Incredible Vintage Photos Of Jayne Mansfield

Jayne Mansfield was a prolific film, theater, and TV actress who was an icon of the 1950’s and early 60’s Hollywood scene. From her well publicized “wardrobe malfunctions” to her very open personal life, Jayne was happy to let the public into her life. This is her incredible story.

Jayne’s Roots

Born Vera Jayne Palmer in Phillipsburg, New Jersey, on April 19th, 1933, she was the only child of parents Herbert William Palmer and Vera Jeffrey Palmer. Little did her parents know that their only daughter would go on to become a famous Hollywood starlet.

Growing Up

When she was just 3 years old, Jayne’s father died of a heart attack. Three years later, her mother married a sales engineer, and the three moved to Dallas, Texas. As a child, Jayne looked up to Hollywood stars like Shirley Temple, which led her to take ballroom dance lessons.

An Early Taste Of Fame

When Jayne was just 13 years old, she took a trip to Hollywood with her mother, where the two dined at the Hollywood Brown Derby, a famous eatery. There they spotted a famous national radio star, and they asked him for his autograph. After the encounter, Jayne told her mother that one day people would be asking for her autograph.

Jayne The Mother

Jayne married her first husband Paul Mansfield in 1950 when she was just 17 years old. Their daughter, Jayne Marie Mansfield, was born shortly after. Jayne went on to have two more marriages and four more children in her life, including Emmy winner Law and Order SVU actress Mariska Hargitay.

Moving Around

In 1951, Jayne and her husband Paul moved to Austin, where she began studying dramatics at the University of Texas at Austin. She later spent a year living at U.S. Army training facility Camp Gordon in Georgia when her husband was serving in the U.S. Army Reserve during the Korean War.

Acting Lessons With A Legend

In 1953, Jayne headed back to Dallas where she studied under actor Baruch Lumet, who was the founder of the Dallas Institute of Performing Arts. She had private lessons with Lumet alongside actor Rip Torn. Lumet referred to them as his “kids.” Lumet went on to help Jayne score her first screen test at Paramount in 1954.

Moving To The City Of Angels

Jayne was beginning to experience success locally in Texas. Although Paul hoped that the birth of their child would deter Jayne from pursuing acting,  once he came back from serving his duty in the war, he agreed to move to Los Angeles so that she could focus on pursuing a career as an actress.

A Slow But Steady Start

Jayne started making stage appearances including a production of Arthur Miller’s Death of a Salesman in 1953. Although she was starting to see some advancements in her career, some advertisers felt that she was too curvaceous in order to be in their commercials.

 A Pageant Winner

While she was still at the University of Texas at Austin, Jayne competed in several beauty pageants and contests, winning the titles of Miss Photoflash, Miss Magnesium Lamp, and Miss Fire Prevention Week.

Her Big Break

Jayne finally broke out into the scene when in February 1955, she posed for Playboy magazine, appearing as the Playmate of the Month. Her appearance led to a rise in the magazine’s circulation and helped launch her career. She would go on to pose for Playboy many more times throughout her career. However, this success came at a cost: her marriage to Paul was now on the rocks.

A Large Inheritance

In 1958, when Jayne was just 25 years old, she received a large inheritance from her grandparents. The Palmers left her $126,000, which after adjusting inflation, comes out to just about $1 million today.

Her First Film

Jayne finally landed her first film role in 1955 when she was cast in a supporting role in the low-budget drama Female Jungle. It was filmed and completed in ten days and for the role Jayne was paid $150, which comes out to about $1000 in 2020 dollars. This led to her signing a seven year contract with Warner Brothers.y

Jayne The Jokester

Jayne was soon well known in Hollywood for her notorious pranks, publicity stunts, and practical jokes. In a famous incident, she crashed a dinner party that Sophia Loren was taking part in and staged a wardrobe malfunction. In today’s vernacular, we could call this incident a photobomb!

Her Signature Color

In 1954, Mansfield adopted the color pink her “her” color and it was associated with her for the rest of her career. On her choice she said, “It must have been the right decision because I got more column space from pink than Kim Novak ever did from lavender,” referring to actress Kim Novak. Her home was called the “Pink Palace,” where her second husband Miklos Hargitay built her a pink heart-shaped built.

More Success

Following her first film experience, Jayne expanded her horizons and landed a role on Broadway alongside co-star Walter Matthau in the play Will Success Spoil Rock Hunter? in 1955. However, she was then dropped by Warner Brothers. Things could have ended up very badly for Jayne, but her luck hadn’t run out yet…

A New Deal

Luckily, Twentieth Century-Fox took the opportunity to sign her, and in 1956 she sighed a contract with them. Next came her first starring role in the film The Girl Can’t Help It. She starred alongside a star-studded cast of musicians like Little Richard, Fats Domino, Gene Vincent, The Platters, and Eddie Cochran.

The New Marilyn Monroe?

The Girl Can’t Help It was a wild success, outperforming Marilyn Monroe’s Gentlemen Prefer Blondes, which had been released 3 years earlier. Twentieth Century-Fox wanted to capitalize on the film’s success and Mansfield’s popularity, and they began to promote Mansfield as “Marilyn Monroe king-sized.”

Recognized For Her Work

In 1957, Mansfield starred in a film adaptation of John Steinbeck’s novel The Wayward Bus. For her role in the film, Jayne won a Golden Globe award for New Star of the Year in 1957. She beat out other now-prominent names such as Natalie Wood and Carroll Baker

Reprising The Role

Continuing to cash in on Mansfield’s popularity and her previous successes, she was cast in the film adaptation of the Broadway play Will Success Spoil Rock Hunter? and she reprised the role she played in the show.

Fall From The Top

Following several more films like The Sheriff of Fractured Jaw, Mansfield’s career began to slow down. By the early 1960’s, she no longer got any good film roles and was unable to fulfill her contract with Twentieth Century Fox and she was then dropped.

Success In Las Vegas

After her film career dwindled, Mansfield continued performing stage plays. In February 1958, she performed at the Tropicana Las Vegas. Following that, Las Vegas hotel and casino the Dunes launched her revue called “The House of Love.” This success spawned films and even a musical album called Jayne Mansfield Busts Up Las Vegas, released in 1962.

Touring And Appearances

By 1960, Jayne was making personal appearances ranging from supermarket promotions to drug store openings, as well as nightclub appearances, performance tours, and club engagements. She earned up to $10,000, which comes out to $86,000 in 2019 dollars! Not too shabby at all.

Jayne As Ginger?

Jayne also began dabbling in TV roles. She starred in shows like 1962’s Alfred Hitchcock Presents. She was even offered the role of “Ginger Grant” on Gilligan’s Island, but she felt that taking the role would perpetuate the stereotypical role that she was trying so hard to avoid, and she ended up refusing the role.

A Huge TV Spot

In May 1957, Jayne made one of her most notable television appearances when she was featured on the tenth season of The Ed Sullivan Show. She played violin live on air and exclaimed after filming: “Now I am really national. Momma and Dallas see the Ed Sullivan Show!”

The Animal Lover

Mansfield was a well known animal lover in her day. In fact, long before her days in the spotlight, she kept several pets in her Los Angeles home. These pets included a Great Dane, three cats named Sabina, Romulus, and Ophelia, two chihuahuas, a poodle dyed pink, and a rabbit. Her first husband, Paul, was not a fan of having so many animals in the house.

A Famous Co-Star

In 1957, Mansfield starred in the film Kiss Them For Me alongside Hollywood leading man of the day Cary Grant. Despite the prominent billing, Jayne was actually used as comic relief, with Grant’s character preferring actress and model Suzy Parker’s character instead of Mansfield. The film ended up being a flop and was 20th Century Fox’s last attempt in trying to publicize Jayne.

A Stage Star

One of Jayne’s most impressive accomplishments is the fact that she was so successful and prolific on stage. Just between the years of 1955 and 1956 she starred in more than 425 shows total. That means she appeared in a average of one show per day.

Variety Show Performances

Mansfield performed on all of the major variety shows of the time, including The Jack Benny Program, The Steve Allen Show, The Jackie Gleason Show, The Bob Hope Show, and in a special episode of The Perry Como Show.

Paid Very Well

Her television career was quite successful, especially considering that her film career stalled at what seemed like its peak. By the year 1958, Mansfield was getting paid $20,000 per episode for TV performances, which comes out to about $177,000 in 2019 dollars. Very impressive!

Musical Career

Mansfield was a classically trained violinist and pianism and even sang on film soundtracks and in theater productions. In 1965, Jimi Hendrix contributed to two songs that she released: “As The Clouds Drift By” and “Suey.” He played bass and added lead as a session musician.

Giving Her The Credit

Despite the fact that Jimi Hendrix provided backing music on the songs (due to the fact that Hendrix and Mansfield shared the same manager), the record’s producer Ed Chalpin actually claimed that Mansfield has played all of the instruments on the singles recordings.

A Novelty Album

In 1962, Mansfield released a novelty musical album named Jayne Mansfield: Shakespeare, Tchaikovsky & Me. On the album, Jayne recited sonnets by Shakespeare as well as poems by Wordsworth, Marlowe, Browning, and more – all set to background music by Tchaikovsky.

The Story Of Her Life

In 1980, a CBS film named The Jayne Mansfield Story was aired, starring Loni Anderson as Jayne Mansfield and Arnold Schwarzenegger as her second husband Mickey Hargitay. The film was nominated for three Emmy Awards.

A Fascinating Life

Jayne’s life continued to be one of TV’s big draws. A&E Networks TV series Biography featured an episode about her life called Jayne Mansfield: Blonde Ambition. This series ended up winning an Emmy Award for Outstanding Non-Fiction TV series in 2001. In 1999, another TV series was released about her, called Dangerous Curves. 

More Pink

In addition to her all-pink house, Mansfield’s obsession with the color expanded into other aspects of her life. She had a custom made wedding gown made and it was bright pink, covered in sequins, and featured a 30 yard flounce made of pink tulle.

Her Story, Her Words

Mansfield penned her own story in an autobiography she released in 1968. Entitled Jayne Mansfield’s Wild, Wild World, she co-wrote it with then-husband Hargitay. She wrote about the crazy life that she had experienced thus far.

Striving For Fame

One of the most interesting aspects of Mansfield’s career is the fact that one of her goals was simply to become famous. She was always open to being photographed and did not care about her privacy at all. She hired James Byron as a publicist and he managed her career until 1961.

A Household Name

Between the years of 1956 and 1958, she appeared in 2500 newspaper photos and had 122,000 lines of copy written about her. This blitz led to her becoming a household name and in 1960, she had more words in print written about her than anybody else in the whole world. She was also considered to be the most photographed celebrity in the world at the time.

Second Husband

Jayne married Mickey Hargitay in January 1958 in California. Hargitay, who was originally from Budapest, Hungary, was an actor and bodybuilder who won the Mr. Universe contest in 1955. After infidelities and fighting, the two divorced in May 1963. Their daughter, Mariska Hargitay, is best known as Olivia Benson in Law & Order: Special Victims Unit.

Third Marriage

While performing in a stage production of Bus Stop, Mansfield met Italian-born film director Matt Cimber (also known as Matteo Ottaviano). The two married in September 1964 in Mexico. He managed her career throughout their marriage. The marriage ended in divorce in July 1966.

Her Natural Tresses

Even though Mansfield was known for her voluminous blonde hair, much like her contemporary Marilyn Monroe, Jayne was actually naturally a brunette. Many associate the actress with blonde hair, but just as she curated a new name for herself, she conformed to the bottle blonde trend of the day.

High Profile Affairs

It has been alleged that Mansfield in many extramarital affairs, especially with powerful, well-known men. These men include John F. Kennedy, his brother Robert F. Kennedy, Brazilian billionaire Jorge Guinle, Parisian restauranteur Claude Terrail, as well as Italian producer Enrico Bomba.

Her First Marriage

Jayne married first husband, Paul Mansfield, in 1950, when she was just 17 years old and he was only 20 years old. At the time of their marriage, Jayne was already three months pregnant with her first child, Jayne Marie Mansfield. The two divorced in 1958, and Jayne decided to keep his last name “Mansfield” as her professional name.

A Second Attempt

Jayne met Hungarian-American actor and bodybuilder Mickey Hargitay in 1956 at the Latin Quarter nightclub in New York City. Jayne and Mickey married in January 1958, days after her divorce from Paul was finalized. The two went on to have three children together. While they were married, Jayne was engaged in several affairs with other men. Jayne and Mickey filed for divorce in 1962.

A Tricky Situation

While she and Mickey had filed for divorced in 1962, she found out that she was pregnant. Worried that being pregnant out of wedlock would damage her career, she and Hargitay announced that they were still together. Their daughter, Mariska Hargitay, was born in 1964. The divorce was officially recognized in 1964, and the court decree gave Hargitay legal custody of the children although they continued to live with Mansfield.

Hargitay Moves On

In 1968, Mickey Hargitay married a flight attendant named Ellen Siano. When Jayne tragically died, Siano accompanied Harigtay in order to pick up their three children. Hargitay tried to receive money from Jayne’s estate, arguing that he would be raising their children, but he did not win.

Third Time’s The Charm?

Jayne also moved on after her divorce from Hargitay, and became involved with Matt Cimber, an Italian-born director. The pair married in September 1964. While they were married, Cimber managed Jayne’s career. The marriage became rocky as Jayne fell into alcohol abuse and more infidelities. They had one child together, son Antonio Ottaviano, aka Tony Cimber. The two divorced in July 1966.

Her Final Relationship

After her third divorce, Mansfield began living with Sam Brody, her attorney, while he was still married. He mistreated her oldest daughter, Jayne Marie, and the two would frequently have drunken brawls with one another. Brody’s wife eventually left him, and referred to Jayne as the “41st other woman” in Brody’s life.

Jayne Marie’s Accusation

In 1967, when Mansfield’s oldest daughter, Jayne Marie, was only 16 years old, she accused her mother’s then-boyfriend Sam Brody of beating her. She gave an official statement to the LA Police Department and a juvenile court eventually awarded Jayne Marie’s father Paul’s uncle temporary custody of her.

Tragedy Strikes

Two weeks after this incident, tragedy hit while Mansfield was in Mississippi for an engagement at the Gus Stevens Supper Club. After a performance, Mansfield, Sam Brody, and Jayne’s children Miklos, Zoltan, and Mariska were driven by Ronnie Harrison, heading towards New Orleans.

A Fatal Crash

At around 2:25 a.m., their car crashed at a high speed straight into a tractor trailer. The three adults in the front of the car died on impact, but miraculously the three children, who were asleep in the back seat, all survived with only minor injuries.

The Impact

After the crash, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration recommended that an underride guard should be required on all tractor trailers. This underride guard is often referred to as a “Mansfield bar” due to the incident.

The Funeral

Jayne’s funeral took place in July 1967 in Pen Argyl, Pennsylvania. Of her ex-husbands, only Mickey Hargitay attended the ceremony. Her gravestone is heart-shaped and reads: “we live to love you more each day.”

Walk Of Fame Star

In February 1960, Mansfield was honored by receiving a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame on Hollywood Boulevard, which she received for her contributions to film and motion pictures.

A Family Affair

Years later, in 2013, Mariska Hargitay was also given a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. Her star was placed right next to her mother’s. Her half-sister, Jayne Marie, attended the ceremony in order to support Mariska.

What Of Her Estate?

After Jayne’s untimely death, Hargitay, Cimber, her mother Vera Peers, her legal guardian William Pigue, her business manager Charles Goldring, and administrators of the estate Bernard B. Cohen and Jerome Webber all tried to legally get ahold of her estate. Eventually her home, the Pink Palace was sold.

Famous New Owners

So who bought the Pink Palace? Famous owners of the former Mansfield mansion included Ringo Starr and also Engelbert Humperdinck. Humperdinck ended up selling the home to developers in 2002, and it was eventually demolished.

Jayne’s Influence

Mansfield left a lasting impression in popular culture. Italian actress Marisa Allasio was once called “the new Jayne Mansfield,” and 1993 Playmate of the Year Anna Nicole Smith was often referred to as the 90’s version of Jayne Mansfield, especially she resembled her both physically and characteristically.

Opening The Door For Others

Drag queen Divine parodied Jayne Mansfield in the 1969 black comedy film Mondo Trasho. Later, the Hollywood Reporter made the claim that “if it weren’t for Mansfield then, there would likely be no Kardashians today.”

Her Legacy

There’s no doubt that Mansfield will live on in history of American popular culture. She was the “bad girl” foil to her time’s “good girl” actresses such as Doris Day, Debbie Reynolds, and Natalie Wood. She always marched to the beat of her own drum, and will always be remembered for that.