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Jayne Mansfield was an American actress and model known for her hourglass figure and high-pitched voice. She had a genius IQ of 163 and began performing at a young age. Mansfield moved to Hollywood in 1954 and had success in films and on Broadway, but her career waned after 1957. She had three marriages and five children before her tragic death in a car accident in 1967. Mansfield has become a cult figure since her death.
Jayne Mansfield was an American actress and model of the 1950s and 60s, best known for her extreme hourglass figure and trademark high-pitched shriek. Though she’s seen some success in Hollywood, her public persona of her hottie, complete with wardrobe malfunctions, has garnered the attention of the public. Jayne Mansfield exemplified the goofy blonde, but she was reportedly a genius in real life, with an IQ of 163.
Jayne Mansfield was born April 19, 1933 in Pennsylvania but lived in New Jersey with her parents, Herbert and Vera, during her early years. Mansfield showed an interest in performing very early on, often singing before an audience of stuffed animals. When she was three years old, her father died of a heart attack. She claimed to have fond memories of him, even though she was so young at the time of his death. Three years later, Vera remarried and the family moved to Dallas, Texas.
After a trip to Hollywood, California in 1946, Jayne Mansfield was sure that her true calling was that of a movie star. She got married at the age of 16 and shortly thereafter had a daughter, Jayne Marie. Jayne Mansfield began studying acting after graduating from high school, first at Southern Methodist University, then at the University of Texas at Austin. In 1953 she attended the UCLA summer session, returning to Southern Methodist in the fall. In October of that year, she performed in her first play, Arthur Miller’s Death of A Salesman.
In late 1954, Jayne Mansfield moved to Los Angeles with her family to follow her dream of becoming a Hollywood star. She continued her theater education at UCLA and landed her first film role, in Female Jungle, within months. Her popularity as an actress grew rapidly, though she was never taken very seriously as an actress and most of her roles were comedic. She performed on Broadway in Will Success Spoil Rock Hunter? to critical acclaim and she starred in the film version two years later.
Jayne Mansfield’s success in Hollywood was intense, but short-lived, waning after the 1957 film Kiss Them for Me, starring Cary Grant. She was overshadowed by Marilyn Monroe and was never much appreciated for her few dramatic roles of her own. Even her public persona became too flamboyant for the studios’ liking.
Jayne Mansfield divorced her first husband, Paul Mansfield, in 1958, just five days before her second marriage, to bodybuilder Mickey Hargitay. Jayne Mansfield and Mickey Hargitay had three children — Miklós, Zoltan and Mariska — before their 1963 divorce. During their marriage, Mansfield and Hargitay starred in shows like Bus Stop and Gentlemen Prefer Blondes. In 1964 Jayne Mansfield married for the third time to the Italian director Matt Cimber. The couple had one son, Tony, in 1965, but separated soon after.
Jayne Mansfield met a tragic end on June 29, 1967, at the age of 34. On her way to a television appearance with her boyfriend and divorce attorney, Sam Brody, their chauffeur, and her three children with Mickey Hargitay, she was in a fatal car accident. Only the three children survived. Since her death, Jayne Mansfield has become something of a cult figure. She is buried in Fairview Cemetery in Pennsylvania, but she has a memorial cenotaph in Hollywood Forever Cemetery.
