- Born
- Died
- Birth nameBarbara Jo Lawrence
- Height5′ 8″ (1.73 m)
- Her career may have only lasted a dozen years, and the number of films slightly more than twenty, but Barbara appeared in some interesting productions. As a young girl, she was a model. While completing her studies at UCLA, she co-starred in half a dozen movies for 20th Century Fox. Lawrence appeared in the critically acclaimed A Letter to Three Wives (1949).
In 1952, she was cast in Here Come the Nelsons (1952), which was the film version of their popular radio programme. Rock Hudson was also in the cast. The following year, Lawrence was cast with Gig Young in Arena (1953), which was a 3-D feature film from MGM. As originally shown, special 3-D glasses were required to view the picture to bring all the action of the Rodeo to your seat. In 1954, she was cast in Her Twelve Men (1954), which was the last film that Greer Garson made at MGM. In 1955, she was cast as Gertie Cummings in Oklahoma! (1955), which was filmed in TODD-AO wide-screen. After making a few movies in 1957, she retired.- IMDb mini biography by: Tony Fontana <tony.fontana@spacebbs.com>
- SpousesLester Richard Nelson(October 17, 1961 - November 1976) (divorced, 2 children)John Clifford Murphy(July 29, 1951 - October 27, 1959) (divorced, 2 children)Jeffrey Stone(July 8, 1947 - September 28, 1949) (divorced)
- In March 1948 she was involved in an incident of what would nowadays be called stalking. While sitting in a movie theater, she was stabbed by an unknown assailant, apparently a crazed fan. The wound was so deep that she was treated at the Santa Monica Emergency Hospital. The assailant was never found.
- A perpetual starlet, she had a cameo playing herself in The Star (1952). At the end of the film, Bette Davis goes to a Hollywood party and a commotion breaks out among the guests and press when Lawrence arrives. She's supposed to represent the new Hollywood, Davis the old.
- Signed a contract with 20th Century-Fox and attended the studio's school, where her classmates included Roddy McDowall and Peggy Ann Garner.
- She eloped at age 17 in 1947 with a young contract actor named John Fontaine, aka Jeffrey Stone. They both appeared in the Fox musical You Were Meant for Me (1948). The marriage was a secret until her mother gave the couple a church wedding in Beverly Hills. The marriage, however, ended a year later.
- Had four children.
Contribute to this page
Suggest an edit or add missing content