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Frances Elena Farmer(September 19, 1913 – August 1, 1970) was an American actress. She appeared in over a dozen feature films over the course of her career, though she garnered notoriety for sensationalized accounts of her life, especially her involuntary commitmentto psychiatric hospitalsand subsequent mental health struggles.
- How Frances Farmer Got Her Start
- Her Tumultuous Off-Screen Life
- Claims of Lobotomy and Abuse in The Hospital
- Frances Farmer Wrestles Back Control of Her Life
Born on September 19, 1913, in Seattle, Washington, Frances Farmer remembered having an unsteady childhood. After her parents divorced when she was four, Farmer moved to California with her mother only to be returned to her father in Seattle when her mother decided she couldn’t both work and care for her children efficiently. Farmer later said that...
In June, Frances Farmer and her first husband — a Paramount actor she met shortly after signing her contract — divorced. Next, after refusing to take a role in Take A Letter, Darling, Paramount suspended her contract. On October 19 of that year, Farmer was arrested for driving drunk with the car’s headlights on during a wartime blackout. Police fin...
In May 1945, Frances Farmer returned to the hospital, and though she was paroled briefly in 1946, she would ultimately remain institutionalized at Western State Hospital for almost five more years. It was during this stretch that rumors of a lobotomy were spawned. Popularized by claims in author William Arnold’s 1978 book on Farmer, Shadowland, the...
Believing that her mother might institutionalize her again, Farmer moved to have her guardianship removed. In 1953, a judge agreed that she could indeed take care of herself, and legally restored her competency. After her parents’ deaths, Farmer moved to Eureka, California, where she became a bookkeeper. She connected with television executive Lela...
Frances Farmer was once a rising star of the silver screen, known for her striking beauty and intense performances. But behind the glamour, she battled inner demons that led to one of Hollywood’s most tragic downfalls. Her story is not only one of stardom but also a stark reflection of how mental illness was misunderstood and mistreated in ...
Frances Farmer. Actress: Flowing Gold. Born in Seattle, Frances Farmer studied drama at the University of Washington, Seattle. In 1935, she went to Hollywood where she secured a seven-year contract with Paramount. In 1943, she was wrongfully declared mentally incompetent and committed by her parents to a series of asylums and public mental hospitals, leading to a false rumor that she received ...
- September 19, 1913
- August 1, 1970
Nov 16, 2023 · Frances Farmer: Legacy and Reflection Frances Farmer’s tumultuous saga serves as a poignant reminder of the perils of celebrity and the fragility of the human psyche. Her tragic demise at the age of 56, marked by a battle with esophageal cancer, underscores the ephemeral nature of fame and the profound toll of inner turmoil.
Mar 10, 2021 · By CONNIE ZEIGLER Contributing editor Indianapolis movie and theater actress, television host, interior decorator and shopkeeper, Frances Farmer, is known today – if she is remembered at all – for her troubled life, as chronicled in the 1981 biographical film, Frances. That film stars a young, beautiful Jessica Lange as the young, beautiful and troubled
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Farmer, Frances (1913–1970)American actress whose tragic life became the subject of the movie Frances . Born September 19, 1913, in Seattle, Washington; died of cancer on August 1, 1970, in Indianapolis, Indiana; daughter of Lillian (Van Ornum) Farmer and Ernest Farmer; sister of Edith Farmer Elliot ; married Leif Erickson (an actor), in 1936 (divorced 1942); married Alfred Lobley, in 1954 ...
