Although a well-loved figure on the 20th Century-Fox lot among the cast, crew, and lot workers, it was reported that Darnell made only one good friend in Hollywood, actress-singer Ann Miller, whom she met at a Catalina Island benefit. Darnell was very negative about the Hollywood social scene, finding it "nauseating". During her stay in Hollywood, her relationship with her mother, Pearl, worsened, as her mother was an unpopular figure on the lot because of her overbearing and possessive behavior. In 1940, Pearl accused her husband of having an incestuous relationship with Evelyn, one of her children, though he was not Evelyn's biological father. Following an intense fight between her parents in 1942, Darnell left home with her younger sister Monte and never returned. Out of spite, Pearl turned to the press, which gained Darnell some bad publicity.