Before she was famous, this future A++ list actress and Oscar winner/nominee was hoofing it up on Broadway in the chorus line of a second rate revue. She was also making ends meet by prostituting herself to shady men who lived near the apartment she was renting out. Her pimp was psychically and mentally abusive towards her and one night she had enough.
Back in the day, Hollywood celebrities didn’t want to go overseas to get their adopted children, they wanted American babies. They also didn’t want to wait in line or complete any paperwork. If at all possible they also wanted a third party or even a fourth party in the middle of the whole process. Adoption agencies tended to talk and studios would have to pay off money to keep the adoption agencies quiet about the biological parents of babies that actors and actresses were adopting.
Old Hollywood Blind Item: If you're wondering how that feud between those two A++ list Oscar nominated/winning actresses started, it started long before they co-starred in that cult classic of a movie together. Back in the '30s, the elder of the two actresses caught her future arch enemy sleeping with not only her first B-list actor husband, but her second as well.
Back in the day, there was a de facto studio head that was the Harvey Weinstein of his day. There was no female actress it seems that he didn't assault. It was a who's who of A list actresses that he assaulted, impregnated, and got abortions for. This permanent A lister who has a celebrity offspring who is a permanent A lister was raped by him when she was underage but fought him off as she got older.
In these days, people will spend a ton on publicity or get pregnant or married and get their wife pregnant to try and win an Academy Award. Back in the day though, this permanent A+ list mostly movie actress with A++ list name recognition convinced the voting members that she was in the hospital and barely clinging to life. She won. Remarkably she was fit and ready to accept the award and partied for 72 straight hours afterwards.
Old Hollywood Blind: She's one of the most recognizable faces of classic Hollywood, but back when she was on the verge of A+ list stardom, she slept with many a producer to get a role. One of these casual encounters resulted in a surprise pregnancy, which she ended up terminating. That might explain why she couldn't have kids.