Today in unheard stories, the story of an actress who was called a ‘glamour girl’ in the 50s and 60s due to her immense beauty.

Her name is Jane Mansfield. She was a famous Hollywood actress in the 50s-60s. Jane’s film career was short, but she was a superstar. However, she struggled a lot for this.

Sometimes she became a nude art model, and sometimes she sold books door to door. She even sold popcorn and candy in theaters, but did not give up.

Jane’s luck changed in 1955 when she got a chance to appear on the cover page of the famous Playboy magazine while modeling.

Her personal life was also full of ups and downs. Jane had five children from three marriages. She was called Marilyn Monroe’s rival. In many ways, her life was like his. Even her name was linked with John F. Kennedy, but her end was also as painful as his.

On 29 June 1967, at the age of 34, Jane died in a horrific car accident. Her high-speed car collided with a truck, due to which she died on the spot. The accident was so severe that her head was separated from the body.

She lost her father at the age of three

Jane was born on 19 April 1933 in Pennsylvania. Her real name was Vera Jane Palmer. Jane lived in Phillipsburg, New Jersey till the age of 6. She lost her father when she was three years old.

In 1936, her father Herbert William Palmer died of a heart attack. Three years later, Jane’s mother Vera Jeffrey married sales engineer Harry Lawrence Pierce and shifted to Dallas, Texas. Jane lived her childhood amidst these ups and downs. She was so impressed by Hollywood star Shirley Temple at an early age that she wanted to become an actress like her. For this reason, she started learning dance at the age of 12.

After passing the tenth grade, she took classes to play music instruments. She also learned to speak Spanish and German. Jane was smart in studies and passed all the school exams with high grades.

She did everything from nude art modeling to selling books
As soon as she left school, Jane married Paul Mansfield on May 6, 1960, after which she had a daughter just six months later. Jane and her husband took admission to learn acting at Southern Methodist University. After this, both shifted to Austin, Texas, where she studied dramatics from the University of Texas.

Jane struggled a lot during this time. She even worked as a nude art model. She also sold books door to door, and also worked as a receptionist in a dance studio. In 1953, Jane returned to Dallas where she learned acting from Sidney Lumet, the founder of Dallas Institute of Performing Arts. He used to give private sessions to Mansfield.

In 1954, with his help, Jane got a chance for her first screen test at Paramount and she shifted to Los Angeles. Here too her struggle did not end. Sometimes she sold popcorn and candy at the theatre, and sometimes she taught dance to earn her living. She also used to do part-time modelling at Blue Book Modelling Agency.

During this time, Mansfield also participated in many beauty contests. She also gave auditions for many films, but failed. She got her first acting assignment in 1954 in An Angel Went AWOL, in which she was paid $300 for speaking a few lines of dialogue.

Playboy magazine changed her fortune

Mansfield’s fortune shone when she appeared on the cover of Playboy magazine in February 1955. When her bold pictures were published in the February edition, there was an uproar. The magazine’s circulation increased overnight, which greatly benefited Mansfield’s career.

After her first hit appearance, Mansfield became a regular model for Playboy and the magazine published many of her pictures from 1955 to 1960.

The magazine also published bold pictures of top actresses of that era like Marilyn Monroe, Betty Page and Anita Ekberg.

After appearing on the cover page of this high-profile magazine, Jane came into everyone’s attention. She started getting film offers from Hollywood, for which she was waiting. She got a chance to debut in 1955 with the film Female Jungle, in which she played a supporting role. After this, she was seen playing a small but impressive role in Warner Brothers’ courtroom drama film ‘Illegal’.

Mansfield emerged as a rival of Marilyn Monroe.

Filmmakers started accepting her with open arms and many big production companies even signed six-year film contracts with her. She was pitched as Marilyn Monroe’s successor and rival in Hollywood.

The film ‘The Girl Can’t Help It’ released in 1956 was one of her biggest successes. In this way, she reached the heights of success in Hollywood.

Suffield could do anything for publicity. For this, she had put all her privacy at stake. Her doors were always open for Hollywood photographers.

This is the reason that from September 1956 to May 1957, more than 2500 pictures of her were published in newspapers. On the basis of tremendous publicity, Jane had achieved the status of an international celebrity.