Introduction

Born Vera Jayne Palmer on April 19, 1933 in Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania. Jayne Mansfield would become one of Hollywood's brightest and outrageous celebrities in the 1950's. Jayne's desire to become a huge success led her to pulling some of the most bizarre publicity stunts, including "stranding" herself on a deserted island. She was the epitome of 1950's extravagance and decadence. Bigger than life, she was a caricature of blonde stereotype starlets of the era. Little did Tinseltown know, she would be one of the biggest phenomenon during the 1950's.

She is today, 31 years after her death, one of the brightest shining stars, next to Marilyn Monroe. Curiously enough, Jayne only had two genuinely successful films and one Broadway hit. The rest of her resume is fleshed out by a long string of unsuccessful flops paired with an unending campaign of self-promotion.

She reveled in her position in Hollywood and basked in every experience it had to offer, from the crass and crazy to the glamourous and glitzy. Few other starlets who reached their pinnacle of stardom embraced it like Jayne. She never considered her fame a burden like most. Jayne Mansfield is one of the most remembered icons of 1950's culture today.

Jayne's Early Years ->