connections that landed her successful Broadway roles. Stanwyck then acted in a stream of high-quality films from the 1930s through the 1950s with directors such as Cecil B. DeMille, Fritz Lang, and Frank Capra. After making more than 80 films in Hollywood, she revived her career by turning to television and garnered immense popularity for her role in the 1960s series "The Big Valley". This biography positions Stanwyck where she belongs - at the very top of her profession and offers a fascinating account of her life and career through all its highs and lows.