Jayne Mansfield, a renowned film actress, was born Vera Jayne Palmer on April 19, 1933, in Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania, to parents Herbert W. Palmer and Vera J. Palmer. Her father, a successful attorney, died suddenly of a heart attack when Jayne was just three years old. Her mother remarried three years later and moved the family to Dallas, Texas, where Jayne developed a passion for music, playing the violin and piano.
Jayne's early life was marked by tragedy, but she also showed exceptional intelligence, with an IQ reportedly 163. She attended the University of Dallas, where she participated in little-theater productions. In 1949, at the age of 16, she married Paul Mansfield, five years her senior, and gave birth to their daughter, Jayne Marie, in 1950.
Jayne's film career began with a bit role in Pete Kelly's Blues (1955),followed by appearances in Hell on Frisco Bay (1955) and Illegal (1955). Her breakout role came in 1957 with The Burglar, and she soon became known as the "poor man's Marilyn Monroe." Despite her talent, Jayne was often typecast in dumb-blonde roles, and her career options dwindled in the 1960s.
In the early hours of June 29, 1967, Jayne's life was tragically cut short in a car accident on Highway 90 in Slidell, Louisiana. She was just 34 years old. Her funeral was held on July 3, 1967, in Pen Argyl, Pennsylvania, attended by her family and ex-husband Mickey Hargitay.
After her death, Jayne's mother, as well as her ex-husband and business manager, filed unsuccessful suits to gain control of her estate, which was initially estimated at $600,000. In 1971, Beverly Brody, the widow of Jayne's boyfriend Sam Brody, sued the Mansfield estate for $325,000 worth of presents and jewelry given to Jayne by Sam.
In 1977, Jayne's four children went to court to discover that their mother had incurred $500,000 in debt and litigation, leaving the estate insolvent. Despite the challenges she faced during her life and the disputes that arose after her death, Jayne Mansfield remains an iconic figure in Hollywood history, known for her beauty, talent, and enduring legacy.
