Joan Crawford's will left out Christina and Christopher "for reasons which are well known to them"

Joan Crawford signed a new will in New York on October 28, 1976. She died in her Manhattan apartment on May 10, 1977, leaving about $2 million. The will set aside $77,500 in trust for each of her adopted twin daughters, Cathy and Cynthia. It left $35,000 to her secretary, Betty Barker, and money to six charities, including the Motion Picture Home and the U.S.O. of New York. It said: "It is my intention to make no provision herein for my son Christopher or my daughter Christina for reasons which are well known to them." Christina and Christopher objected to probate, claiming their mother was not of sound mind and had been influenced by Cathy and her husband. They settled in July 1979 for a combined $55,000^†. Christina published Mommie Dearest in 1978, describing beatings and punishments. The film followed in 1981. Cathy called the book fiction. In 1998 Cathy sued Christina in federal court in Pennsylvania after Christina told interviewers the twins were not twins. In November 1999 a panel of three arbitrators awarded Cathy $5,000 plus costs. Crawford's ashes are in an urn at Ferncliff Cemetery in Westchester County, New York, next to her last husband, Alfred Steele. Christopher died of cancer in 2006. Christina turned 80 in 2019 and was promoting a stage musical based on the book.