The Official Jean Harlow Web Site

FULL NAME: Jean Harlow
BORN: March 3, 1911, in Kansas City, Missouri
DIED: June 7, 1937, at age 26

Previously in films, the vamp usually had dark hair, while the "good" girl was blonde. But Jean Harlow added a new dimension. Her platinum blonde hair was so unique, and (for the 1930's) her gowns so low-cut, the expression "blonde bombshell" was coined to describe her. Modern and wonderfully funny, Harlow brought a healthy sex appeal to the movies that was both shocking and liberating in its time.

Born Harlean Carpenter in 1911 to a middle-class family, she ran away from home to get married at sixteen. After the marriage failed, she went to Hollywood and worked as an extra, eventually winning a small part in Moran of the Marines (1928). Other tiny roles followed, most notably in The Love Parade (1929). Nothing had come of her work until Howard Hughes got a glimpse of her. Hughes wanted her for Hell's Angels (1930). Hughes, always quick to spot a beauty, saw her potential and signed her to star in his film as the woman who comes between the two heroes. Hell's Angels was a big hit because of Harlow. Then, under MGM, she starred with Clark Gable in Red Dust (1932). Harlow and Gable were a hot team. They were paired together a total of five times in just six years, and all of their films drew large audiences.

After Red Dust, Harlow was the Hollywood sex goddess. She could play tough (Riff, Raff 1935), or she could play funny (Suzy 1936). But no matter what she played, the slinky star had one hit after another. There was no reason to believe she would not have an extremely long career. Tragedy struck, however, when Harlow was only twenty-six years old. She had been filming Saratoga (1937) when she fell ill and then suddenly died of ureic poisoning on June 7, 1937. Although the few remaining scenes were shot with another actress, a record number of fans in attendance proclaimed the movie as a memorial to Jean Harlow.

Over sixty years after her death, her movies have resonance that continue to fascinate the world. A woman whose beauty and talent would transform the image of the ideal woman, the vibrant spirit of Jean Harlow defines the ideals of glamour, success, and stardom. Harlow was proud of her evident sex appeal. Her virtue as an actress lay in her innate sense of comedy, seeing through the artificial glamour by means of which she had originally gained her stardom, while at the same time fully appreciating its value.