15 Shocking Facts About Jayne Mansfield

When Marilyn Monroe became the biggest star in the world in the '50s, Hollywood went looking for a second version. Jayne Mansfield was signed by Fox and quickly dubbed 'the working man's Monroe'. She had the same blonde hair, curves and flirty persona, but was far more provocative and shameless.

Jayne was always portrayed as a dumb blonde, but in reality she was intelligent and cultured. She claimed an IQ of 163, played the violin and piano, and reportedly spoke several languages. But Hollywood didn't want a smart blonde, so she played along.

In 1963 Jayne starred in Promises! Promises!, in which she appeared nude, something unheard of in mainstream American film at the time. The film was banned in several places, but that only made Jayne more notorious and more in demand.

Where Marilyn Monroe was subtle and mysterious, Jayne went all in on provocation. She wore dresses that barely held together, staged wardrobe 'malfunctions' and constantly courted photographers. Eventually the studios lost interest, and the big film roles dried up.

In 1957 Jayne Mansfield was photographed next to Sophia Loren at a dinner in Loren's honor, with Loren casting a very skeptical sideways glance at Jayne's plunging neckline. The photo went around the world and became one of the most famous paparazzi images ever. Loren later said she was simply afraid something was about to pop out.

Jayne had five children. Her daughter Mariska Hargitay, famous from Law & Order: SVU, was just three when her mother died. She survived the car crash that killed her mother and still has a scar from it.

Like Marilyn Monroe, Jayne was rumored to have had an affair with President John F. Kennedy. The rumors have never been confirmed, but they have become part of her legend.

Jayne had a brief but notorious friendship with Anton LaVey, founder of the Church of Satan, who even made her an honorary member. LaVey reportedly placed a 'curse' on her companion Sam Brody, who died in the same crash as Jayne, which fueled endless rumors that a curse lay behind her death.

When Hollywood dropped her, Jayne Mansfield turned to nightclub and Las Vegas shows. Her risqué performances were scandalous for the time, but they paid better than most of her later films.

Jayne understood like no one else how to get media attention. She showed up at events with her Chihuahuas, staged perfectly timed wardrobe slips and made sure photographers always caught her at the right moment. Without social media, she still kept herself constantly in the spotlight.

Hollywood stars often did this, but Jayne was notorious for shaving years off her age and giving different birth years in interviews. For years there was confusion about how old she really was.

Although Jayne Mansfield was always in the spotlight, she was often broke. Her extravagant lifestyle cost more than she earned, and when her film career collapsed, her finances went from bad to worse.

Jayne Mansfield loved pink so much that she had her Beverly Hills mansion, the Pink Palace, decorated almost entirely in pink, including a heart-shaped pool. After her death the house changed hands several times, was later owned by Engelbert Humperdinck and was eventually demolished in 2002.

In the early hours of 29 June 1967, Jayne Mansfield was traveling in Louisiana with her boyfriend Sam Brody, a driver and three of her children. Their car slammed into the back of a truck. Jayne and the two men in front were killed instantly; her three children in the back seat, including Mariska Hargitay, survived.

After her death, rumors spread that Jayne had been decapitated in the crash, partly because a blonde wig was seen in photos of the wreck. In reality she suffered fatal head injuries but was not decapitated. The crash led to mandatory underride guards on trucks, still known as 'Mansfield bars'.