Barbara Stanwyck was born Ruby Catherine Stevens in New York City to Catherine Ann McPhee, a Canadian immigrant from Nova Scotia, and Byron E. Stevens, an American. When she was two, her mother, who was pregnant at the time, died after being pushed off a moving trolley by a drunk. By age four, her father had abandoned the family. She was raised in foster homes and by an elder sister, but began working Read more...

In 1926, a friend introduced Stanwyck (then known under her original name) to Willard Mack, who was casting his play The Noose. Asked to audition, she was hired on the spot. Willard thought a great deal of the actress and believed that to change her image, she needed a first class name, one that would stand out. He happened to notice a playbill for a play then running called Barbara Frietchie in Read more...

Her first husband was actor Frank Fay. They were married on August 26, 1928. On December 5, 1932 they adopted a son, Dion Anthony "Tony" Fay, who was one month old. (He and Stanwyck eventually became estranged.) The marriage was a troubled one; Fay's successful career on Broadway did not translate to the big screen, whereas Stanwyck achieved Hollywood stardom, after a short bumpy start. Also, Fay Read more...