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Jean Harlow’s legacy lives on as one of Hollywood’s most iconic actresses. Her unique blend of sex appeal, comedy, and charisma captivated audiences during the pre-Code era.
Despite her short-lived career, she remains a symbol of timeless beauty and talent.
Jean Harlow’s Biography
Jean Harlow, born Harlean Harlow Carpenter on March 3, 1911, in Kansas City, Missouri, was an American actress who became one of Hollywood’s biggest movie stars in the early 1930s.
She was the top sex icon of her period and one of the key stars of American cinema’s pre-Code era. She was known for playing “bad girl” characters.
When Harlow was found by business tycoon Howard Hughes, who cast her in her first significant role in the movie “Hell’s Angels” in 1930, her career into acting officially began. Hughes later lost interest in her work as a result of the early failures of her critically acclaimed films.
When Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) bought out her contract in 1932, they gave her prominent roles in a number of successful films that highlighted her humorous skills.
She became a box office phenomenon in films including “Red-Headed Woman” (1932), “Red Dust” (1932), “Dinner at Eight” (1933), “Reckless” (1935) and “Suzy” (1936), outperforming the popularity of MGM’s top leading women at the time.
Despite having a nine-year career that was relatively brief in the film industry, Harlow had a big impact and her reputation lasted.
She was voted number 22 on the American Film Institute’s list of the finest female screen legends of vintage Hollywood cinema in 1999. Harlow’s fame grew steadily up until her premature death at age 26 from kidney disease. She passed away as “Saratoga,” a movie that MGM finished using body duplicates, was being filmed.
Less than two months after her passing, the movie was out and quickly became her highest-earning movie.
The turbulent marriage of Harlow’s parents, Mont Clair Carpenter and Jean Poe Carpenter, was a defining feature of her early years.
To fulfil her father’s ambition for wealth and social standing, her mother was forced into an unpleasant marriage at a young age. Despite the difficult conditions, Harlow was raised in a prosperous Kansas City family and went to a famous boarding school.
Harlow had the opportunity to get to know Charles “Chuck” Fremont McGrew III while she was still in school. They started a serious relationship and were wed in 1927.
Jean Carpenter, Harlow’s mother, also wed in that year. However, Harlow skipped her mother’s wedding, indicating that their relationship may be tense.
In addition to her acting career, Harlow was actively involved in political campaigning and fundraising. She went to Washington, D.C., in 1937 to take part in the birthday celebrations for President Franklin D. Roosevelt.
She was a Democrat who had worked as a campaigner for Franklin D. Roosevelt in the 1936 presidential election as well as for Upton Sinclair in the 1934 race for governor of California.
Sadly, Harlow’s sickness resulted in a premature death. She started experiencing symptoms of exhaustion, nausea, fluid retention, and abdominal pain while she was filming “Saratoga.”
She was initially misdiagnosed as having kidney failure, which was later found to be the case. Hospitalised after falling into a coma, Harlow. She died in the hospital on June 7, 1937, at the age of 26, from cerebral edoema, a side effect of kidney failure.
Jean Harlow’s Cause Of Death
Jean Harlow’s cause of death is reported to ahve been due to cerebral edoema, a side effect of kidney failure.
