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What's in a name? -

Her birth name was Vera Jayne Palmer. She only became Jayne Mansfield when she married her first husband, John Mansfield, in May 1950.

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Natural performer -

As a child she took voice, dance, piano, and violin lessons. She loved to perform and reportedly wanted to be a Hollywood star like Shirley Temple.

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Working girl -

Before she made it as a Hollywood star she worked a number of odd jobs, including as a candy girl at a cinema.

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Dark secret -

When she got married for the first time at just 17, she was already three months pregnant. Her daughter, Jayne Marie Mansfield, was born in November 1950.

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Serial bride -

Jayne Mansfield was married three times and had a total of five children. Her daughter Mariska Hargitay is also an actress and is best known for playing Olivia Benson in ‘Law & Order: Special Victims Unit.’

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Smart blonde - She may have fit the "dumb blonde" bill perfectly in terms of image, but in reality she was extremely intelligent. She reportedly had an IQ of 163 and was fluent in five languages.

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Deception -

In fact, her blondness wasn’t even real: a natural brunette, Mansfield first dyed her hair platinum blonde when she moved to Los Angeles in 1951.

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Scandal -

The actress’ life was well-publicized and she became widely known for her "wardrobe malfunctions," which were situations where she would accidentally but purposely expose herself in front of the camera. 

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Swimming pool -

The most infamous of such occasions involved a red bikini that mysteriously untied itself as she dove into a pool in the presence of paparazzi.

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Wandering eye -

She garnered much attention for her extra-marital affairs and is said to have been romantically involved with men including Robert and John F. Kennedy.

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Pretty in pink -

The star adopted the color pink as her trademark and she took the branding very seriously: she wore pink, drove a pink car, and bought a house she called "the pink palace."

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Pets -

She also loved animals and was particularly fond of chihuahuas. The image of a blonde woman with a tiny dog in tow started with Jayne Mansfield rather than Paris Hilton.

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Beauty pageants -

She won many beauty pageants in her time, some with titles so strange she had to refuse, such as Miss Roquefort Cheese.

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Playmate -

Mansfield was one of the original Playboy Playmates along with Marilyn Monroe, Bettie Page, and Anita Ekberg. In February 1955, she was Playmate of the Month.

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Custody battle -

As a result of Mansfield’s appearance in Playboy magazine, her husband John Mansfield filed for custody of their daughter in August 1956.

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Movie work -

Her major movie performances were in ‘The Girl Can’t Help It’ (1956), ‘The Wayward Bus’ (1957), and ‘Too Hot to Handle’ (1960).

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Awards -

Although her movie career was short-lived, she did nab a Theatre World Award and a Golden Globe.

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Cinema firsts -

In 1963, her role in ‘Promises! Promises!’ made her the first major Hollywood actress to appear fully naked in a film. The movie was banned in several cities in the US because of the number of scenes in which Mansfield is exposed.

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Working man's Monroe -

She was often compared unfavorably to Marilyn Monroe, who was perceived as being the classier of the two women.

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Business acumen -

She was also very entrepreneurial: at the peak of her fame she sold bottles of her used bath water for $10 a pop.

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Music -

In 1965, she recorded two songs with Jimi Hendrix that were unfortunately never released.

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A close call -

In November 1966, her son Zoltán was bitten on the neck by a lion while they were visiting a theme park in California.

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A close call -

Thankfully he survived, but he suffered major head trauma and had to undergo three surgeries. The theme park was eventually closed down.

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Tragedy -

The actress died tragically in a car accident at just 34 years old. Her car crashed at high speed into a tractor-trailer that was barely visible due to insecticide fog. She and the two other adults in the car died instantly. Her three children, who had been sitting in the backseat, thankfully survived.

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Tragedy -

There were rumors following the accident that Mansfield had been decapitated, but these were unfounded: it was merely her wig that was tangled in the broken windshield.

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Morbid -

The Buick she was traveling in when the accident happened was purchased by a fan years after the accident. It was displayed at car shows and then auctioned off for US$8,000 in 1999.

See also: Famous models turned musicians

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