Remembering Jayne Mansfield's Hollywood Legacy
Before she was one of Playboy’s most recognizable Playmates, Jayne Mansfield was a young Texas girl with big dreams.
Born Vera Jayne Palmer, Jayne Mansfield grew up in Dallas, Texas idolizing young 1940s film stars like Shirley Temple. At 17, she married Paul Mansfield six months before the birth of her daughter Jayne Marie Mansfield. While attending the University of Texas at Austin to study drama, she held a number of odd jobs including one as a nude art model. During this time, she also found herself among the early issues of Playboy, alongside Marilyn Monroe and Bettie Page.
After the young family moved to Los Angeles, an unsuccessful audition inspired Mansfield to dye her dark hair the fierce blonde shade she’s remembered for today. In February of 1955, she was Playboy’s Playmate of the Month, increasing not only the magazine’s circulation but also her career prospects, eventually earning her the lead in The Girl Can’t Help It, which outperformed Monroe’s Gentlemen Prefer Blondes at the box office. During this time, she divorced her first husband and met actor Mickey Hargitay, who she married in 1958. Her wedding gown was a body-hugging pink gown covered in sequins. The couple had three children, including her daughter, Law & Order actress Mariska Hargitay.
Despite her success, Mansfield was often cast-typed as a “dumb blonde” or a threat to other women and their marriages—a persona that followed her into her off-screen life. Highlighting this, a 1957 photo shows Italian film star Sophia Loren giving what looks to be a major side-eye to the blonde bombshell during a Beverly Hills dinner party. While some took this as a sign that the two women were at odds, Loren later clarified that she was only keeping an eye on the model's low-cut dress. She said of the photo, "I'm staring at her nipples because I am afraid they are about to come onto my plate."
Sadly, Mansfield's life was cut short at 34 when she died in a tragic car accident in the outer swamps of New Orleans. The actress, along with her boyfriend and their driver, did not survive, while her three children in the backseat were luckily unharmed. L'OFFICIEL honors Mansfield's memory on her birthday with a photo retrospective on her life and career.
