Biography for
Jayne Mansfield More at IMDbPro »

Date of Birth

19 April 1933, Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania, USA

Date of Death

29 June 1967, Slidell, Louisiana, USA (road accident)

Birth Name

Vera Jayne Palmer

Nickname

Jaynie

Height

5' 5" (1.65 m)

Mini Biography

American actress and sexual icon of the 1950s and 1960s, Jayne Mansfield was born in Pennsylvania and moved to Dallas, Texas, after the death of her father. She attended the University of Dallas and participated in little-theatre productions. She won minor beauty contests (such as "Miss Magnesium Lamp") and attended the University of Texas in Austin, taking drama classes. In 1954 she arrived in Los Angeles, where she studied acting at UCLA and worked in bit parts in television. She landed a small but sexy role in Pete Kelly's Blues (1955), which led to roles that were more prominent in several ways. A job in the Broadway production of "Will Success Spoil Rock Hunter?" brought her a good deal of attention for her scantily clad appearance, and she repeated the role in the film version. Her high-pitched squeal of delight and the studied ease with which she flaunted her more than obvious pulchritude led to a succession of roles as sex kittens and dumb blonde bimbos. She occasionally appeared in films of some quality, but though she apparently aspired to respectability as an actress, her public persona was too extreme to be taken seriously, and she became a sort of poor man's Marilyn Monroe, without the vulnerability and ability that Monroe possessed. By the 1960s Mansfield's career had declined into cheesy sexploitation and hokey and somewhat embarrassing guest appearances. While traveling between nightclub engagements she was killed in a highway accident in 1967, when the car in which she was riding slammed into a semi-tractor trailer truck.

IMDb Mini Biography By: Jim Beaver

Mini Biography

Jayne Mansfield was born Vera Jayne Palmer on April 19, 1933 in Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania. Her parents were well to do, with Mr. Palmer a successful attorney in Phillipburg, New Jersey, where Jayne was beginning her girlhood. Tragedy struck when Jayne was three when her father suddenly died of a heart attack. Three years later, her mother remarried and the family moved south to Dallas, Texas. Up until the move, Jayne had no aspirations of being a star, but with maturity and the fact that she devoured the fan magazines of the day convinced her to try acting. Jayne's plans had to be put on hold when she became pregnant by Paul Mansfield who she married in May of 1950. Her daughter was born in November. After graduation and the birth of her daughter, Jayne enrolled in the University of Texas at Austin to try her hand at thespian work. After some productions there and elsewhere, Jayne decided to go to Hollywood. Her first film was a bit role as a cigarette girl in Pete Kelly's Blues (1955). Although the roles in the beginning weren't much, she was successful in gaining those roles because of her ample physical attributes which placed her in two other films that year, Hell on Frisco Bay (1955) and Illegal (1955). Her breakout role came the next year with a featured part in The Burglar (1957). By the time she portrayed Rita Marlowe in Will Success Spoil Rock Hunter? (1957) and Too Hot to Handle (1960), Jayne was now known as the poor man's Marilyn Monroe. She didn't get the plum roles that Marilyn got in her productions. Instead Jayne got roles that was more of a showcase for her body more than anything else. Jayne did have a real talent for acting, but the movie executives insisted she stay in her dumb blonde stereotype roles. For the balance of her career, Jayne never received any standout performances although she was more than capable of doing them. On June 29, 1967, Jayne was killed when the car in which she was riding crashed into the back of a semi on the road near Slidell, Louisiana. Her lawyer Sam Brody also perished in the accident. The beautiful woman who starred in only 25 films, the woman who fought so hard for respectability, the woman who, in her own right, was a very good actress was dead at the age of 34. Her final film, Single Room Furnished (1968) was released the following year.

IMDb Mini Biography By: Denny Jackson

Mini Biography

Jayne Mansfield burst on the Hollywood scene like a rocket in 1955. One of the biggest sex symbol stars of the 1950s and 1960s, Jayne was second only to Marilyn Monroe and personified the era of the Blonde Bombshell. Known for her love of children and animals, Jayne also possessed an IQ of 163 and was known as one of the most friendliest, as well as publicity loving, stars of the era. She was one of the first sex symbols to ever own a sexual image as well as have a family. She was the first American motion picture actress to ever appear nude in a legitimate major motion picture. Known for having one of the most sensational hourglass figures ever. 40D-17-36.

Jayne married Paul Mansfield at the age of 16 and by 17 she was a mother. She and Paul and baby Jayne Marie moved to California in early 1954 where Jayne set out with one goal: to become a movie star. She was a brunette at the time and upon meeting Milton Lewis, a Paramount executive, she was told she was wasting her "obvious talents" and should go blonde. She did. Though nothing panned out at Paramount, she did manage to film a featured role in an independent film called _Female Jungle (1954)_. The film would not be officially released until 1957 to capitalize on Jayne's then super-stardom. After "Female Jungle", Jayne became a contract player at Warner Brothers and landed a small but sexy role in the Jack Webb/Peggy Lee drama Pete Kelly's Blues (1955). By this time, Paul Mansfield had become tired of Jayne's ambition and went back to Texas (where Jayne had moved as a child when she was 6) and from here on out it was Jayne and Jayne Marie. Jayne filmed a very small role in the Alan Ladd drama Hell on Frisco Bay (1955). Finally, it seemed Jayne hit pay dirt when she filmed a featured and major role in the Edward G. Robinson courtroom drama Illegal (1955). Jayne stole the show and even got her name on a few marquees and received good notices as well. Yet, Warner Brothers at this time dropped her contract... something they would regret. While in Pennsylvania in the summer of 1955 to film another indie called The Burglar (1957), Jayne auditioned for a Broadway play called "Will Success Spoil Rock Hunter?". The role called for a beautiful blonde sex symbol and she fitted the bill. Jayne landed the role and overnight a media and public sensation was born. Once seen as a "threat" to Marilyn Monroe, Jayne already proved herself as a hot commodity and gained respect as a legitimate Broadway actress and was no longer a threat but a proven force. 20th Century Fox, also Marilyn Monroe's studio, bought the play just to get Jayne. Returning to Hollywood, along with beau Mickey Hargitay (a sex symbol in his own right as a former Mr. Universe), Jayne filmed three back to back hits, The Girl Can't Help It (1956), The Wayward Bus (1957), and the film version of Will Success Spoil Rock Hunter? (1957). She rounded out the year of 1957 with Kiss Them for Me (1957), co-starring Cary Grant. While "Kiss Them For Me" was not the blockbuster it was meant to be, Jayne realized one of her dreams by working with Cary Grant who she adored as a child. Grant was quoted as saying of Jayne, "A potential Mae West". Jayne received the honor of being the most photographed woman of 1957 and while Monroe's career waned after the box office disappointment of The Prince and the Showgirl (1957), Jayne's prospered. She won a 1957 Golden Globe as Most Promising Female Newcomer.

Jayne and Hargitay married in a lavish, huge wedding on January 13, 1958. A month later Jayne and Mickey performed in a spectacular Vegas show where Jayne received $25,000 per week, becoming one of the most highly paid entertainers of that era. She moved into a lavish pink mansion once owned by Rudy Vallee. That same year, Jayne filmed what many fans agree to be one of her shining moments, a western called The Sheriff of Fractured Jaw (1958). Jayne proved herself a capable comedic actress. She continued work at Fox though it seemed they were at a loss with what to do with this extravagant star. Brassy, wild, and in no need of a press agent, Fox just didn't know how to promote her as Jayne did plenty of promoting herself. They began loaning her out for which they received a quarter of a million dollars while Jayne only received her weekly salary.

Jayne and Mickey had their first child together in 1958. In all, Jayne gave birth to 5 children: Jayne Marie born in 1950, Mickey Jr., born in 1958, Zoltan born in 1960, Mariska born in 1964 and Tony born in 1965. Tony was the offspring of Jayne's union with her third and final husband, Matt Cimber (Mickey and Jayne divorced in 1964).

After the death of Marilyn Monroe, interest in the blonde bombshells began fading. But the public still loved Jayne. They came out in droves to see her plays, nightclub acts, store appearances, and even her home. Though her film career began to appear to have fallen out of favor in the mid-1960s, Jayne still commanded a weekly salary of $8,000-25,000 per week for her nightclub act and she traveled all over the world with it. She was as one fan puts it, "The Madonna of the 1960s".

En route to New Orleans for a talk show appearance, Jayne and then companion Sam Brody, driver Ronnie Harrison, and 3 of her children slammed into the back of a tractor trailer truck early in the morning of June 29, 1967. The children, asleep in the backseat of the car, survived while all three passengers up front, Jayne, Sam, and driver Ronnie were instantly killed. The impact of the crash so was severe that Jayne was virtually scalped. A picture of the accident site falsely created a rumor that Jayne had been decapitated when what appeared to be her head was laying on the dash. In fact, what was on the dash was one of many blonde wigs that Jayne had been wearing at that time.

Jayne is remembered as an icon of the 1950s. A symbol of "sex on the rocks" as Life Magazine put it... as well as an actress, a loving mother, and a true star.

IMDb Mini Biography By: Vera Jayne Fan

Spouse

Matt Cimber	(24 September 1964 - July 1966) (divorced) 1 child
Mickey Hargitay	(13 January 1958 - 26 August 1964) (divorced) 3 children
Paul Mansfield	(10 May 1950 - 8 January 1958) (divorced) 1 child

Trade Mark

Small Waist and Large Bust.

Trivia

Mother of Jayne Marie Mansfield, who appeared in Playboy 1976, following in her mother's footsteps.

Playboy Playmate of the Month February 1955.

Producer Louis W. Kellman always said that he "discovered" Jayne Mansfield. He gave the then little known actress her first starring role (Gladden, Dan Duryea's sexy-but-shy gun moll kid sister) in The Burglar (1957) after seeing the normally jaded and unflappable film crew's "overheated" reaction to her on the set of Pete Kelly's Blues (1955) in which she had a small part.

Interred at Fairview Cemetery, Plainfield (Outside of Pen Argyl), Pennsylvania, USA.

Had four children: Jayne Marie Mansfield (b. 8 November 1950), Miklos Hargitay, Jr. a.k.a. Mickey Hargitay Jr. (b. 21 December 1958), Zoltan Hargitay (b. 1 August 1960), Mariska Hargitay (b. 24 January 1964), & Antonio Raphael Ottaviano Cimber a.k.a. Tony Cimber (b. 18 October 1965).

Turned down the role of Ginger Grant in "Gilligan's Island" (1964).

Spoke five languages.

Was a classically trained pianist and violinist.

Made Mr. Blackwell's Worst-Dressed List in 1961 with Marilyn Monroe, Sophia Loren and Shirley MacLaine. She also made the List in 1964.

Initally divorced Mickey Hargitay on 1 May 1963; she divorced him again in Juarez, Mexico. On 26 August 1964, the California Superior Court recognized the Mexican divorce pronouncement.

Was arrested for indecent exposure during her nightclub act in Burlington, Vermont in 1963.

Claimed to have an IQ of 163, though she didn't have exceptional grades in school.

Son Zoltan Hargitay was critically injured by a supposedly tame lion while visiting the Jungleland Zoo in Thousand Oaks, California, but made a full recovery. (December 1966).

Her goal, as quoted in the book, Jayne Mansfield and the American Fifties: "To feel satisfied with myself; to know that I have arrived. To be liked. To be a big personality. The real stars are not actors or actresses. They're personalities. The quality of making everyone stop in their tracks is what I work at.".

Contrary to popular belief, she was not decapitated in the car crash that killed her. Her death certificate, issued in New Orleans, Louisiana, lists "crushed skull with avulsion of cranium and brain" as the immediate cause of death; her other injuries included "closed fracture of right humerus" and "multiple lacerations of hands and lower extremities".

The late model Buick that Jayne was killed in was locked in a garage for decades, in the same shape it was in after the crash. The owner, who was a big fan, displayed it at various shows over the years, and it was sometimes billed as Jayne Mansfield's death car. The car was sold at auction in 1999 for $8000. Reportedly, the car still has the blood stains on the seats.

Measurements: 39 1/2-23-36 1/2 (smallest ever measured), 46D-18-36 (largest ever measured), 44D-18-36 (self-described), 46D-23-37 (after having children), 40D-21-35 1/2 (standard for the majority of her career), (Source: Celebrity Sleuth magazine).

During the late 1950s, the front bumpers of some American cars came with extensions that resembled the bullet-bra conical brassieres of the period. Soon after their introduction, these extensions were nicknamed Jayne Mansfields.

Her death is the subject of the Siouxsie and the Banshees song Kiss Them for Me, the title of which is taken from her 1957 film.

The German punk-rock-band The Bates dedicated the song The Lips Of Jayne Mansfield (from the album Shake!) to her.

Was of German and English descent.

Her character in the film The George Raft Story (1961) is based on 1940s bombshell Betty Grable.

She had a serious drinking problem most of her adult life.

The Japanese Band The 5, 6, 7, 8's play a song called "I Walk Like Jayne Mansfield".

Los Angeles heavy metal band L.A. Guns had a top-40 hit in the early 1990s with a song called The Ballad Of Jayne, which was based on her.

Was the first American actress to appear nude in a mainstream American film (Promises! Promises! (1963)).

Is portrayed by Loni Anderson in The Jayne Mansfield Story (1980) (TV).

Her autobiography, published in 1963, was titled Jayne Mansfield's Wild, Wild World. It written by Jayne with a few chapters by then-husband Mickey Hargitay. Included in the biography are an astrologer's predictions for Jayne's career path and Mickey's fitness tips.

Was with 20th Century-Fox from 1956-1962.

Though her film career seemed to have fallen from grace in the mid and late 1960s, her nightclub act was huge, earning her $8,000-$17,000 weekly.

Was born with brunette hair.

She was cut (as was Ruth Gordon) from the final print of The Loved One (1965).

Her estate was valued at approximately $2,000,000 at the time of her death, a significant sum by 1967 standards.

Jayne was named the 2nd (out of 100) top Playboy Playmates of all time according to Playboy Magazine.

California license plate on her 1956 Lincoln Premiere convertible: NBB 851.

She was inducted into the Texas Film Hall of Fame in March 2008 in Austin, Texas. Her daughter, Mariska Hargitay, accepted the award.

Personal Quotes

"Dramatic art in her opinion is knowing how to fill a sweater." - Bette Davis.

To establish yourself as an actress, you have to become well known. A girl just starting out, I would tell her to concentrate on acting, but she doesn't have to go around wearing blankets.

Stars were made to suffer, and I am a star.

I don't want to get involved in the racial situation at the expense of losing fans. I wouldn't say anything too strong but I do know that God created us equal and we're not living up to it.

If you're going to do something wrong, do it big, because the punishment is the same either way.

Carrying a baby is the most rewarding experience a woman can enjoy.

I will never be satisfied. Life is one constant search for betterment for me.

I don't particularly enjoy publicity, it seems to just follow me around.

I like being a pin-up girl, there's nothing wrong with it.

A lot of happiness can be brought to the mentally distraught by a little understanding.

We eat a lot of lean meat and fresh vegetables. You are what you eat, you know. When I'm 100 I'll still be doing pin-ups.

War is a foolish, childish, animalistic, unthinking, unintelligent way of trying to accomplish a purpose.

I want to earn my own way, I like having nice things but I've never accepted anything I haven't earned.

I'd like ten more babies and ten more chihuahuas and a few Academy Awards. Meanwhile, I enjoy being a sex symbol and making people happy.

No one wants to see or read about a dull subject. I don't consider myself a dull subject.

I've got the strangest build. It's big in the hips, small in the waist and I've got these enormous...shoulders.

Looks don't regulate a girl's body temperature, at least not this girl's body temperature. Intelligence in a man is the keynote and no girl in her right mind is going to go shopping for a man who's handsome and husky alone.

To function as an actress, I have to be in love. I have to have that incentive to work.

I didn't come to Hollywood to be the girl next door. I came to be a movie star.

My father was the only man I ever knew who really loved me unselfishly, who never used me for personal gain.

Once you were a starlet. Then you're a star. Can you be a starlet again?

If you want the best things in life you have to earn them for yourself.

I like the California style of living.

(Upon learning that 20th Century-Fox had lied to her about being considered for the lead in a film about the life of Jean Harlow] "I have thousands of letters here, from people all over the world, saying I am the perfect Harlow . . . even naturally have her mannerisms of caressing my body and arms in that way. But no, they can't see me playing the dramatic side of Harlow's life."

I guess a lot of people think that a girl who shows her bosom and wears tight dresses can't be close to God. God has always been close to me. Only He knew what was in my heart.

I have always considered my career self and my personal self as two different and separate people. There's a Jayne Mansfield at home, a wife and devoted mother, and there's Jayne the sex symbol, which is my career. I have always kept them completely apart and separate.

Sex appeal is a wonderful, warm, womanly, healthy feeling. If you're a woman it's womanly, if you're not it's manly . . . it comes only from inside . . . it's an effervescent desire to enjoy life.

You know which title I like best? I like to be called mother.

Men are those creatures with two legs and eight hands.

Salary

A Guide for the Married Man (1967)	$10,000
Promises! Promises! (1963)	$150,000 + % of profits
Gli amori di Ercole (1960)	$75,000
The Burglar (1957)	$5,000
The Girl Can't Help It (1956)	$2,500.00 per week

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