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Barbara Stanwyck aka Ruby Stevens was born in Brooklyn, New York in 1907 to Byron Stevens and Catherine McGee Stevens. Her pregnant mother died when a drunk pushed her off a moving trolley, not long before her father abandoned the family. Ruby was now an orphan at age four, she was raised in foster homes and by her older showgirl sister. At 13, she began working as a fashion model and by the age of 15 was in the Broadway chorine, a Ziegfeld chorus girl. Struggling from an early age, Ruby grew up with a strength and courage that most people don't achieve in a lifetime. Her determination to win against the odds only strengthen her will to make it big.

In 1926, Ruby got her first major Broadway break from Willard Mack who cast her in his drama "The Noose", which became one of the biggest hit plays of the season. Mack suggested Ruby change her name and noticing a playbill for a play called "Barbara Frietchie" starring Joan Stanwyck he came up with the name "Barbara Stanwyck". She began a romance with her co-star actor Rex Cherryman, but that relationship was cut short when he died at age 30 of septic poisoning while vacationing in Le Havre, France.

Her role in "The Noose" led film producer Bob Kane to cast her in his upcoming silent 1927 film "Broadway Nights", her role was a minor part as a fan dancer. Barbara married actor Frank Fay and the couple adopted a son, Dion Anthony "Tony" Fay, was born in February, 1932. and adopted on December 5, 1932. Barbara became estranged from Dion for reasons unknown. The marriage ended and film historians claim that the basis for the film "A Star Is Born" was based on the Fay-Stanwyck marriage. While Barbara's personal life was in turmoil, her career was taking off and offers were coming in.

Barbara's first breakthrough role was in Frank Capra's 1930 film "Ladies of Leisure". Receiving rave reviews Barbara began her hit after hit film run. Barbara picked up the starring role in "Ball of Fire" (1941) after Ginger Rogers dropped out. Barbara received four Academy Award nominations for her film work. Barbara's nickname was "Missy" and sometimes known as "The Queen". Although strong-willed and a perfectionist, she was no diva.

The fifties proved a turning point in her career as roles became scarce and so Barbara turned her eye towards television. In 1960 she received an EMMY for her work on "The Barbara Stanwyck Show". Rejecting a role in "Hush ... Hush, Sweet Charlotte". The last motion picture Barbara made was "The Night Walker" in 1964. Barbara returned to television to star in the long-running Western series "The Big Valley", earning another EMMY for her performance as the matriarch of a frontier family.

The 70's were a quite time for Barbara who appeared in a couple of tv movies. And it wasn't until the 1983 when Barbara appeared in the mini series "The Thorn Birds" and won an EMMY, that her career started up once again. And her final tv series "The Colbys" in 1985, a spinoff of the popular "Dynasty" series. Barbara passed away on January 20, 1990 in Santa Monica, California of emphysema, congestive heart failure and chronic obstructive lung disease. But her legend lives on for a new generation to appreciate this maverick of a woman's career.