Biography

As a child, Joan Crawford invited her to her daughter Christina's birthday party. She told Jessica's mother that Jessica could wear jeans. Jessica showed up to the party the only little girl not dressed up. When Christina introduced Jessica to her mother, Crawford said to Jennifer, "It was very nice to meet you. And now you may leave." Jessica was also shown Christina's extensive doll collection, which Christina explained to her that no one was ever allowed to touch or play with. Jessica never returned to the Crawford home.

Jessica recalled a memorable Halloween following the release of the Phantom of the Opera (1943). Her father borrowed his costume from the Universal wardrobe department. He then proceed to take his daughter and two of her playmates on the rounds of neighbors' houses. The girls hid under his cape as he rang each doorbell. When the householder opened the door, the Phantom threw open his cloak and the children, dressed as gremlins, jumped out, squealing "Trick or treat!".

Bette Davis once sent for her after Claude Rains had died and said she wanted her to come to the set where she was working, to talk about her father. When Jessica came to the set, Davis closed the door to her dressing room, and said: "Now we're gonna talk about Claude." And for about an hour and a half she told stories about him.

The first time Jessica ever saw her father in a film was in 1950. He took her to see The Invisible Man (1933) in a small theater in Pennsylvania. They sat in the back and her father told her all about the making of the film as it played. The other people in the theater were not watching the movie, but rather watching Claude Rains explain to his daughter how he made the film.

When Jessica was 17, her mother woke her up in the middle of the night, said she was leaving her father, and wanted to know if Jessica wanted to come with her. Jessica declined. She had too many friends nearby, and she loved Stock Grange. She was also to go to college.