Actress. Born in Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania, her family moved to Dallas, Texas, after the death of her father due to a heart attack and the remarriage of her mother. She graduated from the University of Dallas, and later attended the University of Texas at Austin, where she took drama classes. In 1954, she moved to Los Angeles, California, where she continued to study drama at UCLA and worked in bit parts in television. Her first movie role was in "Female Jungle" (1954), although most biographies state that it was as a bar cigarette girl in her second film "Pete Kelly's Blues" (1955). She was "Playboy" magazine's 'Playmate of the Month' for February 1955, which helped introduce her to a motion picture career. Her breakthrough film was "Will Success Spoil Rock Hunter?" (1957), which won her public notice and a comparison as a "poor man's Marilyn Monroe." Her high-pitched squeal of delight and her willingness to appear in scantily clothing, combined with her sex appeal, gained her a number of roles as either a "sex kitten" or as a "dumb blonde." Although she played an occasional respectable role, her public persona kept her mostly relegated to the sex-kitten roles. She turned down the offer of the role of 'Ginger Grant' for the television series "Gilligan's Island" as it continued her stereotype. On May 10, 1950, she married Paul Mansfield, and had a daughter. She divorced Mansfield in 1958, to marry bodybuilder Mickey Hargitay, with whom she had three children, one being actress Mariska Hargitay. She divorced Mickey in 1964 to marry Matt Cimber, with whom she also had a child, Antonio. She divorced Matt Cimber in 1966. On June 29, 1967, while traveling between nightclub engagements, she was killed on Highway 90, between Slidell and New Orleans, Louisiana, when her car struck the back end of a tractor-trailer.
Actress. Born in Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania, her family moved to Dallas, Texas, after the death of her father due to a heart attack and the remarriage of her mother. She graduated from the University of Dallas, and later attended the University of Texas at Austin, where she took drama classes. In 1954, she moved to Los Angeles, California, where she continued to study drama at UCLA and worked in bit parts in television. Her first movie role was in "Female Jungle" (1954), although most biographies state that it was as a bar cigarette girl in her second film "Pete Kelly's Blues" (1955). She was "Playboy" magazine's 'Playmate of the Month' for February 1955, which helped introduce her to a motion picture career. Her breakthrough film was "Will Success Spoil Rock Hunter?" (1957), which won her public notice and a comparison as a "poor man's Marilyn Monroe." Her high-pitched squeal of delight and her willingness to appear in scantily clothing, combined with her sex appeal, gained her a number of roles as either a "sex kitten" or as a "dumb blonde." Although she played an occasional respectable role, her public persona kept her mostly relegated to the sex-kitten roles. She turned down the offer of the role of 'Ginger Grant' for the television series "Gilligan's Island" as it continued her stereotype. On May 10, 1950, she married Paul Mansfield, and had a daughter. She divorced Mansfield in 1958, to marry bodybuilder Mickey Hargitay, with whom she had three children, one being actress Mariska Hargitay. She divorced Mickey in 1964 to marry Matt Cimber, with whom she also had a child, Antonio. She divorced Matt Cimber in 1966. On June 29, 1967, while traveling between nightclub engagements, she was killed on Highway 90, between Slidell and New Orleans, Louisiana, when her car struck the back end of a tractor-trailer.
Bio by: Kit and Morgan Benson
Inscription
JAYNE MANSFIELD
APRIL 19, 1933
JUNE 29, 1967
WE LIVE TO LOVE YOU MORE EACH DAY
Family Members
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