More stories of extraordinary women on the website Jean Harlow, real name Harlean Harlow Carpenter, was born on March 3, 1911 in Kansas City. When she was a teenager, she contracted scarlet fever, which became severe and damaged her kidneys. This didn’t stop her from having a stunning career in Hollywood, but it ended when Jean was only 26 years old.
A scandalous person on screen and in her private life
When Jean Harlow was 16, she married Chuck McGrew, the son of a drug manufacturer, five years her senior. The young couple had plenty of money, thanks to access to the young husband’s large trust fund, they moved to Hollywood and led a carefree lifestyle for some time. At that time, Jean was not seriously considering an acting career, but it was decided by chance. One day, her friend, an aspiring actress, asked her for a ride to a movie audition. There, a producer from Fox became interested in Jean and everything ended with signing a contract. Young Jean starred first in “Honor Bound”, then “Moran of the Marines”, “This Thing Called Love” and “Close Harmony”.
Jean Harlow Photo Wikimedia Commons/Public domain
She had to lighten her hair for the role
Her career gained momentum after her role in “Hell’s Angels” (made by the Hughes studio) – the most watched film in 1930. For her role, Jean had to lighten her natural blonde hair by several shades, to light platinum. She later said in interviews that it was her natural shade, a color she inherited in her genes. Meanwhile, the truth was that once a week, a hairdresser – Alfred Pagano, employed by the Hughes studio, prepared a mixture that mercilessly lightened the young actress’s hair. The brightener included ammonia, bleach, hydrogen peroxide and soap flakes, but the specific proportions were a closely guarded secret.
Jean assumed the role of sexy vamps, her alleged affairs, divorces and subsequent marriages were written about in the tabloid press. Women all over the world tried to resemble her by mercilessly bleaching their hair. Despite many scandals, the actress was inundated with offers for new roles. In the mid-1930s, she no longer appeared on screen as a platinum blonde and decided to return to her natural shade. This probably happened because the actress’s hair, after years of aggressive dyeing, was in terrible condition and began to fall out. Some biographers of the actress believe that at the end of her career she wore a wig because she was almost bald.
“Killer Blonde” guilty?
In 1937, the actress began to feel bad and her condition continued to worsen. No one listened to her complaints until she fainted on the set of Saratoga. However, she was not sent to hospital, but under the care of her domineering mother (she was her manager, she decided about the roles she took on, the amount of her salary, and her private life). When her condition became very serious, her mother called a doctor who recommended that she be taken to hospital immediately. He suspected uremia – a kidney disease. Jean was admitted to hospital on June 7, 1937, but it was too late for her. She was buried in the white dress she wore in the film “Romantic Trap”. The official cause of death was the above-mentioned uremia, some believe that it was caused by the “killer blonde” with which Jean tortured her hair for years. The chemicals were slowly poisoning her body, and alcohol, in which the young actress drowned her sorrows, did not help either.
Source: Gazeta
Bruce is a talented author and journalist with a passion for entertainment . He currently works as a writer at the 247 News Agency, where he has established himself as a respected voice in the industry.
