This ’50s Beauty Was Banned from Hollywood for 12 Years & Found Love with a Younger Husband – Story & Photos

From the Broadway stage to Hollywood, this actress was once hailed as one of the most promising stars of her generation. But what makes her story remarkable isn’t just her early success. It’s the way she overcame a decade-long exile to shape an extraordinary legacy in film and beyond.

The McCarthy-era blacklist of the late 1940s and 1950s left countless careers in shambles, including that of a young actress who had just begun to make her mark in Hollywood. At the height of her success, she was cast aside, not for her actions, but for her association with the man she loved.

Undated picture of the popular actress | Source: Getty Images

Her name was unwelcome in the film and TV industries for over a decade, but she refused to fade into obscurity. When she finally returned to Hollywood, she rebuilt her career and reached new heights. Along the way, she found love with a man who has been her devoted partner for decades.

The actress in “Airport ’77,” circa 1977 | Source: Getty Images

The Hollywood Blacklist: 12 Years of Silence In 1951, her breakout role in “Detective Story” earned her critical acclaim and positioned her as one of Hollywood’s most promising talents.

However, her association with her husband, Arnold Manoff — a screenwriter blacklisted for alleged Communist ties — would derail her career just as it began.

Undated picture of the actress | Source: Getty Images

Refusing to cooperate with investigators or provide names, she faced the harsh consequences of standing by her principles. For 12 years, she was denied roles in film and television. Offers dried up, and her budding career was left in ruins.

Reflecting on that time decades later, she remained unapologetic about her decision, stating, “I certainly was not going to give names in order to work in film or television.” Her challenges during this period extended to a personal level.

The actress pictured on the set of “Fay,” circa 1970s | Source: Getty Images

Manoff, whom she had married young, was controlling and dismissive of her ambitions. He viewed her more as a caregiver for his two children from a previous marriage than a partner. He belittled her and demanded she remain at home.

Studio portrait of the actress, taken on July 10, 1970 | Source: Getty Images

Despite the restrictions placed on her career by the blacklist, she refused to be constrained at home as well. When she found a small acting job in upstate New York after their daughter’s birth, he threatened to leave her if she took it.

Determined to stand up for herself, she accepted the threat, choosing her independence over staying in a suffocating relationship. With her marriage behind her and the blacklist slowly losing its grip on Hollywood, she seized the opportunity to return to the spotlight.

Undated photo of the actress | Source: Getty Images

A Resilient Comeback and Hollywood Success In 1965, she reclaimed her place in the spotlight with a role in the popular television series “Peyton Place.” Her portrayal of Stella Chernak was so compelling that it earned her an Emmy Award and announced her triumphant comeback to Hollywood.

Her success in the role reignited her career, leading to a string of notable roles in films. She delivered critically acclaimed performances in “The Landlord” (1970) and “Voyage of the Damned” (1976), earning Academy Award nominations for both.

The actress, circa 1976 | Source: Getty Images

In 1975, she won the Oscar for Best Supporting Actress for her standout role in the cult classic “Shampoo,” starring alongside Warren Beatty.

Discussing her role in the film, she credited her ability to connect deeply with complex characters, a talent that had strengthened during her time away from Hollywood.

Actor Jack Warden with the actress on the set of “Shampoo,” circa 1975 | Source: Getty Images

Her resurgence extended beyond acting. She ventured into directing, focusing on hard-hitting documentaries that earned her widespread recognition. Films highlighting homelessness, discrimination, and women’s rights were among her most notable works.

These cemented her reputation as a trailblazer in front of and behind the camera. Her remarkable professional resurgence was also matched by a transformation in her personal life.

The actress in Los Angeles, California in 1976 | Source: Getty Images

Finding Love with a Younger Husband

During her career revival, she found something she had never experienced before. She met Joe Feury, a man 12 years her junior, whose kind-hearted, easygoing nature was the opposite of her first husband’s controlling demeanor.

Joe Feury pictured on October 5, 2019 in New York City | Source: Getty Images

“This really cute boy, and so dear, and so in love. A working-class Italian non-intellectual. It was like the biggest nourishment I could’ve had,” she recalled their early days together. Their bond gave her a sense of stability and support that had been missing during her earlier years in Hollywood.

Unlike her first marriage, fraught with tension and manipulation, her second husband treated her as an equal partner. His steadfast love became a constant in her life, grounding her through the highs and lows of her career.

Joe Feury and his wife Lee Grant photographed on July 14, 2005 | Source: Getty Images

Even as the years passed, their relationship remained strong. Reflecting on their later years together, she once wrote, “Joey, now 74, wakes up and takes my hand. He doesn’t want to lose me.[…] We both run from the inevitable. We’re so, well, alive, we’re so young…”

As their marriage flourished, she defied another Hollywood expectation: she refused to fade away with age, continuing to inspire fans with her beauty and vitality.

Joe Feury and Lee Grant pictured on January 13, 2011 | Source: Getty Images

Defying Time and Embracing a Legacy At a time when age could end a career, the actress took control of her appearance. She famously underwent a facelift in her 30s to prolong her time in the spotlight. “I was at a desperate place in my life,” she said, candidly admitting that the procedure helped boost her confidence.

“Everything that was in my face that wasn’t smiling went up. It helped me look in the mirror and feel younger and prettier,” the actress revealed. Her lifelong efforts to protect her image extended even to her official documents.

The actress at the 2017 IFC Split Screens Festival at IFC Center on June 5, 2017 | Source: Getty Images

She humorously recounted how she once convinced the mayor of Los Angeles to alter her birthdate on her driver’s license. She admitted that her anxiety about aging haunted her for years. “The fear that my age would be disclosed became the neurotic focus of my life,” she wrote in her memoir.

The actress signs and discusses her new book “I Said Yes To Everything” at Barnes & Noble bookstore on July 16, 2014 | Source: Getty Images

Despite these fears, she has defied the odds and remained a working actress and director well into her later years. Now in her late 90s, Lee Grant’s beauty inspires admiration from fans.

Her youthful energy and elegant appearance have drawn countless compliments. “I’ve never seen a 90+ year-old lady look so great,” one fan remarked. Another wrote, “She looks fantastic!”

Others were astonished by her transformation over the years, saying, “She looks great but like a different person!” and, “Why did she have work done on her face? She didn’t need to.” Still, many celebrate her with comments like, “A beautiful face.”

From her beginnings as a Broadway sensation to becoming an Oscar-winning icon, Grant’s journey is one of courage, reinvention, and a determination to thrive against all odds.

Lee Grant at the 61st New York Film Festival on September 30, 2023 | Source: Getty Images

She credits part of her youthful energy to her second husband, who is now 86. “I don’t feel that old, probably because I have a young husband – but …” she once said.