Jenny Maxwell was a Hollywood starlet who got the chance to appear alongside such luminaries as Elvis Presley and James Stewart during her tragically short lifetime. In fact, Jenny’s first Hollywood experience was screen testing alongside Frank Sinatra! Sadly, things all came crashing down for Jenny when her and her husband murdered. Many continue to consider the murder to be unsolved, but the fact of the matter is that the true story of what happened to Jenny just wasn’t that widely publicized. Now, the facts about what happened to Jenny Maxwell are finally revealed, which is perfect timing given the release of the new movie Elvis! Join Facts Verse as we explore how Elvis girl Jenny Maxwell’s death has been solved after 40 years.
Jenny Maxwell’s Early Life
Jenny Maxwell was born on the thrid of September, 1941, in Brooklyn. She was an only child, which led to her parents spoiling her a great deal. This, in turn, led to Jenny being a fairly strong-willed child that always dead set on getting her way. This strong will would carry over into Jenny’s adulthood, and it would cause trouble during her relationships. In fact, it may even be said that it Jenny’s strong will and spoiled nature that led to her untimely demise at the age of 39.
Though the coddling of Jenny’s parents made the young girl spoiled, it also gave her the opportunity to explore her talents and imagination from a young age. Jenny had a penchant for fantasy ever since her early childhood, and it was no surprise when the young woman decided to pursue a career on the stage upon her coming of age. She began attending a local drama school, but she didn’t have to struggle through the ranks very long before she’s given a lucrative opportunity to come out to Hollywood. This opportunity came by way of a Hollywood director by the name of Vincente Minnelli, who spotted young Jenny during a performance.
Vincente brought Jenny Maxwell out to Hollywood, and her first job was to screen test alongside legendary performer Frank Sinatra! Every woman who came out to Hollywood around that time was likely hoping for nothing more than the opportunity to stand alongside Frank Sinatra, and Jenny got the opportunity immediately! Though Jenny didn’t end up getting the role in the Frank Sinatra film that she was screen testing for, which was a film by the name of Some Came Running, it was still certainly evident that big things were in store for Hollywood’s most recent arrival.
Jenny Maxwell’s Hollywood Career
Jenny Maxwell disappointed about losing out on the chance to star alongside Frank Sinatra in her screen debut, but that didn’t mean that the burgeoning starlet’s career was over before it had begun! The aspiring star began receiving steady work on television, with one of her most notable television roles from her early career being on the hit sitcom Father Knows Best. Around this same time, Jenny met the man that was soon to become her first husband.
Jenny Maxwell was only 17 years old when she married first husband Paul Rapp. Paul was an assistant director, and Jenny had met him on the job. The two fell in love relatively fast and eloped. Their marriage occurred in 1959, and 17-year-old Jenny didn’t even bother to inform her parents. A year later, Jenny gave birth to a son. However, even though she was now a mother, Jenny was still insistent on becoming a star. Thankfully, she was continuing to make waves in Hollywood as an actress. And given the designation of “Hollywood Deb Star of 1960”. This gave Jenny the opportunity to appear on The Bob Hope Show, where both Bob Hope and Joan Crawford formally introduced her to the television audience. It certainly honored Jenny Maxwell to be introduced by two huge stars.
Following her appearance on The Bob Hope Show as the Hollywood Deb Star of 1960. Jenny continued to make notable television appearances before eventually receiving her big break. This big break came in the form of 1961’s Blue Hawaii, which Jenny costarred in alongside musical legend Elvis Presley. Some of the many popular television programs that Jenny could seen on around the time included Bonanza and The Twilight Zone. But it was her appearance alongside Elvis Presley that solidified her star status. If you’re enjoying this video so far, be sure to hit the like button to show your support! Also, subscribe to the channel if you’d like to be among the first to know when more Facts Verse videos are on their way!
Jenny Liked to Party
Given that Jenny Maxwell came into Hollywood success at a relatively young age. It shouldn’t come as much surprise that the actress ended up getting into the party lifestyle. Jenny was said to have enjoyed her drugs. And she was rumored to have partied a lot with Charles Manson victim Sharon Tate. Despite Jenny’s propensity for partying, it wouldn’t be her hard-partying ways that ended up causing her untimely end. Instead, the thing that caused Jenny’s tragic demise was something that few around her could’ve predicted. And it was also something that took the cops a while to figure out.
Jenny Maxwell’s career seemed to going fine with appearances alongside such luminaries as James Stewart in the film Take Her, She’s Mine, but things weren’t going so well for Jenny in her personal life. Jenny began having troubles with her aforementioned first husband. They ended up divorced, and Jenny’s hard-partying lifestyle made it easy for her husband to get custody over their kid. Following this, Jenny was only able to see her son sporadically. At the same time, Jenny wasn’t getting along with her parents. Jenny realized that she needed to make a change in her life, and she eventually did so.
Jenny Maxwell managed to get her act together after divorcing from her first husband and losing custody of her son. She was able to secure partial custody of her son after giving up drugs. And she was also continuing to get notable work on television. Around this time, Jenny met and fell in love with a much older man by the name of Tip Roeder. Tip would go on to become Jenny’s second husband, and he also the man that she murdered alongside.
Tip Roeder Was Jenny’s Second Husband
He was a Hollywood lawyer with an intimidating reputation. The lawyer liked to tell people that he had connections to the mob, and he probably wasn’t lying. Jenny ended up falling for the man despite his unbecoming reputation. And the two went on to tie the knot in 1970. A little over a decade later, both Jenny and Tip would shot dead while eating lunch together at a diner.
Following their wedding ceremony, Jenny and Tip moved into a house in Beverly Hills and attempted to live amicably together. Jenny came into the marriage with the intention of being a housewife. She had partial custody of her son from her previous marriage, and Tip had five children of his own. Despite Jenny’s initial investment in her marriage to Tip, the union ended up falling apart not long after it started. It seems that Jenny and Tip begun having trouble in their marriage early on. Though Jenny advised by her personal lawyer to remain married to Tip for at least ten years. According to the lawyer, this would allow Jenny to get a bigger settlement. Jenny took the advice, and her choice to go for that larger settlement instead of getting out of the marriage when she felt that it had soured would go on to inspire her murder.
As soon as her and Tip had married for ten years. Jenny Maxwell gave the announcement that she wanted a divorce. She already had her own condominium lined up, and she already had her legal team in place. It has since become common knowledge that both Tip and Jenny involved with numerous other people over the course of their marriage. And some have even suggested that Jenny would brag to Tip about all the different men that she slept with.
Tip couldn’t have too surprised about Jenny’s cry for a divorce. But he certainly shocked at the settlement that she was asking for. Tip became incredibly angry when he realized that Jenny had pulled one over on him by prolonging the marriage so that she could get a bigger settlement. As soon as Tip caught wind of his soon-to-be ex-wife’s plan. He went about coming up with a plan of his own.
Who Killed Jenny Maxwell?
Numerous people have come forward saying that, shortly before his and Jenny’s murder. Tip approached them with the business proposal of murdering his wife. One man even suggested that Tip had asked him to murder both his wife and Tip himself, suggesting that Tip had become so distraught by the whole episode involving Jenny that he was now suicidal. All of these men ended up turning down Tip’s request. But it seems that Tip still managed to find someone to do the job. This is how Jenny’s life came to it’s tragic end.
In June of 1981, Jenny Maxwell had a minor surgery scheduled and she needed a ride home from the hospital afterwards. Tip offered to drive Jenny home, and she accepted the offer without thinking much of it. On the ride back, Tip and Jenny stopped for lunch. It was during this lunch that the two of them were murdered. Authorities initially chalked the murder up to a botched robbery, and that was the story that went through the presses. The presses never bothered to share the story of the mystery being solved not long afterwards. As it turns out, the event that killed Jenny Maxwell wasn’t a botched robbery. As keen viewers will have already deduced, Tip made good on his attempts to find someone to put both his and his wife’s lives to an end.
Jenny Maxwell remains best known nowadays for her roles alongside such Hollywood luminaries as Elvis Presley and James Stewart. But the story of her strange murder is slowly becoming more and more legendary. Now it’s time to hear from you: did you know that Jenny Maxwell married her first husband when she was only 17. And that she prolonged her second marriage so that she could get a bigger divorce settlement? As always, like this video to show your support, and subscribe and hit the notification bell if you’d like to be among the first to know when more Facts Verse videos are on their way!
