Frances Elena Farmer (September 19, 1913 – August 1, 1970) was an American actress and television hostess. She appeared in over a dozen feature films over the course of her career, though she garnered notoriety for the various sensationalized accounts of her life, especially her involuntary commitment to psychiatric hospitals and subsequent mental health struggles.
A native of Seattle, Washington, Farmer began acting in stage productions while a student at the University of Washington. After graduating, she began performing in stock theater before signing a film contract with Paramount Pictures on her 22nd birthday in September 1935. She made her film debut in the B film Too Many Parents (1936), followed by another B picture, Border Flight, before being given the lead role opposite Bing Crosby in the musical Western Rhythm on the Range (1936). Unhappy with the opportunities the studio gave her, Farmer returned to stock theater in 1937 before being cast in the original Broadway production of Clifford Odets's Golden Boy, staged by New York City's Group Theatre. She followed this with two Broadway productions directed by Elia Kazan in 1939, but a battle with depression and binge drinking caused her to drop out of a subsequent Ernest Hemingway stage adaptation.
Farmer returned to Los Angeles, earning supporting roles in the comedy World Premiere (1941) and the film noir Among the Living (1941). In 1942, publicity of her reportedly erratic behavior began to surface and, after several arrests and committals to psychiatric institutions, Farmer was diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia. At the request of her family, particularly her mother, she was committed to an institution in her home state of Washington, where she remained a patient until 1950. Farmer attempted an acting comeback, mainly appearing as a television host in Indianapolis on her own series, Frances Farmer Presents. Her final film role was in the 1958 drama The Party Crashers, after which she spent the majority of the 1960s occasionally performing in local theater productions staged by Purdue University. In the spring of 1970, she was diagnosed with esophageal cancer, from which she died on August 1, 1970, aged 56.
Farmer has been the subject of various works, including two feature films and several books, many of which focus on her time spent institutionalized, during which she claimed to have been subject to various systemic abuses. Her posthumously released, ghostwritten, and widely discredited autobiography, Will There Really Be a Morning? (1972), details these claims, but has been exposed as a largely fictional work by a friend of Farmer's to clear debts. Another discredited 1978 biography of her life, Shadowland, alleged that Farmer underwent a transorbital lobotomy during her institutionalization, but the author has since stated in court that he fabricated this incident and several other aspects of the book. A 1982 biographical film based on this book depicted these events as true, resulting in renewed interest in her life and career.
Sol turns thousands of years of human wisdom from the world’s spiritual traditions into a totally unique personality profile. To get your own profile, check compatibility with friends and much more, download the Sol App today.
Some of their strengths
Frances Farmer has many admirable traits.
Based on spiritual traditions from around the world, they are someone who can be described as Confident, Organized, Honest, Artistic, Brave, Outspoken, and Peaceful.
Smart and Sophisticated
According to Mysticism’s Astrology tradition, Frances Farmer is someone who is a smart, sophisticated, and organized person who displays kindness and grace in every day interactions, and who also has a passionate soul. A person who is charismatic and resourceful.
Soulful and Intuitive
Based on Daoism’s Ba-Zi or ‘Chinese Zodiac’ tradition, people who know Frances Farmer well know them as someone who can be graceful, romantic, and reserved, like gentle rain.
Independent and Organized
According to Hinduism’s Jyotisha or ‘Vedic Astrology’ tradition, many would also describe Frances Farmer as someone who is independent, organized, inventive, and generous.
A person who is curious and a loves learning, who seems to always know what to say, who has an optimism that can overcome any difficult situation, and who seems to be able to master almost any skill.
Social and Intuitive
Based on the Mayan Tzolk’in or ‘Mayan Astrology’ tradition, Frances Farmer is someone who values forming deep friendships and relationships, and who has strong intuition and reasoning skills .
They are also someone who is balanced, organized, and in-charge, and who loves traveling, working hard, and figuring out the patterns of things.
Altruistic and Purposeful
According to Judaism’s Kabbalah tradition, Frances Farmer tends to be someone who has a desire to be of service to a higher calling and who is always trying to perfect things. Who can be practical and polished, reserved and methodical, and who tends to trust internal judgment before trusting anyone else at face value.
Some of Frances Farmer's challenges
While Frances Farmer has many strengths, nobody is perfect. They also have some challenging traits they need to manage.
For example, Frances Farmer can be Stubborn, Perfectionist, Difficult, Idle, Domineering, Impatient, and Unemotional.
Difficult and Perfectionist
One of Frances Farmer's key challenges is that they are someone who can be difficult and too much of a perfectionist.
Frances Farmer must also exercise caution as they can be short-tempered and aggressive, and can have difficulty dealing with responsibility, authority, or criticism.
Domineering and Impatient
Frances Farmer is someone who can be demanding, egotistical, and controlling, can have a lack of judgment regarding personal finances, be argumentative and stubborn, and who can have a tendency to be withdrawn and spend time in self-imposed isolation.
Critical and Bossy
Finally, Frances Farmer also can be too focused on the small details of life, try to control whatever is happening, and be finicky and demanding.
