Jayne Mansfield was one of the most beautiful celebrities in Hollywood in the 1950s and 1960s. She involves herself in scandals because she’s having a messy divorce or maybe because of her “wardrobe malfunction” revealing sight.
She is famous for getting into feuds with other bombshell Hollywood actresses. Most notably Marylin Monroe, who many accused Jayne of trying to imitate, and up-and-coming Italian-born starlet Sophia Loren. We dig deep into Jayne Mansfield’s life, about on and off-set antics and fun celeb-feud facts you wanted to know. If you’re a Jayne fan or just curious to learn more about this iconic blonde bombshell, watch on!
Marilyn Monroe Humiliated Jayne At a Film Premiere
Marilyn Monroe, once the victim of scathing criticism from Joan Crawford, rarely commented on other actresses. She was, however, known to be highly insecure when it came to other young, blonde actresses. So there was naturally an unspoken feud between Jayne Mansfield and Monroe. However, the two celebrities did have a bit of a spat in public on one occasion. At the premiere of the 1955 film The Rose Tattoo, Mansfield come to Monroe, greeted her but Monroe ignore her. The paparazzi went wild, and tabloids quickly filled with images of the public snub. Some celebrity says that the incident was a publicity stunt, but since they never spoke of it, we’ll never know.
The Two Also Snubbed Each Other at Parties
It seems Monroe’s cold shoulder at the film premiere happen since there’s at least one similar incident happening in private. In 1955, Marilyn Monroe and Jayne Mansfield come to the same party at the Hotel Astor in New York. Mansfield is high on her success in the Broadway hit “Will Success Spoil Rock Hunter?“. She idolized Monroe and when she spotted her sitting at a table, she decided to go over and introduce herself. According to reports from the time, Monroe completely ignored Mansfield, acting as though no one was there at all.
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Jayne and Marilyn Never Formally Met
Marilyn Monroe definitely didn’t have a high opinion of Jayne Mansfield. Whether jealousy or dislikes for the upstart, she dismissed her entirely—thinking of her like a cheap imitator of herself. Monroe even went so far as to say that Mansfield’s imitation of her was an insult to her. She wishes she “had some legal means to sue her”. If Monroe had considered the adage that imitation is the highest form of flattery, the feud would have fizzled out. But the original blonde bombshell wasn’t one to let anyone steal her thunder.
Jayne Is Against Marilyn by the Studios
While both of their feuds appear to be authentic, there’s evidence that the thing creates by their employer. 20th Century Fox courted Jayne after she became famous on Broadway in 1955. By 1956, she’d signed a contract with the production company for a salary that was double what Monroe received when she was just starting out. There is a rumor that Monroe’s being typecast as the dumb blonde, so 20th Century brings Jayne on to intimidate the older star. And Jayne certainly took no time making a name for herself with fans and photographers.
Jayne Insisted the Two Starlets Were Completely Different
Jayne Mansfield’s big Hollywood break came when she played the role of Rita Marlowe in the Broadway play Will Success Spoil Rock Hunter? The character was decidedly Marilyn Monroe-esque, and the media, celebrity observers, and fans were quick to draw comparisons between the two. They were both, after all, blonde, buxom, and glamor girls, and they starred in very similar films and roles. In many cases, Mansfield was considered a copycat of Monroe, which she hated. She would go to great lengths to explain the ways in which she was completely different from her. In fact, she admired Monroe so much she would downplay her own beauty, famously saying: “You can take practically any fairly shaped girl, bleach her hair, wet her lips, put her into a tight dress, and have her walk a little wiggly and, well, we all look a little alike.”
Sophia Loren Was Mad About Being Upstaged by Jayne
A few years later, a new bombshell burst onto Hollywood screens that couldn’t be more different from Jayne Mansfield. This quickly rising starlet was none other than the eternally beautiful Italian actress Sophia Loren. Though the two were never known to be friends, they once encountered one another at a Beverly Hills party officially meant to be a “welcome to Hollywood” shindig for Loren. At one point during the party, when all the guests were sitting around a large table, Jayne Mansfield walked in, walked right up to Sophia Loren, and leaned over her, exposing a lot of, shall we say, chest—right in the direction of the cameras. The look on Loren’s face was enough to show how miffed she felt at being upstaged by Mansfield at her very own Hollywood debut.
Sophia Loren Hates “That” Photo, Too
There were a lot of photos published from that night, but it’s “that” photo—the one where Sophia Loren is giving distinct side-eye to Jayne Mansfield—that had everyone suspecting a feud between the two actresses. In fact, the photo is so famous that people would later come up to Loren holding it, requesting she autograph it for them. Loren would always deny them, saying the moment was misconstrued. She insisted that she wasn’t jealous of Mansfield; she was simply wowed by just how revealing her low-cut dress was.
Jayne’s First Husband Demanded She Leave Hollywood
Jayne Mansfield didn’t just fight with other actresses and starlets; she was also notorious for feuding with her husbands. She married her first husband, Paul Mansfield, sometime in the early 1950s, and their daughter, Jaybe Marie, was born in November 1950. Mansfield was determined to make it big in Hollywood, but her plans were scrapped when Paul was called to service in Korea. She wouldn’t make it back there until 1954, where she immediately got to work, entering beauty contests and agreeing to do any role that came her way. At the same time, her husband grew increasingly jealous of her success, so much so that Jayne demanded a divorce in 1955. By 1956 their relationship was so dysfunctional that Paul tried to get full custody of their daughter, claiming Mansfield was an unfit mother for appearing in Playboy.
She Was in a Shipwreck With Her Second Husband
Her second marriage to bodybuilder and Mr. Universe winner Mickey Hargitay didn’t fare much better. The two met when Hargitay was performing in the chorus at The Latin Quarter with Mae West, and they were married not long after in 1956. It was definitely a tabloid marriage: Mansfield reportedly sent 90 percent of her wedding invitations to members of the press. The two had a tumultuous eight-year marriage and were known for their stunts to get media attention. In fact, when the couple suffered pretty severe injuries in a boating accident off the coast of the Bahamas in 1962, many people believed they made the entire incident up to get attention. Mansfield and Hargitay had one child together—Mariska Hargitay—before finally separating in 1964.
She Had a Literal Cat Fight With Mae West
Speaking of Mae West, did you know she and Jayne Mansfield had an actual physical altercation over Mansfield’s latest crush at the time, Mickey Hargitay. West was jealous that attractive Hargitay was paying Mansfield so much attention and clashed with her one night after a show. It got so out of hand that another one of the chorus members, Mr. California, challenged Hargitay to fisticuffs. After hearing about how it all started, it’s unsurprising Mansfield and Hargitay’s union ended in divorce!
Jayne Suffered Abuse At the Hands of Her Third Husband
Her third and final husband, Matt Cimber, didn’t seem much better than the first two. They met because he was the director of a film she was working on, Bus Stop. Not a minute after she finalized her divorce from Mickey Hargitay, she and Cimber headed to Mexico to officiate their union. Sadly, in a pattern that seemed to be repeating itself, their marriage was filled with chaos and even allegations of spousal abuse—though they did have a son together. In fact, at the time of Mansfield’s death, the couple was in the midst of divorce proceedings.
Jayne Had a Ton of Lovers
The gossip rags thrived on stories and rumors of Jayne Mansfield’s many lovers—it could be part of the reason she wasn’t able to hold down a marriage. She supposedly had affairs with John F. Kennedy, his brother Robert F. Kennedy, Las Vegas crooner Nelson Sardelli, singers Bobby Darrin and Engelbert Humperdinck, Brazilian billionaire Jorge Guinle, film director Nicholas Ray, show biz all-rounder George Jessel, attorney Greg Bautzer, actor Steve Cochran, fashion designer Oleg Cassini, boxer Art Aragon, and playboy Porfirio Rubirosa. Phew, that’s quite a list for someone who tragically only lived to age 34!
Do you think Jayne Mansfield’s so-called feuds with some of Hollywood’s most famous celebs like Marilyn Monroe and Sophia Loren were the real deal? Or were they simply gossip generated by money-hungry studios and press outlets desperate for stories? Share your thoughts with other Jayne Mansfield fans and critics in the comment section below. If you want to watch more videos like this one, head over to the FactsVerse channel and subscribe. Hit that notification bell while you’re there. Oh, and don’t forget to give this video a like..
