American Actress popular both on stage and screen who became better known for her off-screen humor and scandalous personal life.
She was raised in convent schools, which did nothing to dissuade her from entering and winning a bathing beauty contest at age 14. She moved Broadway at age 16.
She has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
Bankhead married actor John Emery in 1937 but divorced four years later. Openly bisexual, she was linked to many female actresses including Greta Garbo and Marlene Dietrich.
She had her most memorable onscreen performance in the 1944 Alfred Hitchcock thriller, Lifeboat.
