Jayne Mansfield (bornVera Jayne Palmer; April 19, 1933 – June 29, 1967) was an American actress,Playboy Playmate, singer, andsex symbol of the 1950s and early 1960s. She was known for her numerous publicity stunts, her buxom figure, and her personal life. Her film career was short-lived, but she won aTheatre World Award and aGolden Globe Award. Mansfield gained a reputation as Hollywood's "smartestdumb blonde".
Mansfield's professional name came from her first husband, public relations professional Paul Mansfield. She married three times and had five children. On June 29, 1967, she died in a traffic collision at age 34.
Jayne Mansfield was born Vera Jayne Palmer on April 19, 1933, atBryn Mawr Hospital inBryn Mawr, Pennsylvania,[1][2] the only child of Herbert William Palmer and Vera Jeffrey (Palmer) Palmer.[2][a] She inherited more than $90,000 from her maternal grandfather, Thomas H. Palmer, and more than $36,000 from her maternal grandmother, Beatrice Mary Palmer, in 1958.[4][5][b]
Until age six, Palmer lived inPhillipsburg, New Jersey,[7] where her father, Herbert, was an attorney practicing with future New Jersey governorRobert B. Meyner. In 1936, her father died of aheart attack while driving; three-year-old Palmer was in the car at the time.[8][9]
In 1939, Palmer's widowed mother married sales engineer Harry Lawrence Peers. The family moved toDallas, Texas.[10][page needed] As a girl, Jayne was known as Vera Jayne Peers.[11] As a child, Palmer wanted to be a Hollywood star likeShirley Temple.[12][13][14] At age 12, she tookballroom dance lessons.[15] She graduated fromHighland Park High School in 1950.[16][17][18] While in high school, she took violin, piano, and viola lessons.[19] She also studied Spanish and German.[11][20]
While attending theUniversity of Texas at Austin, Palmer won several beauty contests, including Miss Photoflash, Miss Magnesium Lamp, and Miss Fire Prevention Week. By her own account, the only title she refused was Miss Roquefort Cheese, because she believed it "just didn't sound right".[21] Mansfield rejected "Miss Prime Rib" in 1957 as well.[22]
Palmer married Paul Mansfield in 1950.[23] In 1952, while in Dallas, Jayne and Paul Mansfield participated in small local-theater productions ofThe Slaves of Demon Rum andTen Nights in a Barroom. They also appeared inAnything Goes inCamp Gordon, Georgia. After Paul left for military service, Jayne Mansfield made her first significant stage appearance in a production ofArthur Miller'sDeath of a Salesman on October 22, 1953, with the players of the Knox Street Theater, headed by Sidney Lumet.[24]
The Mansfields moved with their daughter, Jayne Marie, to Los Angeles in 1954.[25] Jayne Mansfield sold popcorn at the Stanley Warner Theatre, taught dance,[26] sold candy at a movie theater,[27] modeling part-time at the Blue Book Model Agency,[28] and worked as a photographer atEsther Williams's Trails Restaurant.[24]
Early in Jayne Mansfield's career, some advertisers considered her prominent breasts undesirable or inappropriate. She lost her first professional assignment, aGeneral Electric commercial featuring young women in bathing suits relaxing around a pool,[29] having beencropped out of the final photographs.[30] Photographer Gene Lester, who worked on the photoshoot, stated that Mansfield was "too sexy" for the advertisement.[30]
In 1954, Mansfield auditioned at bothParamount Pictures andWarner Bros. For the Paramount audition in April, Mansfield performed asketch fromJoan of Arc for casting director Milton Lewis. Lewis told her she was wasting her "obvious talents" and had her come back a week later to perform the piano scene fromThe Seven Year Itch. Mansfield failed to impress, but learned she would have to dye her hair blonde.[31][32] She performed the piano scene for Warner Brothers, but, again, failed to impress.[32]
Mansfield landed her first acting assignment in theCBS seriesLux Video Theatre, in the episode "An Angel Went AWOL", aired on October 21, 1954.[24] In it, she sat at a piano and delivered a few lines of dialogue. She was paid $300.[33]
In 1955, the Mansfields separated, although Jayne kept Paul's last name.[34]
5 ft 6 in (1.68 m) (5 ft 8 in according to her autopsy)
In December 1953,Hugh Hefner began publishingPlayboy. The magazine became a success in part because of early appearances by Mansfield,Marilyn Monroe,Bettie Page, andAnita Ekberg.[35] In February 1955, Mansfield was thePlayboyPlaymate of the Month,[36] and appeared in the magazine several times.[37] Publication of photos of Mansfield boosted the magazine's circulation and her own career.[38][39][40] Shortly afterward, she posed for thePlayboy calendar, covering her bare breasts with her hands.Playboy featured Mansfield each February from 1955 to 1958, and again in 1960.[40] In 1964, the magazine repeated the 1955 pictorial.[40]Playboy later reprinted photos from that pictorial issue, with titles such as December 1965s "ThePlayboy Portfolio of Sex Stars", and January 2000s "Centerfolds of the Century".[41]
Mansfield's first film part was a supporting role inFemale Jungle, a low-budget drama completed in ten days. She was paid $150.[42]
In February 1955, James Byron, Mansfield's manager and publicist, negotiated a seven-year contract withWarner Brothers, whose decisionmakers were intrigued by her publicity antics.[43] The contract initially paid her $250 a week and landed her two films, one with an insignificant role and one that was unreleased for two years.[41][43] Mansfield was givenbit parts inPete Kelly's Blues (1955), starringJack Webb, andHell on Frisco Bay (1955), starringAlan Ladd. She acted in one more movie for Warner Brothers—another small but significant role oppositeEdward G. Robinson in the courtroom dramaIllegal (1955).[43]
Mansfield at a Zurich premiere in 1957
Mansfield got out of her Warner contract just in time to star on Broadway oppositeWalter Matthau.[44] Mansfield's agent, William Shiffrin, signed her to play fictional film star Rita Marlowe in theBroadway playWill Success Spoil Rock Hunter? withOrson Bean and Walter Matthau. The part was offered to Mansfield afterMamie Van Doren turned it down.[45] Mansfield accepted the part while working on producer Louis W. Kellman'sThe Burglar (1957), an adaption of the novel of the same name byDavid Goodis, directed byPaul Wendkos,[46] made infilm noir style. She appeared alongsideDan Duryea andMartha Vickers. The film[which?] was released two years later, when Mansfield's fame was at its peak.[citation needed] She was successful in this straight dramatic role, though most of her subsequent film appearances were comedic or capitalized on her sex appeal.[47] It was Kellman's first major venture, and he claimed to have "discovered" Mansfield.[48]
On May 3, 1956,Twentieth Century Fox signed Mansfield to a six-year contract to mold her as a successor to the increasingly difficult Marilyn Monroe,[49] their resident blondesex symbol. Monroe had just completedBus Stop. Mansfield was still under contract to Broadway and continued playingWill Success Spoil Rock Hunter? on stage until September 15.[citation needed]
Mansfield departs by helicopter toRotterdam, Netherlands (1957)
Soon afterward, Fox started promoting Mansfield as "Marilyn Monroe king-sized", attempting to coerce Monroe to return to the studio and complete her contract.[53]
Mansfield next played a dramatic role inThe Wayward Bus (1957), an adaptation ofJohn Steinbeck's novel of the same name. With this film, she attempted to move away from her "blonde bombshell" image and establish herself as a serious actress. The film enjoyed moderate box-office success, and Mansfield won aGolden Globe in 1957 for New Star of the Year, beatingCarroll Baker andNatalie Wood with her performance as a "wistful derelict". It was "generally conceded to have been her best acting", according toThe New York Times, in a fitful career hampered by her flamboyant image, distinctive voice ("a soft-voiced coo punctuated with squeals"), voluptuous figure, and limited acting range.[54]
Tashlin cast Mansfield in the film version of the Broadway showWill Success Spoil Rock Hunter?, released in 1957,[55] reprising her role of Rita Marlowe alongside costarsTony Randall andJoan Blondell. Fox launched its new blonde bombshell with a North American tour and a 40-day, 16-country tour of Europe. She attended the premiere of the film (released asOh! For a Man in the UK) inLondon, and metQueen Elizabeth II.[56][57][58]
Mansfield's fourth starring role in a Hollywood film was inKiss Them for Me (also 1957), for which she received prominent billing alongsideCary Grant. In the film, she is little more than comic relief; Grant's character relates to a redhead played by fashion modelSuzy Parker. The film, described as "vapid" and "ill-advised", was a critical and box-office flop,[59] and was one of 20th Century Fox's last attempts to promote Mansfield.[60] The continuing publicity related to her physical appeal failed to sustain her career.[61] Fox gave her a leading role oppositeKenneth More inThe Sheriff of Fractured Jaw (1958), a western comedy filmed on location in Spain. In the film, Mansfield's three songs were dubbed by singerConnie Francis. Fox released the film in the United States in 1959, and it was Mansfield's last mainstream film success.Columbia Pictures offered her a part oppositeJames Stewart andJack Lemmon in the romantic comedyBell, Book and Candle (1958), but she turned it down because she was pregnant.[62][63] Fox attempted to cast Mansfield oppositePaul Newman inRally 'Round the Flag, Boys! (1958), his ill-fated first attempt atcomedy.[64]
In 1959, Fox cast Mansfield in two independentgangster films shot in the United Kingdom:The Challenge andToo Hot to Handle, both released in 1960. Both films were low-budget, and their American releases were delayed.[65]Too Hot to Handle was released in the U.S. asPlaygirl After Dark in 1961.The Challenge was released in 1963 asIt Takes a Thief. In the U.S., censors objected to a scene inToo Hot to Handle in which Mansfield, wearing silver netting withsequins painted over her nipples, appears nearly nude.[66]
When Mansfield returned to Hollywood in mid-1960, 20th Century Fox cast her inIt Happened in Athens (1962) withTrax Colton, a handsome newcomer Fox was trying to mold into a heartthrob. She received first billing above the title but appeared in a supporting role. TheOlympic Games-based film was shot in Greece in 1960 but not released until 1962. It was a box-office failure. In 1961, Mansfield took a minor role but above-the-title billing inThe George Raft Story, released in 1962. StarringRay Danton as Raft, the film showcased Mansfield in a small part as a glamorous film star.[citation needed]
With a decreased demand for big-breasted, blonde bombshells and an increasing backlash against her excessive publicity, Mansfield became a box-office has-been by the early 1960s.[24] Fox stopped viewing her as a major Hollywood star and started loaning her and her likeness out to foreign productions in England and Italy, respectively, until the end of her contract in 1962. Many of her English/Italian films are regarded as obscure and some are consideredlost.[67][68]
Tommy Noonan persuaded Mansfield to become the first mainstream American actress to appear nude in a starring role, in the filmPromises! Promises! (1963).Playboy published nude photographs of Mansfield on set in its June 1963 issue, resulting in obscenity charges being filed againstHugh Hefner in a Chicago court.[69]Promises! Promises! was banned in Cleveland, Ohio, but enjoyed box-office success elsewhere. As a result of its success, Mansfield landed on the Top 10 list of box-office attractions for that year.[70]
Soon thereafter, Mansfield was chosen to replace the recently deceasedMarilyn Monroe inKiss Me, Stupid (released in 1964), a romantic comedy starringDean Martin. She turned down the role because of her pregnancy (with daughter Mariska). She was replaced byKim Novak.[71] But in that same year, 1963, Mansfield appeared in a pinup book,Jayne Mansfield for President: the White House or Bust, which was promoted on billboards.David Attie, a commercial and fine art photographer, took the photographs.[72]
In the mid-1960s, Mansfield appeared in foreign films such asL'Amore Primitivo (1964, Italy) andPanic Button (1964, Italy).[73][c] In 1966, she was cast inSingle Room Furnished, directed by her husbandMatt Cimber, whom she had married in 1964. She portrayed three different characters in her first starring dramatic role in several years. The film was released briefly in 1966.[74] It did not enjoy a full release until 1968, almost a year after her death. AfterSingle Room Furnished wrapped, Mansfield was cast opposite Mamie Van Doren andFerlin Husky inThe Las Vegas Hillbillys (1966), a low-budget comedy fromWoolner Brothers.[75][76][77] This was her firstcountry and western film, and she promoted it on a 29-day tour of major U.S. cities, accompanied by Husky,Don Bowman, and other country musicians. Before filming, Mansfield said she would not "share any screen time with the drive-in's answer to Marilyn Monroe", meaning Van Doren. Their characters did share one scene, but Mansfield and Van Doren filmed their parts at different times; these were edited together later.[78]
In early 1967, Mansfield filmed her last role, acameo inA Guide for the Married Man, a comedy starring Walter Matthau,Robert Morse, andInger Stevens. The opening credits listed Mansfield as one of the technical advisers, along with other star names.[79]
She performed in a number of variety shows, includingThe Jack Benny Program (on which she played violin),The Steve Allen Show, andThe Jackie Gleason Show (in the mid-1960s, when the show was the second-highest-rated program in the U.S.).[84] In November 1957, on a special episode ofNBC'sThe Perry Como Show ("Holiday in Las Vegas"), one of her nightclub acts was featured, something quite scandalous for the audience according to the broadcaster.[85] She was a headlining guest for threeBob Hope television specials. In 1957, she touredUnited States Pacific Command areas in Hawaii, Okinawa, Guam, Tokyo, and Korea withBob Hope for theUnited Service Organizations for 13 days, appearing as a comedian;[86] in 1961, she toured Newfoundland,[87] Labrador, and Baffin Island for a Christmas special.[88] She made many appearances on talk shows, which she appreciated for the publicity.[82] One of her more notable appearances on a variety show was onThe Ed Sullivan Show (Season 10, Episode 35; May 26, 1957), right after her success withRock Hunter; she played violin with a six-person backup band.[89][90] After the show she exclaimed, "Now I am really national. Momma and Dallas see the Ed Sullivan show!" According to Nielsen, the episode was watched in 13,400,000 homes, reaching 34% of the total audience, almost 30 million viewers.[91]
By 1958, she earned $20,000 per episode for television performances.[92] In 1964, Mansfield turned down the role ofGinger Grant on the sitcomGilligan's Island. Although her acting roles were becoming marginalized, Mansfield rejected the part as it epitomized the stereotype she wished to leave behind.[93] The part went toTina Louise. A widespread rumor that Mansfield had a breast-flashingwardrobe malfunction at the 1957Academy Awards was later found to be baseless by Academy researchers.[94]
As late as the mid-1980s, Mansfield as a figure drew audiences on television in fictional dramas portraying her and documentary productions with historic footage.[96] In 1980,The Jayne Mansfield Story aired onCBS, starringLoni Anderson as Mansfield andArnold Schwarzenegger as Mickey Hargitay. It was nominated for threeEmmy Awards. TheA+E Networks TV seriesBiography featured her in the episodeJayne Mansfield: Blonde Ambition.[97][98] It won anEmmy Award in the outstanding nonfiction TV series category in 2001.[99] A&E also dramatized her life in the TV serial,Dangerous Curves, in 1999.[100] In 1988, her story and archival footage were part of the TV documentaryHollywood Sex Symbols.[101]
Between 1951 and 1953, Mansfield acted inThe Slaves of Demon Rum,Ten Nights in a Barroom,Macbeth, andAnything Goes. Her performance in an October 1953 production of Arthur Miller'sDeath of a Salesman attracted Paramount Pictures to audition her.[102] Lumet trained her for the audition.[17] In 1955, she went to New York and appeared in the Broadway production ofGeorge Axelrod's comedyWill Success Spoil Rock Hunter?, also featuring Orson Bean and Walter Matthau. It was her first major stage performance, garnering her critical attention which was not always positive.[103] She starred as Rita Marlowe (a wild, blonde Hollywood starlet à la Monroe) in the musicalspoofing Hollywood in general and Marilyn Monroe in particular. Her wardrobe, a bath towel, caused a sensation.[104][105][106] She received aTheatre World Award (Promising Personality) for her performance in 1956,[107] as well as aGolden Globe Award (New Star of the year, Actress) in 1957.[108][109]Brooks Atkinson of theNew York Times described the "commendable abandon" of her scantily clad rendition of Rita Marlowe in the play as "a platinum-pated movie siren with the wavy contours of Marilyn Monroe". She performed in about 450 shows between 1955 and 1956.[110]
In May 1964, Mansfield starred in the stage production ofBus Stop at Yonkers Playhouse, co-starring Mickey Hargitay andAnn B. Davis.[111][112] The play had a three week engagement that ended on June 14.[113]
In February 1958, theTropicana Las Vegas launched Mansfield'sstripteaserevueThe Tropicana Holiday (produced by Monte Proser and co-starring Mansfield's then-husband,Mickey Hargitay) under a four-week contract that was extended to eight.[116][117] The opening night raised $20,000 forMarch of Dimes She received $25,000 per week for her performance as Trixie Divoon in the show, while her contract with 20th Century Fox was paying her $2,500 per week.[118][119][120] She had a million-dollar policy withLloyd's of London in case Hargitay dropped her as he whirled her around for the show.[121][122] In 1959, Jayne returned to the Tropicana with her show being extended from a four-week run to eight whenBetty Hutton's engagement there failed to materialize.[123] In December 1960, theDunes hotel and casino launched Mansfield's revueThe House of Love (produced by Jack Cole, co-starring Hargitay). She received a salary of $35,000 a week, the highest of her career.[124][125]
Her wardrobe for the shows at Tropicana and Dunes featured a gold mesh dress with sequins to cover her nipples and pubic region.[110][116][126] The controversial dress was called "Jayne Mansfield and a few sequins".[118] In early 1963, she performed in her first club engagement outside Las Vegas, at the Plantation Supper Club in Greensboro, North Carolina, earning $23,000 in a week, and then at Iroquois Gardens in Louisville, Kentucky.[127] She returned to Las Vegas in 1966, but her show was staged onFremont Street, away from theStrip where the Tropicana and Dunes were.[116] Her last nightclub act,French Dressing, was at theLatin Quarter in New York in 1966, also repeated at the Tropicana.[125] It was a modified version of the Tropicana show and ran for six weeks with fair success.[128]
Her nightclub career inspired films, documentaries, and a musical album. 20th Century Fox Records recorded "The House of Love" for the albumJayne Mansfield Busts Up Las Vegas in 1962. She played the roles ofburlesque entertainer Midnight Franklin inToo Hot to Handle (1960) and Las Vegas showgirl Tawni Downs inThe Las Vegas Hillbillys (1966).[65][129][130] In 1967, the independent documentarySpree (alternative titleLas Vegas by Night), about the antics of Las Vegas entertainers, was released. The film, narrated as a part of a travelogue ofVic Damone andJuliet Prowse, featured Mansfield, Hargitay,Constance Moore, andClara Ward as guest stars. Mansfield strips and sings "Promise Her Anything" from the filmPromises! Promises![131][132][133] A court order prohibited using any of the guest stars to promote the film.[134][135]
Later in her career, Mansfield was busier on stage, performing and making appearances with her nightclub acts, club engagements, and performance tours. By 1960, she had made personal appearances for everything from supermarket promotions to drugstore openings, at $10,000 per appearance.[136]
Mansfield had classical training in piano and violin. She sang in film soundtracks and on stage for her theatrical and nightclub performances, and released singles and albums. After her death, she became aninspiration for punk-rock musicians.[137]
In 1958, an orchestra was recorded for the31st Academy Awards ceremony withJack Benny on first violin, Mansfield on violin,Dick Powell on trumpet,Robert Mitchum on woodwind,Fred Astaire on drums, andJerry Lewis as conductor, but the performance was canceled.[140] She sang "Too Marvelous for Words" forThe Jack Benny Program ("Jack Takes Boat to Hawaii"; Episode 9, Season 14; November 26, 1963). Her club performances regularly featured songs likeCall Me,A Little Brains, A Little Talent ("This Queen has her aces in all the right places"),Plain Jane,Quando-Quando,Bésame Mucho, and the song Marilyn Monroe made famous,Diamonds Are a Girl's Best Friend.[141][142]
In 1965,Jimi Hendrix played bass and added lead in hissession musician days for Mansfield on two songs, "As The Clouds Drift By" and "Suey", released as a45-rpm single byLondon Records in 1966.[145][146]Ed Chalpin, the record producer, claimed that Mansfield played all the instruments on the singles.[147] According to Hendrix historian Steven Roby (Black Gold: The Lost Archives Of Jimi Hendrix, Billboard Books), this collaboration occurred because they shared a manager.[148][149] "Wo ist der Mann", sung in German and released byPolydor Records in Austria, was much in demand immediately after its release in August 1963. The A-side featuredHans Last's "Snicksnack-Snuckelchen".[150] In 1964, theOriginal Sound label released two original songs from the soundtrack ofThe Las Vegas Hillbillys, "That Makes It" (an answer toThe Big Bopper's "Chantilly Lace") on the A-side and "Little Things Mean a Lot" on the B-side.[151]
Mansfield was allegedly intimately involved with many men, including Claude Terrail (owner of the Paris restaurantTour d'Argent),[152]John F. Kennedy,[153]Robert F. Kennedy,[154] and Brazilian billionaireJorge Guinle.[155] She met John F. Kennedy through his brother-in-lawPeter Lawford in Palm Springs, California, in 1960.[156][157][158] In 1967, film critic Whitney Williams wrote of Mansfield inVariety: "Her personal life out-rivaled any of the roles she played".[159]
Mansfield (then Jayne Palmer) met Paul Mansfield at a party on Christmas Eve in 1949. She was a popular student at Highland Park High School, and he was a student at Sunset High School in Dallas.[160] On May 6, 1950, the couple married inFort Worth, Texas. At the time of their marriage, Jayne Mansfield was 17 years of age and was three months pregnant, while Paul Mansfield was 20 years of age.[161][162][163] (Some sources state that the couple married on May 10, 1950.[164][165][166] According to biographer Raymond Strait, the couple had secretly married on January 28, after which time Jayne Mansfield conceived their child.[161][162][167]) On November 8, 1950, Jayne Mansfield gave birth to her daughter,Jayne Marie Mansfield.[24] Some sources say that her pregnancy resulted fromdate rape.[164][168][169]
In 1952, Jayne Mansfield juggled motherhood and classes at the University of Texas. Early in 1952, Paul Mansfield was called to the United States Army Reserve for the Korean War.[170] While he served in the army, she spent a year atCamp Gordon, Georgia.[171] Paul Mansfield hoped their child's birth would discourage Jayne's interest in acting. When it did not, he agreed to move to Los Angeles in 1954 to further her career.[172] Once in California, the couple lived in a small apartment inVan Nuys, Los Angeles with Jayne's pets: a great dane; three cats; two chihuahuas; a poodle dyed pink; and a rabbit.[26][173][174][175] Jayne Marie was left in the care of her maternal grandparents.[176]
After a series of arguments about Jayne's ambitions, infidelity, and animals, the Mansfields decided to dissolve their marriage.[173][174] They separated in 1955.[34] Jayne filed for separate maintenance in February 1955[177] and filed for divorce in California in 1956. Paul filed for divorce in 1957 in Texas, citing mental cruelty.[178] In August 1956, Paul sought custody of Jayne Marie, alleging that Jayne was an unfit mother because she had appeared nude inPlayboy;[179] however, his attempt failed.[180] The Mansfields received their divorce papers on January 8, 1958.[178] Following the divorce, Jayne kept "Mansfield" as her professional name.[181] After turning 18, Jayne Marie stated that she had not received her inheritance from the Mansfield estate or heard from her father since her mother's death.[182][183]
Mansfield with Hargitay and children in London in 1959
Jayne Mansfield met her second husband,Mickey Hargitay, at theLatin Quarter nightclub in New York City on May 13, 1956, where he was performing as a member of thechorus line inMae West's show.[56] Hargitay was an actor and bodybuilder who won theMr. Universe competition in 1955.[184] Mansfield fell for him immediately, which resulted in a squabble with West.[185][186]
After Mansfield returned from her 40-day European tour, Hargitay proposed to her on November 6, 1957 with a 10-carat diamond ring.[187][188] On January 13, 1958 (days after her divorce from Paul Mansfield was finalized), Mansfield married Hargitay at theWayfarers Chapel inRancho Palos Verdes, California. The unique glass chapel made public and press viewing of the wedding easy. Mansfield wore a pink, skin-tight wedding gown made of sequins with a 30 yd (27 m)flounce of pinktulle (designed by a 20th Century-Fox costume designer).[189] At the reception, Mansfield had Hargitay drink pink champagne.[190][191][192]
Mansfield and Hargitay appeared together on screen[193] and stage.[68][194] Mansfield and Hargitay also appeared on television shows such as theBob Hope Specials.[68] They had a number of business holdings, including the Hargitay Exercise Equipment Company, Jayne Mansfield Productions, and Eastland Savings and Loan.[195] She co-wrote the autobiographical bookJayne Mansfield's Wild, Wild World with Hargitay. It contained 32 pages of black-and-white photographs printed on glossy paper.[196] The couple had two sons, Miklós Jeffrey Palmer Hargitay (born December 21, 1958) and Zoltán Anthony Hargitay (born August 1, 1960).[197]
In 1962, Mansfield had a well-publicized affair withEnrico Bomba, the Italian producer and production manager of her filmPanic Button.[198][199][200] Hargitay accused Bomba of sabotaging their marriage.[201][202]
In 1963, Mansfield had an affair with Brazilian-born comedian-singerNelson Sardelli. Mansfield indicated that she planned to marry Sardelli when her divorce from Hargitay was finalized.[203] On April 30, 1963, Mansfield obtained a divorce from Hargitay in Juarez, Mexico; Sardelli accompanied Mansfield to Juarez.[204] She had previously filed for divorce on May 4, 1962, but told reporters, "I'm sure we will make it up."[205] Her relationship with Sardelli ended in June 1963.[206]
Mansfield reconciled with Mickey Hargitay in October 1963[206] after she discovered that she was pregnant. Mansfield's daughter,Mariska Hargitay, was born on January 23, 1964.[207] As an adult, Mariska Hargitay revealed that Sardelli is her biological father.[208][209] After Mariska was born, Mansfield sued to get the Juarez divorce declared legal; the divorce was recognized on August 26, 1964.[210] Mansfield once told Hargitay on a television talk show that she was sorry for all the trouble she had caused him.[211]
Mansfield with attorney and boyfriend Sam Brody, Germany, 1967
Mansfield became involved withMatt Cimber (a.k.a. Matteo Ottaviano, né Thomas Vitale Ottaviano), an Italian-born film director, when he directed her in a stage production ofBus Stop in Yonkers, New York, costarring Hargitay.[212][213] Mansfield married Cimber on September 24, 1964, inMulegé, Baja California Sur, Mexico.[214] Cimber managed Mansfield's career during their marriage. The marriage began to collapse in the wake of Cimber’s alleged physical abuse as well as Mansfield's alcohol abuse, open infidelities, and disclosure to Cimber that she had been happy only with Sardelli.[215] They separated on July 11, 1965 and filed for divorce on July 20, 1966.[214] The couple had a son, Antonio Raphael Ottaviano (a.k.a. Tony Cimber, born October 18, 1965).[216] Cimber and his second wife, dress designer Christy Hilliard Hanak, raised Tony Cimber.[176][217][218]
In July 1966, Mansfield started living with her attorney, Sam Brody, who had frequent drunken brawls with her and mistreated her daughter Jayne Marie. In the 2025 documentaryMy Mom Jayne, Jayne Marie, Mansfield's son Zoltán Hargitay, and Mickey Hargitay's wife Ellen recalled instances where Mansfield showed signs of having been physically abused by Brody. Brody's wife, Beverly, filed for divorce, calling Mansfield the "41st other woman" in Brody's life.[176][217][218]
Mansfield's son Zoltán made news when a lion attacked him and bit his neck while he and his mother visited the theme parkJungleland USA inThousand Oaks, California, on November 23, 1966. He suffered severe head trauma, underwent three surgeries atCommunity Memorial Hospital inVentura, California, including a six-hour brain surgery, and contractedmeningitis. He recovered, and Brody sued the theme park on the family's behalf for $1.6 million.[56][219][220] The publicity led to the theme park's closure.[221]
In June 1967, two weeks before her mother's death, 16-year-old Jayne Marie accused Brody of beating her.[54] Her statement to theLos Angeles Police Department implicated her mother in encouraging the abuse, and days later ajuvenile court judge awarded temporary custody of Jayne Marie to Paul Mansfield's uncle William W. Pigue and his wife Mary.[161][222][223]
A June 1967 court decree made Mickey Hargitay the guardian of Mickey Jr., Zoltán, and Mariska Hargitay, though they continued to live with Mansfield.[224] Shortly after Mansfield's funeral, Hargitay sued her estate, but lost.[210][225] Hargitay married airline stewardess Ellen Siano in 1968.[226] He and Ellen went on to raise Mickey Jr., Zoltán, and Mariska.[210][225]
In August 1963, Mansfield decided to convert toCatholicism.[115][227] Although she never actually converted, she attended Catholic services when in Europe[228] and followed Catholic practices when involved with Catholic partners (including Hargitay, Sardelli, and Cimber).[229][230] In May 1967, her performance at the Mount Brandon Hotel inTralee, Ireland, was canceled because Catholic clergy condemned it.[231] She wanted to marry Matt Cimber in a Catholic ceremony, but was unable to find a priest to officiate.[232] While involved with Sam Brody, she also showed interest inJudaism.[115]
In San Francisco for the city's 1966Film Festival, Mansfield and Brody visited theChurch of Satan to meetAnton LaVey, the church's founder. He awarded Mansfield a medallion and the title "High Priestess of San Francisco's Church of Satan." The media enthusiastically covered the meeting and the events surrounding it, identifying Mansfield as aSatanist and speculating that she was romantically involved with LaVey.[233][234][235]
Mansfield was a major Hollywood sex symbol of the 1950s and early 1960s and 20th Century Fox's alternative to Marilyn Monroe. She came to be known as the "Working Man's Monroe".[237][238] She was one of Hollywood's originalblonde bombshells,[239] and remains one of the most recognizable icons of 1950scelebrity culture.[240]
According to Hollywood historian and biographerJames Parish, Mansfield'shourglass figure (she claimed dimensions of40–21–35), uniquesashaying walk, breathybaby talk, and cleavage-revealing costumes made an enduring impact.[176] Hollywood historianAndrew Nelson said that she was seen as Hollywood's gaudiest, boldest, D-cupped,B-grade actress from 1955 until the early 1960s.[238]
Frequent references have been made to Mansfield's very highIQ, which she claimed was 163.[241] In addition to English, she spoke four other languages. She learned French, Spanish, and German in high school, and in 1963 she studied Italian.[242] Reputed to be Hollywood's "smartest dumb blonde", she later complained that the public did not care about her brain, saying: "They're more interested in 40–21–35", a reference to her body measurements.[185][238]
A natural brunette, Mansfield had herhair bleached and colored platinum blonde when she moved to Los Angeles,[243] and became one of the early "blonde bombshells", along with Marilyn Monroe,Betty Grable, andMamie Van Doren.[244] In 1958, she also had her eyebrows dyed platinum.[245] FollowingJean Harlow (who started thetrend with her filmBombshell),[246][247] Monroe, Mansfield, and Van Doren helped establish the stereotype typified by a combination of curvaceous physique, very light-colored hair, and a perceived lack of intelligence.[248] A review of English-language tabloids shows it to be one of the most persistentblonde stereotypes along withbusty blonde, andblonde babe.[249]
Mansfield and Monroe have been described as representations of a historical juncture of sexuality in comedy and popular culture.[250] Academics have also namedAnita Ekberg andBettie Page as catalysts of the trend of exaggeratedfemale sexuality.[251][252]M. Thomas Inge describes Mansfield, Monroe, andJane Russell as personifications of the bad girl in popular culture.[253]Judy Holliday andGoldie Hawn have also been said to have established the "dumb blonde" stereotype,[254] typified by overt sexuality and apparent inability to understand everyday life.[255] Instead of the asexualized and virginal "nice girls" of earlier films, the pneumatic blonde bombshells took over the screen in the 1950s and have been consistently emulated since.[256][257] Social historianJoan Jacobs Brumberg called the 1950s as "an era distinguished by its worship of full-breasted women" and attributes theparadigm shift to Mansfield and Monroe.[258] Patricia Vettel-Becker specifically attributed the phenomenon toPlayboy magazine and Mansfield's and Monroe's appearances in it.[259]
Newspapers in the 1950s routinely published Mansfield's body measurements, which once led evangelistBilly Graham to exclaim, "This country knows more about Jayne Mansfield's statistics than theSecond Commandment."[260] Mansfield proclaimed a 41-inch bust line and a 22-inch waist when she made her Broadway debut in 1955, though those measurements are in dispute.[261] She was known as "the Cleavage Queen" and "the Queen of Sex and Bosom".[262] Mansfield's largest bust measurement was 46-DD (117 cm), measured by the press in 1967.[263] According toPlayboy, in 1955, her measurements were 40D-21-36 (102–53–91 cm) on her 5 ft 6 in (1.68 m) frame.[264]
Mansfield's drive for publicity was one of the strongest in Hollywood. She gave up all privacy, her doors always open to photographers.[136][272] On Christmas Eve 1954, she walked into publicist James Byron's office with a gift and asked him to oversee her publicity,[136] which he did, for the most part, until the end of 1961.[124] Byron appointed most of the people on her team—William Shiffrin (press agent), Greg Bautzer (attorney), and Charles Goldring (business manager)[273]—and constantly planted publicity material in the media.[272] She appeared in about 2,500 newspaper photographs, and had about 122,000 lines of newspaper copy written about her between September 1956 and May 1957.[240]
Because of this media blitz, she achieved international renown. On October 10, 1959, she visitedWhite Hart Lane, England, and watched theTottenham Hotspur versusWolverhampton Wanderers FC football match. By 1960, Mansfield had topped press polls for most words in print, made more personal appearances than any political candidate,[136] and was regarded as the world's most-photographed Hollywood celebrity.[110] She made news on a regular basis, for malfunctioning dresses, clothing that burst strategically at the seams, and low-cut dresses without a bra.[272][274] Things worsened when she took charge of her own publicity without advice. According to Shiffrin, "She became a freak."[275]James Bacon wrote in theLos Angeles Herald-Examiner in 1973: "Here was a girl with real comedy talent, spectacular figure and looks and yet ridiculed herself out of business by outlandish publicity."[276]
Mansfield received her first truly negative publicity after she and Hargitay pleaded poverty when his first wife, Mary Hargitay, whom he divorced on September 6, 1956, requested additional child support for their first child, Tina, in September 1958. Mansfield said she slept on the floor of her mansion, was unable to buy furniture, and spent only $71 on her daughter Jayne Marie.[277][278][279]
In January 1955, Mansfield appeared at a Silver Springs, Florida, press junket promoting the filmUnderwater!, starringJane Russell. She purposely wore a too-small red bikini lent to her by photographer friendPeter Gowland. When she dived into the pool for photographers, her top came off, creating a burst of media attention. The ensuing publicity ledWarner Bros. andPlayboy to approach her with offers.[161][240][280][281] On June 8 of that year, her dress fell down to her waist twice in a single evening, once at a movie party and later at a nightclub.[282] In February 1958, she was topless at aCarnival party in Rio de Janeiro.[185][283][284] Sheshimmied out of her polka-dot dress in a Rome nightclub in June 1962.[285][286] In the three years since making her Broadway debut inWill Success Spoil Rock Hunter?, Mansfield had become the most controversial star of the decade.[274]
In April 1957, her breasts were the focus of a publicity stunt intended to deflect media attention fromSophia Loren during a dinner party in Loren's honor. Photographs of them were published around the world. Thebest-known showed Loren gazing at Mansfield's cleavage (she was seated between Loren and her dinner companion,Clifton Webb) when Mansfield leaned over the table, allowing her breasts to spill over her low neckline, exposing one of her nipples.[287] The photo was aUPI sensation, appearing in newspapers and magazines with the word "censored" hiding Mansfield's nipple.[288]
At the same time, the media were quick to condemn Mansfield's stunts. One editorial columnist wrote: "We are amused when Miss Mansfield strains to pull in her stomach to fill out her bikini better; but we get angry when career-seeking women, shady ladies, and certain starlets and actresses ... use every opportunity to display their anatomy unasked."[29] By the late 1950s, Mansfield began to generate a great deal of negative publicity because of repeated exposure of her breasts in carefully staged public "wardrobe accidents".[289][290]Richard Blackwell, herwardrobe designer (who also designed for Jane Russell,Dorothy Lamour,Peggy Lee andNancy Reagan), dropped her from his client list because of this.[291] In April 1967, theLos Angeles Times wrote: "She confuses publicity and notoriety with stardom and celebrity and the result is very distasteful to the public."[292]
Mansfield adopted pink as her color in 1954, and was associated with it for the rest of her career.[24][293] Her original choice was purple, but she thought it too close to lavender,Kim Novak's signature color.[24] "It must have been the right decision," she said, "because I got more column space from pink than Kim Novak ever did from lavender."[293] In November 1957, shortly before their marriage, using money from an inheritance, Mansfield bought the 40-room Mediterranean-style mansion (formerly owned byRudy Vallée) at 10100 Sunset Boulevard inthe Holmby Hills section of Los Angeles.[68] Mansfield had the house painted pink, withcupids surrounded by pink fluorescent lights, pink fur in the bathrooms, a pink heart-shaped bathtub, and a fountain spurting pink champagne; she then dubbed it the "Pink Palace". Hargitay (a plumber and carpenter before taking up bodybuilding) built the pink heart-shaped swimming pool. The year after reconstructing the "Pink Palace" as a "pink landmark", she began riding in a pinkCadillac Eldorado Biarritz convertible withtailfins, then the only pink Cadillac in Hollywood.[294][295][296]
Throughout her career, Mansfield was compared by the media to the reigning sex symbol of the period,Marilyn Monroe.[297]20th Century Fox groomed her andSheree North to substitute for Monroe, their resident blonde bombshell, whileUniversal Pictures launched Van Doren as its substitute.[298] The studio launched Mansfield with a grand 40-day tour of England and Europe from September 25 to November 6, 1957.[299] She adopted Monroe's vocal mannerisms instead of her original husky voice and Texas accent,[261] performed in two plays that were based on Monroe vehicles,Bus Stop andGentlemen Prefer Blondes,[300] and her role inThe Wayward Bus was strongly influenced by Monroe's character inBus Stop.[114]
On June 28, 1967, Mansfield was inBiloxi, Mississippi, for an engagement at theGus Stevens Supper Club. After midnight, Mansfield; her attorney and partner Sam Brody; Ronald B. Harrison, a 19-year-old driver for the Gus Stevens Supper Club, who was driving; three of her children; and her four Chihuahuas left Biloxi forNew Orleans, where Mansfield was to appear on WDSU'sMidday Show. At about 2:25 a.m. on June 29, onU.S. Highway 90, 1 mile (1.6 km) west of theRigolets Bridge, their car crashed while traveling between 60 and 80 miles per hour (97 and 129 km/h) into the rear of atractor-trailer that had slowed down from 50 to 35 miles per hour (80 to 56 km/h) due to an approaching mosquito insecticide fog-spraying truck that was flashing a red light. Mansfield, the two other adults in the front seat, and two of the dogs died instantly. The children, asleep in the rear seat, survived with minor injuries.[311][312][313][f] They were rushed toOchsner Foundation Hospital, where Mickey Hargitay arrived that same day after learning what had happened.[314]
Reports that Mansfield wasdecapitated are untrue, although she suffered severehead trauma.[315] Thisurban legend started with the appearance in police photographs of the crashed car with its top virtually sheared off and what resembled a blonde-haired head tangled in the car's smashed windshield. Mansfield's death certificate gives her immediate cause of death as "crushed skull withavulsion ofcranium and brain".[316] The cause of the head-like shape has not been definitively determined.[317] After her death, theNational Highway Traffic Safety Administration recommended requiring anunderride guard (a strong bar made of steel tubing) on all tractor-trailers; the trucking industry was slow to adopt this change. In America, the underride guard is sometimes known as a "Mansfield bar".[318][319][320]
Mansfield's body was flown from New Orleans to New York and a private funeral took place on July 3 at the chapel of the Pullis Funeral Home inPen Argyl, Pennsylvania, officiated by the pastor of the ZionMethodist Church, Rev. Charles Montgomery. Mansfield was buried in Fairview Cemetery next to her father. Mickey Hargitay was the only ex-husband of Mansfield present at the funeral.[115][321]
In 1968, two wrongful-death lawsuits were filed on behalf of Mansfield and ex-husband Matt Cimber.[322] After a 16-day trial in 1971, the jury found that Harrison, the driver of the car, was negligent, that Richard Rambo, the driver of the truck into which Mansfield crashed, was not negligent, and that James McLelland, the driver of the fog-spraying truck, was negligent but his negligence was not a proximate cause of the accident; a rehearing was denied.[313]
Mansfield's star onHollywood Walk of Fame at 6328 Hollywood Boulevard.[325] Her daughter Mariska's star was placed next to hers more than 50 years later in 2013.[326]
She received a Star on theHollywood Walk of Fame on February 8, 1960, for her contribution to motion pictures.[325]
OnMother's Day of 1960, the Mildred Strauss Child Care Chapter of Mount Sinai Hospital, New York City declared her family as the "Family of the Year".[328]
Italian film, radio and television journalists awarded her the Silver Mask award in 1962.[329]
Mansfield received the Oscar of the Two World award in Italy.[330][331]
In 1963, Mansfield was voted one of the top-10 box-office attractions by an organization of American theater owners for her performance inPromises! Promises! (a film banned in parts of the U.S.).[67][70]
In 1968, the Hollywood Publicists Guild declared a "Jayne Mansfield Award" would be given to the actress who received the most exposure and publicity in a year.[245]Raquel Welch was the first winner of the award in 1969.[332]
Mansfield left behind five children and a crumbling estate,[333][334][335] including the Pink Palace.
Mansfield is known for helping shape the "dumb blonde" stereotype.[336][337] Contrary to her public persona, Mansfield was quite intelligent, and at one point could speak up to five different languages.[338]
Her daughter Mariska became an actress and star ofLaw & Order: Special Victims Unit. She has won several awards for her work on the show, including a Golden Globe Award for Best Actress in 2005 and an Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series in 2006.[339] Hargitay releasedMy Mom Jayne, a documentary about Mansfield, in June 2025.[340]
After Mansfield's death, Hargitay, Cimber, Vera Peers (Mansfield's mother), William Pigue (Jayne Marie's legal guardian), and Charles Goldring (Mansfield's business manager), as well as Bernard B. Cohen and Jerome Webber (both administrators of the estate) filed unsuccessful suits to gain control of her estate.[341][342][343] Mansfield's estate was appraised initially at $600,000, including the Pink Palace, estimated at $100,000, a sports car sold for $7,000, her jewelry, and Sam Brody's $185,000 estate left to her in his last will.[344][345] In 1971, Beverly Brody sued the Mansfield estate for $325,000 worth of presents and jewelry given to Mansfield by Sam Brody; the suit was settled out of court.[346][347][348] However, her four eldest children (Jayne Marie, Mickey, Zoltan, and Mariska) went to court in 1977 to find that approximately $500,000 in debt that Mansfield had incurred, including $11,000 for lingerie, $11,600 for plumbing of the heart-shaped swimming pool, and litigation had left the estate insolvent.[349]
The Pink Palace was sold. Its subsequent owners includedRingo Starr andEngelbert Humperdinck.[350]Cass Elliot is often falsely claimed to have owned the home. In 2002, Humperdinck sold it to developers, and the house was demolished in November of that year.[351] What remained of her estate was subsequently managed by CMG Worldwide, an intellectual property-management company.[352]
^Mansfield's mother's full name before marriage was Vera Jeffrey Palmer. Jeffrey is not her "maiden name", it is a family name Vera inherited from her mother (Jayne Mansfield's grandmother), Beatrice (Jeffrey) Palmer. So, Jayne's mother's full name, including her "born as" last name, was Vera Jeffrey Palmer Palmer.[3]
^InMy Mom Jayne, Zoltán Hargitay recalled his mother and Sam Brody were fighting in the front seat, and that she had moved to the back seat next to him at one point. He also recalled that she had screamed at the time of the crash.
^Strait 1992, pp. 16–17,[1]:"We were driving up a steep hill. ... We were all laughing and joking. ... Suddenly our laughter froze. Daddy fell over against Mama. He was dead."
^"Jayne Mansfield".Biography. June 26, 2025.Archived from the original on July 15, 2025. RetrievedSeptember 27, 2025.In 1954, after Paul returned from the Korean War, Mansfield convinced him to move with her to Los Angeles so she could pursue her dream of becoming a movie star.
^ab"Jayne Mansfield".Biography. June 26, 2025.Archived from the original on July 15, 2025. RetrievedSeptember 27, 2025.Mansfield's first years in Hollywood initially brought disappointment. She had unsuccessful auditions for Paramount and Warner Bros. and had to take a job selling candy at a movie theater. She also sought out modeling work, not always successfully either. At a professional photoshoot for an advertisement for General Electric, she was cropped out of the picture because she looked "too sexy" for 1954 audiences, according to photographer Gene Lester.
^Press, Joy (June 25, 2025)."The Triumph and Tragedy of Jayne Mansfield".Vanity Fair.Archived from the original on August 27, 2025. RetrievedSeptember 27, 2025.Although she hoped to audition for serious roles, Mansfield took a casting director's suggestion and bleached her hair platinum blond.
^Parsons, Louella (January 1, 1956). "Outlook for Young Star is Bright".The Sunday News-Press. p. 4.
^ab"Jayne Mansfield".Biography. June 26, 2025.Archived from the original on July 15, 2025. RetrievedSeptember 27, 2025.As Mansfield struggled to break into show business, her marriage suffered. In 1955, she and Paul split ways, though she opted to keep his last name.
^Edison, Mike (2011).Dirty! Dirty! Dirty!. Soft Skull Press. p. 24.ISBN9781593764678.
^Bahiana, Ana Maria (December 29, 2017)."Golden Globe Moment: Jayne Mansfield Is Back In Town, 1956".Golden Globe Awards. RetrievedMay 17, 2025.after a tentative start with Warner Brothers, who signed her for a seven year contract in 1955, Mansfield had changed her mind when her two initial projects proved to be less than ideal. She had the contract rescinded and fled for Broadway, where she starred alongside Walter Matthau in a successful production of George Axelrod's comedyWill Success Spoil Rock Hunter?
^Stein, Jeannine (September 15, 1987)."Last of the 'Blonde Bombshells' : The Survival Saga of Ex-Sex Kitten Mamie Van Doren".Los Angeles Times. Archived fromthe original on April 19, 2025.It's a role Van Doren plays in part by choice and in part because she thinks Hollywood never gave her a fair shake. "It was life and I just accepted it. The one mistake I will always kick myself for is not doing 'Will Success Spoil Rock Hunter?' It was written for me. Had I taken that role it would have gotten me out of this situation that I've always been in. My star would have been higher."
^abDebolt, Abbe A.; Baugess, James S. (2011). "Encyclopedia of the Sixties: A Decade of Culture and Counterculture [2 volumes]: A Decade of Culture and Counterculture".Encyclopedia of the Sixties: A Decade of Culture and Counterculture. ABC-CLIO. p. 391.ISBN978-1-4408-0102-0.
Benshoff, Harry M.; Griffin, Sean (2011).America on Film: Representing Race, Class, Gender, and Sexuality at the Movies. John Wiley & Sons. p. 213.ISBN978-1-4443-5759-2.
^abRyecroft, Christina; Moxon, David (2001).Human Relationships. Heinemann. p. 29.ISBN9780435806545.
^Parkin, Katherine J. (2007).Food Is Love: Advertising and Gender Roles in Modern America. University of Pennsylvania Press. p. 1973.
^Vettel-Becker, Patricia (2005).Shooting from the Hip: Photography, Masculinity, and Postwar America. University of Minnesota Press. p. 107.
^Russell, Dennis (2000). "Jayne Mansfield". In Pendergast, Tom; Pendergast, Sara (eds.). St. James Encyclopedia of Popular Culture. Vol. 3. Farmington Hills, Michigan: St. James Press, Gale. pp. 250–261. ISBN 1-55862-405-8. Archived from the original on August 10, 2011.
Ferruccio, Frank (2007).Diamonds to Dust: The Life and Death of Jayne Mansfield. Outskirts Press.ISBN978-1432712419.
Jordan, Jessica Hope (2009).The Sex Goddess In American Film 1930–1965: Jean Harlow, Mae West, Lana Turner and Jayne Mansfield. Cambria Press.ISBN978-1-60497-663-2.
Ferruccio, Frank (2010).Did Success Spoil Jayne Mansfield? Her Life in Pictures & Text. Outskirts Press.ISBN978-1432761233.
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