if you were an aspiring hollywood star
75 to 100 years ago the only way you'd
be able to rise to fame was if you
tailored your image to fit the demands
of the studio brass for lgbt actors and
actresses that often meant dating or
marrying someone of the opposite sex to
keep the public from finding out about
your orientation it was a difficult time
to be true to yourself in today's video
we'll be specifically taking a look at
the actresses of old hollywood who
secretly slept with other women while
being a lesbian or bisexual these days
hardly raises an eyebrow back during
this era it was quite the risky move
because of this we think the women we're
about to discuss were remarkably brave
dorothy arsner arzner was the only
female director in tinseltown in her day
she directed almost two dozen films over
the course of 24 years and was the first
woman granted membership to the
director's guild association arsenal was
close friends with francis ford coppola
and is often credited with teaching him
the filmmaking ropes she spent the last
40 years of her life living with her
partner choreographer and screenwriter
marion morgan it's alleged she also had
relationships with women like joan
crawford ala nazimova billy burke and
ona munson
hattie mcdaniel and tallulah bankhead
patty mcdaniel is best known for being
the first african american to win an
oscar for her role in 1939's gone with
the wind tallulah bankhead was primarily
a stage actress though she did appear in
several films including alfred
hitchcock's lifeboat in 1944. in her
private life bankhead struggled with
substance abuse and reportedly smoked as
many as 120 cigarettes a day she was a
remarkably straightforward woman who
wasn't afraid to openly discuss her
vices another thing she was very candid
about was her numerous relationships
with both men and women bank had refused
to label herself as bisexual instead she
preferred to use the term ambisextrous
to describe her sexuality some of the
women she's been romantically linked to
include greta garbo blyah daily beatrice
lily marlene dietrich and hattie
mcdaniel in kenneth anger's 1965
hollywood expose hollywood babylon he
asserted bankhead and mcdaniel were a
hot item but the rumors of their alleged
relationship had persisted for years
before that while it's not known for
certain that the two ever share to bed
it certainly seems likely they did at
some point not only was there a supposed
relationship notable for being an early
example of a non-heterosexual romance in
hollywood but it was also boundary
pushing due to the interracial dynamic
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barbara stanwyck throughout her six
decades spanning career as a stage film
and tv actress stanwick was known for
her versatility and strong authentic
screen presence she was a favorite of
some of old hollywood's most prestigious
directors including frank capra cecil b
demille and fritz lang she got her start
as a zigfield girl in the early 1920s
after performing on broadway for several
years she transitioned to film when she
was cast in frank capra's 1930 talky
ladies of leisure after that she went on
to star in 85 films and many television
shows although she married twice first
to frank fay and later to robert taylor
stanwick was evidently a closeted
lesbian who buried her secret deep
beneath her public image while we can't
confirm this with certainty there is a
lot of evidence that seems to imply it
it's also very likely her publicist
helen ferguson was the love of her life
even if she wasn't a lesbian stanwick's
on and off-screen persona has led her to
become a gay icon of sorts
joan crawford known for her roles in
films like mildred pierce whatever
happened to mary jane and autumn leaves
crawford is also infamous for her
acrimonious relationships with her two
oldest children christina and
christopher after jones death in 1977
christina wrote a tell-all memoir called
mommy dearest detailing her mother's
alleged abuse in 1981 it was adapted
into a film by the same name which
starred faye dunaway for some reason
crawford's bisexuality is hardly ever
mentioned even though she had a
reputation for being somewhat of a
man-eater it's long been known she was
bisexual it's been reported she had
romances with women like marilyn monroe
martha ray barbara stanwick and marion
morgan
greta garbo while garbo dated dozens of
men throughout her life unlike other
women featured in this video she never
married any of them when she was 19
while working on a largely forgotten
german film shortly before finding her
way to the states she was seduced by
marlene dietrich after their
relationship soured garbo was so hurt by
marlene she denied ever knowing her for
the rest of her life after moving to
hollywood she had a romantic
relationship with writer and actress
salka vertell who introduced her to
mercedes d'acosta other ladies garbo
supposedly hooked up with include louise
brooks lillian tashman and billie
holliday
katherine hepburn when she was still a
kid hepburn reportedly shaved her head
and started going by the name jimmy as
she grew into a world famous hollywood
superstar she retained her affinity for
boyish attire more often than not
hepburn was seen wearing pants at a time
when such a wardrobe choice was
considered shocking and taboo
interestingly her only husband ogden
ludlow smith was also bisexual and
there's evidence to suggest her
notorious affair with howard hughes was
likely a publicity stunt some of her
alleged lovers include irene mayer
selznick laura harding jane loring billy
burke judy hollywood and alyssa landy
ala nazimova this actress director and
producer was openly bisexual and
regularly slept with women while being
married to sergey golvin on sunset
boulevard she founded the garden of
allah hotel which became a popular
retreat for queer stars of the time she
also coined the expression the sewing
circle as a code word for bisexual by
curious and lesbian actresses some of
her lovers included gene acker natasha
rambova dolly wilde grace darmond and
gluska marshall she lived with the
latter from 1929 until her death in
1945.
marlene dietrich with a career that
spanned eight decades from the 1910s to
the 1980s dietrich was one of the most
prolific hollywood actresses of her time
throughout her career she carefully
crafted her professional image while
keeping her private life out of the
public eye as much as possible she was
bisexual and frequented gay bars and
drag balls in berlin in the 1920s she
was a gender bender before the term was
even invented she didn't care about
abiding by cultural norms and dated
whomever she pleased her masculinity
appealed to women while her intense
sexuality was irresistible to men after
moving to the u.s and becoming a massive
film star she had affairs with countless
men and women some of her alleged lovers
were greta garbo mercedes de acosta
tallulah bankhead edith piaf and
claudette colbert
mercedes de acosta although she never
managed to achieve a lot of recognition
for her work as a poet and novelist de
acosta is famed for her numerous lesbian
affairs with hollywood and broadway
stars including marlene dietrich isadora
duncan aala nazimova and most notably
greta garbo she and garbo struck up a
romance in 1931 although their
relationship was on again off again and
often volatile mercedes was one of the
few and far between lgbt people of her
day who made no attempt to live in the
closet she slept with just about every
bisexual and lesbian hollywood celebrity
you can think of and evidently as a
child she grew up thinking she was a
little boy in 1920 she married a
heterosexual man but insisted the
wedding remain private reportedly when
her husband carried her over the
threshold that evening she was seen
frowning that marriage was doomed from
the start but they still managed to keep
things going until 1935 when they
divorced in 1960 she wrote a memoir
called here lies the heart the book has
since become an important document of
lgbt history since in it she hinted at
the lesbian nature of some of her
relationships now it's time to hear from
you which one of these women was most
surprising to hear about let us know in
the comments section below and before
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