She’s Not Like Other Child Stars
The stereotypes about child stars are terrible—but true. Whether it’s exploitation, addiction, or everything in between, it’s no wonder so many go off the rails. The Hollywood kids aren’t alright. They never were. Jane Withers, one of the most popular child stars of Hollywood’s Golden Age, was the exception. But it wasn’t because her life was perfect. Jane had her fair share of stage moms, drama, and tragedy.
1. She Had A Stage Mom
Jane Withers was born in 1925, but her story begins much earlier than that. Her mom, Ruth, always dreamed of being an actress. Her parents never let her, and she never let that go. Ruth dreamed of marrying Mr. Right, having an only daughter, and making her a star. She refused to marry any suitor unless he was on board. George Withers agreed—and sealed Jane’s fate.
2. She Was Groomed
Jane never stood a chance. Ruth even picked her name because it’d look good on a movie marquee. The new mom soon did more than that, and trained Jane in all things performing. The duo took Atlanta by storm. Jane even starred in a radio show interviewing celebrity visitors. She was three. Ruth soon believed her daughter had outgrown their hometown, even though she was only five.
Frank Powolny, Wikimedia Commons
3. She Started From The Bottom
Ruth couldn’t resist Hollywood’s siren call. The mother-daughter duo chased their dreams there, while Walter stayed home and sent his girls $100 every month. Turns out, they needed that money. In Atlanta, Jane was a big fish in a little pond. In Hollywood, she was a small fish in the biggest pond. Their Hollywood dream became a nightmare.
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4. She Was A Struggling Artist
Jane Withers had been a local star in Atlanta, but she was dime-a-dozen in Hollywood. There were countless girls trying to make it, but few ever would. Ruth and Jane went to every studio and casting agent with little to show for it. She only got extra work. If Jane was lucky, she got a scrap of dialogue. The odds were depressing, but Ruth believed they had an ace up their sleeves.
Gene Kornman, Wikimedia Commons
5. She Believed In Herself
Many of even the biggest stage moms would’ve called it quits. But not Ruth. It wasn’t just confidence or a mother’s love. She was devout. Ruth passed this faith down to Jane and reassured her “we had a powerful partner—God—and we would put our faith in Him and He’d take care of us. And He did”. Their struggles were leading up to The Big Break.
Jane was only eight, but it felt like a long time coming.
6. She Got Her Big Break
Bright Eyes (1934) was Jane’s breakout role, but it wasn’t a leading one. That honor belonged to Shirley Temple, who was already a beloved child star. It showed in the roles each girl got. Shirley played Shirley, the loveable daughter of a maid. Jane played Joyce, the bratty daughter of the employers. The movie, to everyone’s satisfaction, ends with Joyce getting smacked in her face. The characters had issues with each other on screen—while the actresses had issues with each other off screen.
7. She Was Disappointed
Jane Withers and Shirley Temple, child actresses with stage moms, had a lot to bond over. Jane was already a fan of the younger and established star. Instead, they never had an actual conversation during the entire filming of Bright Eyes. The girls only spoke when playing their characters and saying their lines. And there was a heartbreaking reason why.
Harry Warnecke / Lee Jennings Elkins, Wikimedia Commons
8. She Was Isolated
Jane and Shirley, children, turned out to be the most mature people on set. Turns out, Ruth and Gertrude Temple also had a lot to bond over. Shirley’s mom was a failed ballerina who lived vicariously through her successful daughter. Except, Gertrude was worse. She didn’t let the girls even say hello to each other. It didn’t help Jane’s fear about the movie’s release.
International News Photo, Wikimedia Commons
9. She Was Scared
Jane Withers? A lovely girl. Her character Joyce? Not so much. She described her character as “the meanest and creepiest little girl that God ever put on this planet, running over Shirley Temple with a tricycle and a baby buggy”. And as for Shirley? She was beloved. Jane was convinced audiences would hate her forever. That was until the movie hit the theaters.
Her life would never be the same.
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10. She Made It
Joyce turned out to be the character audiences loved to hate. Some critics even swore Jane Withers stole the show from the great Shirley Temple. Hollywood couldn’t snub Jane’s talent, charm, and work ethic anymore. Fox Studios gave her a seven year contract. Jackpot. But there was a catch: Shirley already had a deal with the same studio. Uh oh.
John Springer Collection, Getty Images
11. She Was Banished
Fox Studios already had Shirley, but figured they had room for one more child star. One more couldn’t hurt, right? Shirley filmed her big budget movies on Fox’s grand Westwood lot. Meanwhile, Jane ended up on the studio’s small and dated Hollywood lot. She wasn’t even allowed to film at Westwood until Shirley left.
Rumor has it Gertrude was responsible for this. And it gets worse.
De Carvalho Collection, Getty Images
12. She Wasn’t The Favorite
Jane Withers never stood a chance in this unofficial rivalry. Fox gave Jane low budget B-films. Expectations weren’t high, but the workload was. Throughout the 1930s, Jane made several movies every year and punched above her budget. In 1936 and 1937, theater owners even named her as one of the most profitable movie stars.
She beat many big budget stars, and put in the hours off screen as well.
Macfadden Publications, Inc.; no photographer credited, Wikimedia Commons
13. She Stood Out
Jane Withers could’ve taken it easy after securing the long term contract and fame. Instead she kept working on skills like ice skating, voice training, horse riding, foreign languages, and swimming. Jane and Ruth didn’t view acting as just a job. It was an art. This training cost thousands—but they got their investment back. And then some.
Screenshot from Checkers, 20th Century Fox (1937)
14. She Made Bank
Jane was no longer just Ruth and Walter’s kid. She was also their breadwinner. Jane earned them a fortune thanks to her studio salary, endorsements, appearance tours and licensing. They splashed her name on dresses, bags, books, dolls, and jewelry. Jane worked hard so the entire family could play hard. But this often ended in disaster for the child stars.
15. She Lived Large
The Withers indulged in all the usual luxuries—then they went overboard. They had a pool, a personal salon, a soda fountain, a vacation home, a boat, and motorbikes. Ruth and Walter threw Jane birthday parties so lavish the media covered them every year. Then there’s the zoo. Jane had 64 pets: horses, kittens, turtles, baby alligators, chickens, turkeys, hens, a rooster, bantams, ducks, frogs and dogs. However the price of fame and fortune got high.
brandstaetter images, Getty Images
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16. She Was In Danger
Most of Jane’s fan mail and fan encounters were positive. Many fans even sent her dolls for her growing collection. But sometimes, it got weird. And twice, it got terrifying. Jane was only ten when she received letters that would disturb any adult. Jane received anonymous notes vowing to abduct her and end Ruth’s life unless they paid a $50,000 ransom.
17. She Was Protected
Those letters might’ve been empty words, but Jane and Ruth couldn’t afford to bet their lives on it. The Withers didn’t mess around. Jane had round-the-clock bodyguards who followed her everywhere. And I mean everywhere. Her bodyguards even slept in the bedroom next to hers. The stardom they always dreamed of wasn’t always as they imagined.
20th Century Fox press photo, Wikimedia Commons
18. She Had A Reputation
Even in the Golden Age of Hollywood, child stars already didn’t have the best reputation. Jane’s most famous was a brat but she couldn’t have been more different off-screen. She earned the reputation of being one of the most likeable and well-behaved child stars. This was part of Ruth’s master plan. Ruth wanted Jane to be a star, not a diva.
19. She Gave Back
Ruth and Walter knew Hollywood could ruin even the sweetest girls. They refused to let it happen on their watch. The parents gave back, and made her do the same. This included performing at orphanages and hospitals. And hosting busloads of orphans at their home. Jane Withers loved collecting dolls, but she had to buy extras to donate.
The result: a grounded, generous, and grateful star. But Jane still had issues.
20. She Couldn’t Grow Up
Jane Withers could handle Fox’s favoritism, but she couldn’t handle everything. Jane, a teenager, was growing up but her roles stayed the same. Everyone knew it. She still received letters from fans who grew up watching her movies. But now the letters included parts like “Hey, you’re still doing those movies like you did when you were ten, but you’re not ten anymore”. Jane couldn’t take it anymore.
Fox Film Corporation Press Photo, Wikimedia Commons
21. She Was Resentful
She vented in the most Jane way: through film and with class. While her studio treated her like a kid, she was growing up and becoming a real artist. She starred in the Small Town Deb (1941), which was about a teenage girl who had a mom preventing her from spreading her wings. Jerrie Walters wrote the screenplay and nailed the 15-year-old’s situation perfectly. But there was a surprising twist.
Jerrie Walters was actually Jane’s pen name. She knew what she had to do.
Screenshot from Small Town Deb, 20th Century Fox (1941)
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22. She Made A Change
16-year-old Jane Withers signed a contract with Republic Pictures. It was too late: the child star genre started declining in the early 1940s. Her career peaked, and was on its way down. Fox pigeonholed her in comedy and family friendly films. People couldn’t imagine her doing more mature and dramatic roles. Jane knew it was the beginning of the end, but had a surprising reaction.
23. She Was A Romantic
While Jane loved performing, she always knew her career had an expiration date. And she was okay with it. Jane never had a normal childhood, but she always dreamed of a normal ending. Finding “Mr. Right”, marriage, kids, staying at home, and living happily ever after. All she had to do was find Mr. Right…and boy, did she have suitors.
24. She Was Courted
Enter, Bill Moss. He was 25, Texan, a film producer, a businessman, and loaded. Basically, he was a total catch. Well, he was on paper. Jane was 19, a former child star, a romantic, and over showbiz. Jane didn’t just want to end her career. She wanted her happy ending. And it looked like he wanted to give it to her. Jane followed her heart.
The Times (Chicago) press photo, Wikimedia Commons
25. She Quit
Most people start careers at 21, but Jane Withers ended hers at that age. She revealed “I always said I would work until I was 21, then I hoped to find Mr. Right and be married for the rest of my life”. So she retired, lived on ranches, and had 3 children. Her life seemed to be going according to plan. Now it was time to cash in on a childhood spent working. She could only hope her parents hadn’t blown through it all.
Toronto Star Archives, Getty Images
26. She Was Set For Life
Unlike most child stars, Jane’s earnings didn’t disappear. Turns out, Ruth was militant about saving much of her daughter’s earnings. And Walter “kind of dibble-dabbled in real estate in a marvelous way”. Her parents turned over assets, worth a few million and bought with her earnings, over to Jane when she was 21. A year later, Walter, passed.
Unfortunately, if Walter thought he was setting his daughter up for her happy ending, he would’ve been wrong.
De Carvalho Collection, Getty Images
27. She Married The Wrong Guy
Sadly, Mr Right turned out to be Mr Wrong. After six years of not-so-wedded bliss, Jane and Bill separated. The husband who looked like a catch on paper turned out to be a nightmare in reality. Turns out, he drank too much and gambled too much. Jane wanted out, but getting a divorce would be public and messy. Especially with multiple kids in the picture.
De Carvalho Collection, Getty Images
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28. She Had A Breakdown
Bill did what Hollywood failed to do: he broke Jane. Divorce stress caused her to collapse emotionally and physically in 1953. The 27-year-old developed severe rheumatoid arthritis and complete paralysis. She ended up hospitalized for 5 months. Fortunately, Jane recovered with no long term damage. But there was another fight waiting for her in court.
Michael Ochs Archives, Getty Images
29. She Won
Jane got everything she wanted—and then some. The court approved the divorce in 1954 after Jane revealed Bill’s drinking and gambling. The 28-year-old wasn’t walking away empty-handed. She got full custody of the kids, child support, trust funds for the kids, a $1 million property settlement, alimony every month, and even a stake in his oil fields.
But there was also something unexpected—a friendship with her ex-husband. It was the end of her marriage, but the start of the rest of her life.
CINE MUNDIAL magazine, Wikimedia Commons
30. She Came Back
Jane Withers plotted a comeback, but not in the way everyone expected. In 1955, Jane began studying film at the University of Southern California. She wanted to switch to directing. But life didn’t work out that way when director George Stevens asked her to play a supporting role in his 1956 movie Giant. This role threw her right into the path of a hit film—and a serious tragedy.
Unknown authorUnknown author, Wikimedia Commons
31. She Was A Host
Jane lived in Texas during Giant’s filming and made the most of it. She hosted parties almost every night. The cast was packed with legends like Elizabeth Taylor, Rock Hudson, and James Dean. Jane invited the entire crew to her parties. She got along with everybody. But Elizabeth, preferring the country club, only attended once. However, another unexpected star became a regular—and close friend.
32. She Was Honest
During the making of Giant, Withers recalled that James Dean confronted her by asking: “You don’t like me, do you?” Jane remembered telling him “I did, but he had to change his attitude. Instead of spitting on the ground or kicking up the dirt when he was talking to somebody, he could at least be more gentle and kind to all the others, be more appreciative for what they did for him”.
They developed a close—and strange—friendship.
In-house publicity still, Wikimedia Commons
33. She Was Startled
One night, Jane Withers walked into her bedroom and had the shock of her life as one of her parties for Giant’s cast and crew was winding down. Almost everyone left—except for some guy wearing a hat. Jane asked “Is that you, Jimmy”? She asked why he hadn’t come through the front door. James replied he didn’t want to see anyone else. Only her.
Jane didn’t take it well.
Barkin, Herman & Associates-publicity agency for Schlitz Brewing, Wikimedia Commons
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34. She Set Boundaries
Jane grabbed her tool kit and nailed the window shut. Right in front of James. She made it clear the next time James came over, he had to use the front door. And he did. During a visit, Jane noticed James kept wearing the same shirt. In the sweltering Texas heat. Jane lectured “You should put on another shirt every day” and made him an offer.
Media Punch, Wikimedia Commons
35. She Was Nurturing
Jane Withers offered to wash his shirt. It started a tradition where James gave Jane his dirty clothes, she washed them, and he picked them up the next day. Jane could take care of the troubled heartthrob in some ways, but not all of them. The studio banned him from racing during Giant’s production. When filming ended, James gave his favorite pink cowboy shirt to Jane and rushed off to a race. They had no idea.
36. She Lost A Friend
James Dean was on his way to a race when he perished in a car crash. It’d barely been a week since Giant wrapped up filming. Hollywood lost a legend, but Jane Withers lost a friend. As for the pink cowboy shirt? Jane kept the top forever: “He asked me to hold it for him, and I have kept it all these years”.
The movie didn’t just change Jane personally. It revived her career.
movie studio, Wikimedia Commons
37. She Was Picky
After Giant, word spread that Jane Withers was back in the game. She received dozens of offers on TV and stage. Unlike many has-beens, Jane rejected almost everything. Thanks to her childhood stardom and divorce, she wasn’t hurting for money. She could afford to be picky with her roles—and she was. Jane wanted to focus on her kids. She’d also found love again.
38. She Found Love Again
Kenneth Errair was the singer of the Four Freshman, and exactly who Jane needed. He was the right person at the right time. They married in 1955 and had two kids. The second time was the charm for her. Jane had finally found the Mr. Right she’d always dreamed of. But this marriage was still doomed, and a shocking tragedy was heading their way.
Warner Bros. press photo, Wikimedia Commons
39 She Made A Comeback
Countless faded child stars attempted comebacks, but few did it like Jane. From 1963 to 1974, she played Josephine the Plumber in a series of Comet cleaner commercials. This was one of the few roles she accepted, and she did it because she could stay home. Still, even though it was an ad, she took it seriously. Jane changed Josephine to reflect her real personality. She picked outfits she’d actually wear. She even took a plumbing course.
The dedication paid off.
Screenshot from Comet Cleanser Commercial, Procter & Gamble (1969)
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40. She Was Famous Again
Josephine the Plumber, of all roles, thrusted Jane Withers back into the mainstream. She became a household name by selling household products. The gig helped her pay for all her kids to go to college. Many former child stars flounder as adults, but Jane was on top of the world. She had the family, the marriage, and the comeback. But it all came crashing down.
Screenshot from Comet Cleanser Commercial, Procter & Gamble (1969)
41. She Became Widowed
In 1968, Kenneth went on a normal business trip in California. He and his associates chartered a plane to look at a resort development at Bass Lake. But they never made it: their plane crashed and burned down. Jane was devastated but consoled herself that “it was simply God’s will that he go when he did”. It gets worse.
University of Southern California, Getty Images
42. She Was Devastated
Losing Keith made Jane a widow, but she had another loss so painful, there’s no word for what it made her. Jane losing her son to cancer was “the biggest blow” in her life. Once again, she found the silver lining: “It’s a great lesson, but it’s also a terrible lesson. Somehow, I never felt he was gone: I always feel his presence, although he’s not with me physically. I know he’s there”. And because Jane couldn’t catch a break…it gets worse.
University of Southern California, Getty Images
43. She Became A Caretaker
Josephine the Plumber was a dream job, but after a decade, Jane Withers couldn’t do it anymore. Not when she was living a nightmare off screen: her mother Ruth suffering from a brain tumor. But she didn’t leave audiences high and dry. Jane filmed a goodbye commercial where she passed on the torch to a girl who said she learned everything from her Aunt Josephine.
Jane was Ruth’s caretaker until her passing in 1983. Ruth never got to act, but she still left her mark on Hollywood.
44. She Had A Trick
Since Jane was one of the few child stars who turned out well-adjusted, everyone wanted to know why. An interviewer even asked her that. Jane, 48 at the time, didn’t congratulate herself. She also didn’t credit only her “extraordinary” parents. She revealed “I always took my troubles to the good Lord, and I never failed to get an answer”.
Donaldson Collection, Getty Images
45. She Had No Regrets
When looking back on their childhoods, many former child stars feel exploited. Or at the very least, resentful about missing out on a normal childhood. Who can blame them? But Jane insisted “I don’t think I missed a thing! In fact, I was really blessed. I had opportunities, because of my work, that I would never have been able to have, and that some people may never have in a lifetime! No, I’ve never regretted it for a minute”. And she really meant never.
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46. She Was Grateful
Time broke Jane’s body, but it touched her soul. She raved “I love this business, I really do. And I thank God that I’ve been able to be a smidgeon of it, for nearly all of my 53 years”. In her 80s, she didn’t just still love meeting fans and reading their letters. She teared up thinking about it. Jane chose goodness every time, even when it came to Shirley Temple.
47. She Was Modest
Jane spent much of her stardom under Shirley’s shadow, and was self-deprecating about it. She declared “I could never be like Shirley Temple. I was just plain Jane”. But Jane never held a grudge, even though Gertrude gave her plenty to work with. Jane even called Shirley a “dear friend of mine” as an adult. Jane even called Shirley on her birthday every year and told staff “Tell her it’s Joy Smythe”.
Unknown authorUnknown author, Wikimedia Commons
48. She Was A Collector
Jane Withers earned her wealth—and knew how to spend it. Jane didn’t just have one of the world’s largest doll collections in the world, she had thousands of items of Hollywood memorabilia. But she couldn’t take it all with her and had to figure out what to do with everything. This included donating to museums. In 2004, it also included auctioning hundreds of dolls.
Her Shirley Temple doll sold for $3,100…but her Jane Withers doll sold for $5,600.
49. She Was Sick
It was the beginning of the end. In 1990, Jane developed lupus. She suffered for over a decade, then went into remission. Jane wasn’t out of the woods though. In 2007, she began suffering from vertigo. At 85, she admitted it “isn’t good, ‘cause I keep falling and every time I do, I end up in the hospital. That’s been the last four years of my life. I’ve spent so much time in the hospital”. And it gets worse.
Ron Galella, Ltd., Getty Images
50. She Has A Legacy
In August of 2021, Jane Withers passed on, surrounded by her family. The 95-year-old left behind an underrated and unresolved legacy. In a business where child stars still get exploited and lose their minds, her exception upends the narrative. Jane may not have been the greatest star of her generation, but she was something even rarer. She was good. She was grateful.
Vincent Sandoval, Getty Images
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Sources:
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