Jean Harlow (March 3, 1911 – June 7, 1937) was an American film actress and
sex symbol of the 1930s. Known as the "Platinum Blonde" and the "Blonde Bombshell" due to her
platinum blonde hair, Harlow was ranked as one of the greatest movie stars of all time
by the American Film Institute. Harlow starred in several films, mainly designed to showcase her magnetic sex appeal and strong screen presence, before making the transition to more developed roles and achieving massive fame under contract to
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM). Harlow's enormous popularity and "laughing
vamp" image were in distinct contrast to her personal life, which was marred by disappointment, tragedy, and ultimately, her sudden death from
renal failure at age 26.
Early life
Born
Harlean Harlow Carpenter
["Harlean" was a feminization of the name "Harlow", which her parents had planned to name the baby if it were a boy (source: Parish, p. 192).] in
Kansas City, Missouri, she was the daughter of Mont Clair Carpenter (1877-1974), a dentist, and his wife, Jean Poe Carpenter (
née Harlow). The name is sometimes incorrectly written as Carpentier,
[Eve Golden: Platinum Girl: The Life and Legends of Jean Harlow, p. 13. Abbeville Press, 1991.] which came from later studio press releases in an effort to sound more aristocratic, and the inaccuracy has been constantly repeated.
