History Creator / LanaTurner

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Her "discovery" in 1936 is the stuff of Hollywood legend: William R. Wilkerson, the publisher of ''The Hollywood Reporter'', noticed Turner as she sipped a Coke at the counter of a Sunset Boulevard malt shop, where she'd gone after skipping a typing class at Hollywood High School. A few months later, at the age of 16, she was signed to a personal contract by Creator/WarnerBros director Creator/MervynLeRoy, who took her with him when he moved to Creator/MetroGoldwynMayer in 1938. Turner attracted attention in her first film, [=LeRoy's=] ''They Won't Forget'' (1937), and she later starred in featured roles, often as an ingenue. In 1939, her auburn hair was bleached blonde for a film at MGM, and she remained blonde for the rest of her life, except for a few film roles. She was also well-known in her heyday as ''the'' SexySweaterGirl of the screen.

During the early 1940s, she established herself as a leading actress in several films, and her reputation as a glamorous FemmeFatale was enhanced by her performance in the FilmNoir ''Film/{{The Postman Always Rings Twice|1946}}'' (1946). Her popularity continued through the 1950s, in such films as ''Film/TheBadAndTheBeautiful'' (1952) and ''Peyton Place'' (1957), the latter of which she was nominated for an UsefulNotes/AcademyAward for Best Actress. Media controversy surrounded Turner in 1958 when her daughter Cheryl Crane stabbed Turner's lover Johnny Stompanato to death in their Beverly Hills home; a coroner's inquest concluded that Crane had acted in self-defense.

Her "discovery" in 1936 is the stuff of Hollywood legend: William R. Wilkerson, the publisher of ''The Hollywood Reporter'', noticed her as she sipped a Coke at the counter of a Sunset Boulevard malt shop, where she'd gone after skipping a typing class at Hollywood High School. A few months later, at the age of 16, she was signed to a personal contract by Creator/WarnerBros director Creator/MervynLeRoy, who took her with him when he moved to Creator/MetroGoldwynMayer in 1938. Turner attracted attention in her first film, [=LeRoy's=] ''They Won't Forget'' (1937), and she later starred in featured roles, often as an ingenue. In 1939, her auburn hair was bleached blonde for a film at MGM, and she remained blonde for the rest of her life, except for a few film roles. She was also well-known in her heyday as ''the'' SexySweaterGirl of the screen.

Her "discovery" in 1936 is the stuff of Hollywood legend: William R. Wilkerson, the publisher of ''The Hollywood Reporter'', noticed her as she sipped a Coke at the counter of a Sunset Boulevard malt shop, where she'd gone after skipping a typing class at Hollywood High School. A few months later, at the age of 16, she was signed to a personal contract by Creator/WarnerBros director Mervyn [=LeRoy=], who took her with him when he moved to Creator/MetroGoldwynMayer in 1938. Turner attracted attention in her first film, [=LeRoy's=] ''They Won't Forget'' (1937), and she later starred in featured roles, often as an ingenue. In 1939, her auburn hair was bleached blonde for a film at MGM, and she remained blonde for the rest of her life, except for a few film roles. She was also well-known in her heyday as ''the'' SexySweaterGirl of the screen.

Her "discovery" in 1936 is the stuff of Hollywood legend: William R. Wilkerson, the publisher of ''The Hollywood Reporter'', noticed her as she sipped a Coke at the counter of a Sunset Boulevard malt shop, where she'd gone after skipping a typing class at Hollywood High School. A few months later, at the age of 16, she was signed to a personal contract by Creator/WarnerBros director Mervyn [=LeRoy=], who took her with him when he moved to Creator/MetroGoldwynMayer in 1938. Turner attracted attention in her first film, [=LeRoy's=] ''They Won't Forget'' (1937), and she later starred in featured roles, often as an ingenue. In 1939, her auburn hair was bleached blonde for a film at MGM, and she remained blonde for the rest of her life, except for a few film roles. She was also well-known in her heyday as ''the'' SweaterGirl of the screen.

* She's played by Creator/BrendaBakke in ''Film/LAConfidential'', where her boyfriend Stompanato sometimes plays informant for the LAPD. Turner is only seen in one scene, for the sake of a hilarious YourCostumeNeedsWork gag: A plot point in the film is a prostitution ring that runs high-end prostitutes altered by plastic surgery to resemble film stars. A police detective finds Stompanato with Turner and assumes she's one of those prostitutes, only for his partner to point out that she's the real things, and before he can apologize he gets a drink in the face for his troubles.