The Troubles of Hollywood's Starlets

08 January 2009

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It's fair to say that Lindsay Lohan's career hasn't exactly run smoothly of late with her last movie I Know Who Killed Me winning eight Golden Raspberry Awards, including Worst Actress.

It seems that audiences are now more interested in her tabloid exploits which have seen a series of minor car crashes, alcohol issues and a tiny stint in jail.

But Lohan is not the only Hollywood Starlet to struggle with the pressures of fame there have been a whole host of actresses who have buckled under the weight of the spotlight and FemaleFirst takes a closer look at some of them.

Clara Bow shot to fame and became a sex symbol in the 1920's and the silent era of movies, reaching the height of her fame in 1927 when she became known as 'The It Girl' after the release of the film 'It'.

However it was her off screen antics that were causing a bit of a stir in Hollywood and it was rumoured that she had a string of affairs with Bela Lugosi, Gary Cooper, Gilbert Roland, John Wayne, director Victor Fleming, and John Gilbert, Bela Lugosi's wife cited Bow as the other party in her divorce.

She found herself regularly in court accused of 'stealing' other women's husbands and not paying her taxes and she was beginning to be considered socially undesirable. She disappeared from the big screen in 1933 and struggled with weight and mental issues for the rest of her life.

Jean Harlow was the golden girl of the 1930's known as the 'Platinum Blonde' and the 'Blonde Bombshell' and was one of the most successful actresses of her era.

But her private life was not as rosy. Her second husband producer Paul Bern was found dead at their home creating a scandal that still exists today. Despite being ruled as suicide Harlow has always been implicated in his death.

She became a more popular actress but her private life was still out of control as she embarked on an affair with boxer Max Baer. When Baer's wife threatened divorce proceedings MGM tried to diffuse the situation by arranging a marriage between the actress and Harold Rosson.

But she passed away at the age of twenty six due to renal failure.

She may have been one of the big screen's most popular child stars with the likes of The Wizard of Oz but Judy Garland's personal life was blighted by problems, not helped by film executives.

Constantly told that she was overweight and ugly by studio executives Garland spent most of her career on drugs that controlled her weight and she spent decades struggling with and fighting against addiction.

A number of suicide attempts and five marriages later Judy Garland died of an accidental overdose at the age of forty seven leaving behind two children.

Drew Barrymore shot to fame as Gertie in E.T and she became one of the most famous and promising child stars of the early eighties.

But this early fame lead to trouble as she later revealed that she was smoking cigarettes at age nine, drinking alcohol by the time she was eleven, smoking marijuana at twelve, and snorting cocaine at thirteen.

After a suicide attempt she was put in rehab at the tender age of fourteen and a three month stay with David Crosby, she has never relapsed. Barrymore has seen her career get back on track with the success of the Charlie's Angels movies and more recently Music and Lyrics.

However this curse doesn't seem to effect all of Hollywood's actresses as the like of Cate Blanchett, Hilary Swank and Keira Knightley let their acting do the talking.

FemaleFirst Helen Earnshaw

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