She had a prosperous career in the ss, like another sex symbol of the time: Marilyn Monroe. Often compared to the latter, Mansfield became an iconic symbol of Hollywood glamour and a cultural icon of the time. However, her life was not all about glitter and fame. A loving mother, devoted wife and avant-garde entrepreneur, she left a lasting impact on the entertainment industry and the world in general. Moreover, contrary to what her dumb blonde roles might suggest, Mansfield was a highly intelligent and educated woman.
She spoke five languages, was a classical pianist and violinist, and had an Intelligence Quotient of for comparison, the average IQ is between 85 and , and Albert Einstein's was Born to a lawyer father and a schoolteacher mother, she dreamed of only one thing: becoming a star.
From the age of 12, she took ballroom dancing and music lessons and participated in local theater productions. In , she married her first husband, Paul Mansfield, with whom she had a daughter named Jayne Marie. Despite the responsibilities of motherhood, imposed on women at the time, she pursued her dream of becoming an actress. She attended drama school in Dallas, then studied theater and psychology at the University of Georgia. She also took classes with Baruch Lumet, an American actor of Polish origin.
Meanwhile, she won numerous beauty contests and, in , decided to move to Los Angeles to pursue her career. Her family followed suit. In , she became one of the first "playmates" for Playboy magazine. Still unknown at that time, she tries her luck in Hollywood, and gets a small role in the film "Female Jungle". She soon caught the attention of Hollywood producers and quickly signed a contract with Warner Bros.
The directors, who want to highlight her sculptural measurements, confine her in caricatural characters that earned her the nickname of "Blonde bombshell" or "Busty". In , she signed a 7-year contract at 20th Century Fox, the same studio that had previously worked with Marilyn Monroe. Deliberately prepared to become Monroe's rival, the media perpetuated this image by nicknaming her the " Working Man's Monroe".
