HollyWood Icon Ladies!

Two of HollyWoods most famous sexual Icons in the 1950's and 60's :

Marilyn Monroe and Jayne Mansfield

Blonde Bomshells

Marilyn

Jayne

Marilyn Monroe...

The most famous sex symbol and leading lady of the silver screen was Marilyn Monroe. She epitomized the glamour and celebrity of the golden age of Hollywood. Marilyn's born name was Norma Jeane Mortenson and she was born on June 1 1926 in Los Angeles, CA. She started using the name Marilyn Monroe in 1946, but did not legally change it until Feb. 23rd, 1956. The first time she signed an autograph as Marilyn Monroe, she had to ask how to spell it. She didn't know where to put the "i" in "Marilyn". After filming The Seven Year Itch, Marilyn was awarded a new contract with Twentieth Century Fox. She was allowed director and cinematographer approval, a personal maid, and was to paid no less that $100,000 a picture with an additional $500 per week for incidental expenses. Also, she would only be given class "A" movies.

Marilyn was brought up by the same foster parents until the age of seven. But in total she had 12 sets of foster parents. Marilyn wasn't afraid of taking risks- she wore plunging necklines and posed nude for the camera. In 1953 Hugh Hefner purchased her nude photos for $500 for his 1st edition of playboy. Marilyn was married 3 times and then divorced, and cavorted with some of the most famous and influentical men of the century- married or not. She now stands a symbol- the reigning goddess in a mythical city- not so much of what hollywood actually was, but of our perception of how it must have been. Perhaps she is still so popular because this illusion is so important to us.- she remains forever unchanged - eternally glamorous, beautiful, and forever young!

At the age of 36, Marilyn's dead body was found in her bedroom by her live-in housekeeper. Her death was ruled as "acute barbiturate poisioning" and listed as "possibly suicide." There was speculation surrounding her death and many believed that she was murdered. Her death was on August 5 1962.

Eight months before her death Marilyn Monroe discovered a Spanish-style house in the Brentwood section of Los Angeles. She traveled to Mexico in February 1962, enthusiastically searching shops in Cuernavaca, Taxco, Toluca and Acapulco for fabrics, furniture and tiles for her new home.

~A Scarlet is born~

" I used to think as I looked out on hollywood Night, 'There must be thousands of girls sitting alone like me, dreaming of becoming a movie star. But I'm not going to worry about them. I'm dreaming the hardest.'" - Marilyn Monroe

Jayne Mansfield...

Jayne was an American Actress and sexual icon. She became known as the 50's pinup model and was featured in playboy magazine. Jayne's original name was Vera Jayne Palmer and was born on april 19 1933 in Bryn, Pennsylvania.

Jayne became sort of a poor man's version of Marilyn Monroe because her roles were played as dumb blonde bimbos or a pure sex kitten. Her career declined into cheesy sexploitation, honkey, and somewhat embarassing guest appearances. Jayne was always 2an to Marilyn Monroe in their Blonde Bombshell era of the 50's and 60's. The public began losing interest in the curvaceous gals somewhat annoying, in your face, ditzy persona. She was obessed with becoming famous that she would consistently chase publicity of all kinds even if it damaged her career. She was not interested in becoming successful only famous. Jayne died in a terrible car accident on June 29 1967.The car she died in was sold at auction in 1999 for $8000.

The outside of Jayne's Home

The staircase of Jayne Mansfield and Mickey Hargitay’s home. Her collection of hundreds of magazine covers adorned the staircase—she appeared in Life as well as in Playboy.

Mansfield on the balcony overlooking the living room.The lettering in the arabesque above the living room fireplace commemorated her marriage to Hargitay, who did much of the handiwork in the house. Her favored heart motif was quilted into the purple sofas.

Mansfield in her bath.
Mansfield announced her ambition to have a house in Beverly Hills and a million dollars—and to be a star. She traded promotional appearances for an estimated $150,000 worth of merchandise for the house, including the pink shag for the wall-to-wall, floor-to-ceiling treatment in the bath.


The office

Mansfield in her pool.
Mansfield relaxes in the couple’s forty-foot-wide pool surrounded by dozens of Jayne Mansfield Hot Water Bottles, a novelty item introduced in 1957. She demanded “a heart-shaped house with a heart-shaped pool” as a precondition for her marriage to Mickey Hargitay.

Jayne's Fireplace by the BBQ and Swimming pool

It seemed like she was always sucking in her gut in a lot of the pictures she took. I actually had not ever heard anything about Jayne Mansfield until recently. She reminds me so much of Marilyn Monroe. I love the heart-shaped pool, but I hear her home and the pool have been torn down.


Photos Via: Arch Digest
Jaynemansfield.com
bombshells.org
Book- Marilyn by Diana Karanikas Harvey
sqiudoo.com
marilynmonroe.com