BROWN: Remembering bombshell Jayne Mansfield

Published 9:57 am Wednesday, April 5, 2023

Born Vera Jayne Peers in Pennsylvania on April 19, 1933, of German and English ancestry. The American actress, singer and entertainer dreamed of becoming a famous actress like Shirley Temple from her childhood but did not get her big break until she received her first screen test at Paramount Studios in 1954.

Jayne Mansfield made a huge impact on the entertainment industry during her years of fame in the 1950s and 1960s. Her father was an attorney turned musician, which inspired Jayne to take an interest in music by studying to play the violin when she was 7 years old and taking ballroom dance lessons at age 12. She was the only child of Herbert and Vera Chandler who were an influential couple, and Jayne inherited a significant amount of money from both of her maternal grandparents.

When she was 16 years old, she met her husband-to-be Paul Mansfield at a Christmas party. Jayne and Paul were a popular and attractive couple at Dallas Highland Park High School. They fell in love and got married in May of 1950. Jayne was 17 and Paul was 20. Just six months after their wedding, Jayne gave birth to her first child, Jayne Marie Mansfield.

Labeled as a stereotypical “dumb blonde” Mansfield displayed more than just a lovely face — she embodied beauty, talent and intellect.

Reportedly, the stunning actress possessed an IQ score of 163, which is the same as Albert Einstein. She spoke five languages fluently — English, French, Spanish, German and Italian.

Jane enrolled at the University of Texas but in 1952 Paul was called up with the United States Army Reserve to serve in the Korean War. She moved to Georgia to be close to Paul as he trained for a year at Camp Gordon Training Facility, which later became Fort Gordon. While living in Georgia she appeared in “Anything Goes” with a small local production and decided to move back to Dallas, Texas and study acting with the famous actor Baruch Lemet who was the founder of the Dallas Institute of the Performing Arts.

Her performance in “Death of a Salesman,” written by Arthur Miller, caught the attention of Paramount Pictures and she was offered an audition. She was aware of the “blonde bombshells,” Betty Grable, Mamie Van Doren and Marilyn Monroe so Jayne had her hair bleached platinum blonde.

After appearing in the Playboy Magazine, she was soon recognized as one of the popular group. Hugh Hefner took credit for her discovery and she immediately began receiving multiple offers by movie executives.

During the 1950s Jane Mansfield was under contract with 20th Century Fox and was well know for publicity stunts and living in the fast lane. Even thought her film career was short-lived, she managed to win a Golden Globe Award and a Theatre World Award.

Jayne separated from Paul, and she filed for divorce in February 1955. Paul claimed that Jayne was an unfit mother and fought for custody of their daughter, Jayne Marie.