Books by Donald Spoto

Dancer, dramatic actress, businesswoman, corporate executive with Pepsi-Cola, Joan Crawford during her lifetime (1906 - 1977) was rarely out of the news.

The inspiration behind BBC2's The Girl starring Toby Jones and Sienna Miller, Spellbound by Beauty examines Hitchcock's relationship with his leading ladies including Tippi Hendren and Grace Kelly.

It won her an Oscar. She went on to bring her unique grace and high spirits to a number of highly acclaimed films - from Funny Face and The Nun's Story to My Fair Lady, Breakfast at Tiffany's and Robin and Marian. For a while it looked as though her personal life would follow the Hollywood dream.

Drawing on dozens of interviews with his family, lovers, colleagues and friends - and mining a rich store of primary research - Donald Spoto chronicles Alan's achievements as a performer against the backdrop of a complicated personal life.

Based on her personal archive of over 35,000 pages of documents, and extensive interviews with friends and colleagues, this biography of Marilyn Monroe rejects many myths about her childhood, her marriages and her relationships. It also offers evidence of the truth behind her death.