Early Life and Family
Landis was born Frances Lillian Mary Ridste in Fairchild, Wisconsin. Her mother, Clara (née Stentek), was a Polish farmer's daughter. A Time magazine article published the month of her death identifies her father as a "drifting railroad mechanic"; according to a 2005 biography, the mother was married to Norwegian Alfred Ridste, who abandoned the family before Landis was born, and it was Charles Fenner, her mother's second husband, who most likely was Landis' biological father. She was the youngest of five children, two of whom died in childhood. Her early years were filled with poverty and sexual abuse.
In January 1934, 15-year-old Landis married her 19-year-old neighbor, Irving Wheeler, but the marriage was annulled in February 1934. They later remarried on August 25, 1934. Wheeler named Busby Berkeley in an alienation of affections lawsuit in 1938 involving Landis, and they divorced in 1939.
Read more about this topic: Carole Landis
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