The tragic fate of Jayne Mansfield

Jayne Mansfield's life tells the story of the actress who could have ruled Hollywood but fell by the wayside. The explosive, excessive, and gifted actress left us too soon.

"People are only interested in my numbers: 102-53-89," commented Jayne Mansfield. Her measurements (and her eagerness to show them off), made her a symbol of 1950s Hollywood.

Interestingly, the image of the 'blonde bombshell with little brains' was the opposite of Jayne Mansfield. She actually had jet-black hair and an IQ in high figures: 163 points.

Born Vera Jayne Palmer, she was a child prodigy on many levels. The actress was raised in New Jersey and Texas and at the age of 12 she was already playing piano, violin, and viola at master level. In addition, she was fluent in five languages.

As her talents improved, her shapely figure began to emerge, and she was quickly aware of the hypnotic magnetism that her body would have on others.

As life would have it, when she was only 17 years old, she became pregnant and got married to Paul Mansfield, whose surname she took and kept even after divorcing him. Together they moved to Los Angeles in 1954. She was 20 years old.

To make a name for herself, Jayne Mansfield entered every beauty pageant she could in Los Angeles and swept the board. Miss 4th of July, Miss Orchid, Miss Chihuahua.... It was only a matter of time before she made the leap to the movies.

To make that leap, Jayne Mansfield took what some might call the easy way out: dyeing her hair platinum blonde and emulating the most desired woman of the moment, Marilyn Monroe. She would be compared to the star until the end of her days.

In 1956, at the age of 23, she divorced Paul Mansfield. She would marry again twice. The first time with bodybuilder and Mister Universe Mickey Hargitay (between 1958 and 1964) and another time with director Matt Cimber (1964-1966).

From these three marriages, Jayne Mansfield conceived five children. The most famous and only female, along with four boys, was Mariska Hargitay (1964), star of the series 'Law & Order: Special Victims Unit', on the air since 1999.

In between, Jayne Mansfield had countless love affairs, although the most recognizable were with the Kennedy brothers, Robert and John, which only fueled her eternal comparison with Marilyn, as reported at the time by The Washington Post.

On an acting level, her first significant role was in 'The Girl Can't Help It' (1956), where she exploited the role of a blonde flower girl. A year before, she was about to be offered a role in 'Rebel Without a Cause' - she had an affair with Nicholas Ray, director of the film - but Natalie Wood ended up taking the role away from her.

In 1957, Fox signed her to star in projects such as 'Kiss Them for Me' (1957) with Cary Grant, and 'The Wayward Bus', which earned her a Golden Globe for New Star of the Year.

However, Hollywood changes over time, and the voluptuous figures of the 50s stars gave way to the delicate and petite Audrey Hepburn-like figures in the 60s.

Jayne Mansfield went from being an icon of seduction to becoming yesterday's news. Just into her thirties, she was already considered old for Hollywood in the 60s.

A clear example took place in 1964 when The Beatles visited the United States and asked to meet their former teenage muse. Their disappointment was recorded in a phrase by George Harrison, when he referred to her as "an old firecracker", as reported by the Daily Mail. Jayne Mansfield was 31 years old.

The 1960s saw Jayne Mansfield's absolute decline, with a drinking problem, a deteriorating physique, and a film industry that was quick to forget her.

Her last years of life were spent between Las Vegas nightclubs, low-budget European films, and memories of a glorious past that was all too fleeting.

In June of 1967, the world was shocked to hear that Jayne Mansfield had passed away in a car accident. It happened on a Louisiana highway in the early hours of the morning, when a dense fog significantly limited visibility.

In the front of Jayne Mansfield's Buick Electra was Sam Brody, her lover, and the chauffeur, Ronnie Harrison. In the back sat three of the actress' children, including Mariska Hargitay.

Because of the fog, the driver crashed into the trailer of a tractor that suddenly slowed down. The three adults died on the spot, while the three minors were unharmed.

This accident would lead to a road regulation that forced trailers to install a bumper in the lower area. Since then, this improvement has been known as the 'Mansfield Bar' in the United States.

And that's how a gifted actress, who could have dominated Hollywood, ended up getting a road safety feature for tractors to her name. That's Hollywood history.

Jayne Manfield's remains are resting in her native Pennsylvania, in a heart-shaped grave. Meanwhile, the memory of her short-lived but impactful stint in Hollywood lives on more than 50 years later.

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