Sweet, fresh-faced and pretty former beauty queen, who went to entered films as a 20th Century Fox starlet in 1943, before she was 20. From her earliest films ("State Fair" 1945, "Centennial Summer" 1946), Crain exclusively played wholesome, girl-next-door ingenues or young just-married women in a series of light entertainments, until she was cast against type in the Elia Kazan racial drama "Pinky" (1949), about a young black woman passing for white. In the 1950s, Crain's attempt to reshape her screen personality to a more glamourous image and more sophisticated fare met with only moderate success. She did appear in several interesting films, including Joseph L. Mankiewicz's "People Will Talk" (1951) and Jean Negulesco's "Take Care of My Little Girl" (1953). Her stardom petered out toward the end of the decade and her work since 1960 has been very sporadic. Married since 1945, she is the mother of seven children.
Family
FATHER: George Crain. Teacher. Became head of English department at Inglewood High School in Los Angeles.
MOTHER: Loretta Crain.
SISTER: Rita Marie Crain. Born in January 1927; served as Jeanne's stand-in during the mid-1940s.
SON: Paul Frederick Brinkman. Born in April 1947.
SON: Michael Anthony Brinkman. Born in January 1949.
SON: Timothy Peter Brinkman. Born in August 1950.
DAUGHTER: Jeanine Cherie Brinkman. Born in March 1952.
DAUGHTER: Lisabett A Brinkman. Born in November 1957.
DAUGHTER: Maria J Brinkman. Born in January 1960.
SON: Christopher Brinkman. Born on May 25, 1965.
Companion
HUSBAND: Paul Brinkman. Executive, former actor. Married on December 31, 1945; was sued for divorced in August 1956; reconciled in December 1956; former Warner Bros. and RKO contract player as Paul Brooks; executive with missile parts manufacturing company and later at helicopter concern.
Milestone
1926: Family moved to Los Angeles (date approximate)
1941: While in high school, tested by Orson Welles for Lucy (the Anne Baxter role) in "The Magnificent Ambersons"
1941: Named Miss Long Beach (the Miss California contest) and became runner-up in Miss America finals
1941: Won Interscholastic Shakespearean Contest held at Occidental College
1942: Named 'Camera Girl of 1942'
Beauty contests led to modeling on covers of CORONET, LADIES HOME JOURNAL and TRUE ROMANCE
Signed by 20th Century Fox for their starlet school
1943: Screen debut (posing in a bathing suit) in "The Gang's All Here"
1944: Screen acting debut, "Home in Indiana"
Education
University of California at Los Angeles - Los Angeles, California
Inglewood High School - on class tour of RKO Studios was spotted by Orson Welles, who was preparing "The Magnificent Ambersons" and who arranged her screen test for the film
St Mary's Academy - played lead in school play
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