Old Hollywood Stars Who Were Forced to Live a Double Life

Only 15 when she made her screen debut, Linda Darnell was already being promoted as a glamorous adult. The Texas teenager quickly became one of 20th Century-Fox’s most striking leading ladies, appearing in Hotel for Women before later gaining greater fame in Blood and Sand.

Darnell had first claimed she was 17, but the studio listed her as 19 while placing her opposite male stars. Her true age became public later in 1939. Hollywood had not simply discovered a young actress; it had disguised a child as a mature woman.