Jayne Mansfield's Life in Photos

Born Vera Jayne Palmer in 1933, the future icon eloped with 20-year-old Paul Mansfield in 1950, just before graduating from high school. A year into their marriage they welcomed a baby girl, Jayne Marie Mansfield, while they were both studying acting at Southern Methodist University.

In 1951, Mansfield moved to Los Angeles to attend a summer session at UCLA. The aspiring actress entered the Miss California contest, but later dropped out. Afterward, she and her husband enrolled at the University of Texas in Austin, where she began performing in theater productions.

Eager to break into the industry, Mansfield and her family relocated to Los Angeles in 1954. She began taking modeling jobs, even though she faced resistance at first, as many casting directors felt her curvy figure was too sexy for commercial ads. She famously was cut out of her very first ad, a print ad for General Electric.

Later that year, Mansfield caught her first break when she landed auditions with both Paramount and Warner Brothers studios—but she didn't land a contract with either. Afterward, she dyed her hair platinum blonde to compete with the star of the moment: Marilyn Monroe.

Mansfield landed the cover of the newly launched Playboy magazine in 1954. Her provocative pose ended up garnering her a lot of attention and earned her the spot of "Playmate of the Month" in 1955.

Unfortunately, Jayne's husband did not share the same public aspirations as the budding star, and in 1955 the two were granted a divorce. Paul returned to Dallas, Texas and the couple's young daughter remained in Los Angeles with her mother.

Mansfield was a skilled marketer and, building off of her newfound pinup success, she decided to package herself as the newest blonde bombshell. She made pink her signature color and even bought a pink Cadillac to drive.

With the support of a studio, Mansfield continued to nab minor film roles. In 1955 alone, she appeared in a trio of Warner Bros. films—Pete Kelly's Blues, Illegal, and Hell on Frisco Bay.

In 1955, Mansfield signed on to the Broadway production of Will Success Spoil Rock Hunter?, playing Rita Marlowe. Shortly after, she was dropped from her contract with Warner Bros.

After her run on Broadway was over, Mansfield returned to Hollywood with no studio contract secured. But she was quickly scooped up by 20th Century Fox for a six-year contract.

Mansfield's first starring role was in Fox's musical comedy, The Girl Can't Help It. The movie did well with both critics and box offices (earning more than Monroe's debut film, Gentlemen Prefer Blondes) and won Mansfield a Golden Globe for Best New Star of the Year.

The success of Mansfield's first feature film caught the attention of her studio and Fox began marketing her as the "Marilyn Monroe King-Size." The success of Mansfield as a '50s sex symbol only grew from there.

In 1956, Mansfield became romantically linked with Mr. Universe a.k.a. Hungarian weight lifter Mickey Hargitay.

Mansfield kept up with the same publicity antics that she used to grab her studio's attention years before and became known for creating a spectacle in the form of photo bombs or manufacturing wardrobe malfunctions for the press. The actress garnered a lot of attention for one photo in particular: the Sophia Loren side-eye for this revealing dress.

Mansfield and Hargitay announced their engagement in 1958. The actress received a round, 10-carat diamond from her fiancé, which was estimated to be worth $25,000 at the time.

Although Mansfield rose to fame for her physical appearance, the actress was a premier student growing up. As a young child she practiced both voice and violin and was known of having an IQ of 149.

On January 13, 1958, Mansfield wed her second husband, Mickey Hargitay, in a press-filled ceremony at the Wayfarers Chapel in Rancho Palos Verdes, California.