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In 1935, at a tender age, the child prodigy signed with the behemoth studio MGM, a move that promised untold riches but delivered unimaginable exploitation. Two years later, her on-screen debut in ‘Broadway Melody’ marked the breakthrough she craved, igniting a meteoric rise. Yet, this ascent came at a horrifying cost. The studio system, driven by profit, immediately began to systematically dismantle her self-esteem. She was allegedly dubbed “my little hunchback” by studio head Louis B. Mayer, a cruel taunt that preyed on her deepest insecurities. Placed on an unyielding regimen of cottage cheese and chicken broth, she was also constantly fed amphetamine-laced diet pills, ostensibly to keep her weight down and maintain a childlike physique the producers believed audiences preferred. This toxic combination of psychological torment and pharmaceutical control became the bedrock of her daily existence. The work schedule was relentless, a dizzying blur of overlapping projects and non-stop rehearsals, tours, radio spots, and promotions. There was no reprieve, not even when tragedy struck in the form of her father’s sudden death from spinal meningitis. Heartbroken, she was immediately pushed back onto set, her grief swallowed by the insatiable demands of the studio. Paired with fellow young star Mickey Rooney, their string of hits cemented her place in the public eye, but privately, the seeds of addiction, sown by her mother, were now being watered and cultivated by the very industry that made her famous. As the lights grew brighter, the internal darkness intensified. What would happen when this young star reached the pinnacle of fame, armed with an undeniable talent but burdened by a deepening dependence that no amount of glitter could conceal?
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