Hidden Facts About Gertrude Lawrence, The Broken Broadway Idol
Gertrude Lawrence was a 20th-century Broadway darling with a taste for the finer things in life. But behind her professional persona was a woman living on the edge, desperate to please and sometimes desperate for work.
In the end, the very ambitions that drove her would be her tragic downfall. Read on to find out more about this forgotten star.
Gertrude Lawrence Facts
1. She Started With Nothing
Lawrence's parents weren’t rich by any means. Far from it, in fact: the Lawrence family struggled with money, and their daughter’s childhood was very different from the lavish adulthood she would later enjoy. But while little Gertrude had neither pearls nor fancy silks to her name, the hardship of her younger years didn’t end at financial troubles. Far from it.
2. Her Parents Hated Each Other
A happy marriage wasn’t in the cards for Gertrude’s parents, Alice and Arthur. Even worse, her father just wasn’t all that interested in being a dad. Dirty diapers? Constant crying?
No, thank you—Arthur much preferred spending his days without his family, drinking himself into a constant stupor and desperately clinging onto the single man’s life. This didn't go well for him, or Gertrude.
3. She Grew Up Without Her Father
After Gertrude’s birth, her mother Alice found herself saddled with an ailing baby and a drunkard husband. Then one day, it all fell apart. Enough became enough, and Alice abandoned Arthur and took charge of her newborn, all before Gertrude took her first steps. But having her alcoholic father out of the picture didn't mean Gertrude's turmoil was over.
