Barbara Graham

Barbara Graham (June 26, 1923 – June 3, 1955) was an American criminal and convicted murderer. She was executed in the gas chamber on the same day as two convicted accomplices, Jack Santo and Emmett Perkins. Nicknamed "Bloody Babs" by the press, Graham was the third woman in California to be executed by gas. Her life story was told in the 1958 film I Want to Live!, in which she was portrayed by Susan Hayward, who won the Academy Award for Best Actress for her performance as Graham. 2Early life Graham was born Barbara Elaine Ford in Oakland, California, to young unwed mother Hortense Ford. On February 23, 1925, Hortense Ford gave birth to a second daughter out of wedlock, Claire Elizabeth. Hortense Ford later married a man by the name of Joseph Wood, whose surname was then given to Barbara and Claire. Hortense had a child with Joseph Wood, a son, Joseph Robert Wood, born on March 27, 1930. By the time Joseph Robert was born, however, the father is said to have died. Hortense Ford Wood (1906–1989) was of Portuguese (Azorean) descent on her father's side, the original family name having been Furtad