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Joan Geraldine Bennett was born in Palisades, New Jersey,
on Sunday, February 27, 1910. She was the last child and third daughter of matinee idol Richard Bennett and stage actress
Mabel Adrienne Morrison Bennett. Joan's distinguished father described his newborn daughter as a "rosebud blooming in
the sun," and expressed no disappointment at her not being a son since, "It was love at first sight." Joan was preceded
in birth by sisters Constance (October 22, 1904) and Barbara (August 13, 1906). Constance and Joan were blue-eyed blondes,
while Barbara had brown eyes and dark hair.
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| 3 sisters: Barbara, Joan, and Constance |
When Joan was of school age, it was suddenly discovered
that she was nearsighted. Eyeglasses were forced onto the reluctant child. She detested those eyeglasses because:
"I thought they made me look ugly, but without them, if an elephant had strolled by, I'd have missed it. I've been fumbling
my way through life ever since."
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| 3 Sisters: Constance, Joan, and Barbara |
In her book, The Bennett Playbill (1970), written
with Lois Kibbee, Joan admitted that: "I was a mother's girl and always threw a fit when she went on tour, and though I loved
father too, he scared the life out of me."
She further related that her illustrious dad was
opinionated, conceited, domineering, and bombastic. When in open display, these traits sent her scurrying to the shelter
of her mother's arms. Of the three girls, only extroverted Constance stood up to him and spoke his language. Barbara
was an intense child who preferred Joan's playmate companionship; both were baffled by Constance's outspoken manner and sought
refuge with one another. The children grew up in a household filled with talk of the theatre, and as long as they behaved
themselves, they were permitted to attend either rehearsals or actual performances.
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| Joan at 14, ready for a costume party |
Joan Bennett, Diana Anderson, Diana Markey, Melinda Markey, Melinda
Beno, Stephanie Wanger, Stephanie Guest, Shelley Wanger, Shelley Mortimer, John Marion Fox, Gene Markey, Walter Wanger, Richard
Bennett, Constance Bennett, Barbara Bennett, Barbara Downey, Adrienne Morrison, Adrienne Bennett, Mabel Bennett, Mabel Morrison,
Adrienne Ralston Fox, www.joanbennett.net
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