Hollywood pinup Jayne Mansfield would have been 90! Her Law & Order: SVU actress daughter Mariska Hargitay, 59, pens tribute to mom who died at 34
Hollywood blonde bombshell Jayne Mansfield who partied with Sophia Loren and competed with Marilyn Monroe would have turned 90-years-old on Wednesday.
The pinup, who starred in the hit films The Girl Can't Help It and Will Success Spoil Rock Hunter?, died at the age of 34 after a car crash on June 29, 1967.
Her daughter Mariska Hargitay, who is best known for starring on Law & Order: SVU, penned an emotional tribute on her Instagram page.
'Happy birthday Mama. We live to love you more each day,' wrote the acclaimed star in her caption as her pal Hilary Swank shared a red heart.
Mariska uploaded a stunning black-and-white photo of her mother in a silky evening dress.
The actress was just three-years-old when her mother was killed.
A look back: Hollywood blonde bombshell Jayne Mansfield who partied with Sophia Loren and competed with Marilyn Monroe would have turned 90-years-old on Wednesday. The pinup died at the age of 34 after a car crash on June 29, 1967; seen in the 1950s
Making waves: Mansfield famously had multiple iconic ‘wardrobe malfunctions‘ during industry events. Pictured in with Sophia Loren in 1957
Fans were quick to share messages of support as one commented: 'She lives on through you. She’d be so proud of you.'
Another wrote: 'Happy birthday Jayne you put an amazing person on our planet that has blessed us with her amazing talents and her joyful soul.'
Mansfield’s life was suddenly cut short while she was in a Buick car traveling from Biloxi, Mississippi to New Orleans along with her lawyer and then-boyfriend Samuel S. Brody, driver Ronnie Harrison, and three of her children.
Harrison crashed into the rear of a tractor-trailer that was obscured by a cloud of insecticide dust from the truck hauling it.
Mariska, who was fast asleep in the backseat, survived. Her brothers, eight-year-old Mickey Jr. and six-year-old Zoltan, also survived.
Jayne Mansfield was born Vera Jayne Palmer in Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania in 1933.
Her daughter Mariska Hargitay - seen in May 2022 in New York City - penned a tribute
Stunning: Mansfield was a trailblazer sex symbol in the fifties and sixties - at a time where many actresses were afraid to embrace their sexuality. Pictured in 1995 (left) and 1957 (right)
She studied acting at university and won a series of quirkily named beauty contests including Gas Station Queen, Miss Lobster and Miss Fire Prevention Week.
Her iconic hourglass figure cost her roles in the conservative climate of 1950s Hollywood but famously won her a nude shoot with Playboy in 1955.
The following year, Mansfield signed with Twentieth Century Fox, whose executives hoped she could become the new Marilyn Monroe.
Despite her cultivated image as the stereotypical dumb blonde, Mansfield was an intelligent woman who spoke five languages and reportedly had a lust for knowledge.
Blonde bombshell: In 1956, Mansfield signed with Twentieth Century Fox, whose executives hoped she could become the new Marilyn Monroe (undated photo)
Sex appeal: Mansfield was one of the first major Hollywood actresses to appear nude in 1963 film, Promises! Promises! Pictured in 1957 (left) and 1955 (right)
She was named one of the most promising newcomers at the 1957 Golden Globe Awards for her performances in films such as The Girl Can’t Help It.
But by the early 1960s, her career had begun to fizzle out.
After making waves as one of the first major Hollywood actresses to appear nude in a film – Promises! Promises! in 1963 – Mansfield’s career continued to struggle.
Mansfield’s rather rocky private life – three marriages that all ended in divorce, along with allegations of numerous affairs – was also a major talking point during her time in the public eye.
In 1966, she also began a friendship with Anton LaVey, a Satanist trying to attract new members to his Church of Satan.
A popular legend that might have been spread by LaVey himself claimed that he portrayed the devil who rapes Mia Farrow’s character in the 1968 film Rosemary’s Baby.
Memories: Hargitay being held by her mother in 1996, with her father Mickey Harigtay, brothers Zoltan and Mikos, and her mother's daughter Jayne Maria, from a previous marriage
An older photo: Here she is seen in a red dress with her dogs and eldest child
After they connected in San Francisco, the pair developed a friendship – that some claim was sexual in nature – and continued to meet frequently to perform rituals until Mansfield’s death.
During their intense correspondence over the following year, it is claimed that Mansfield asked LaVey to send her an incubus – a male demon who visits women in their sleep.
The pair also like to dine in public around Beverly Hills, with LaVey sporting his resplendent cape. Luckily, paparazzi were always on hand to document them as they held court.
After Mansfield died LaVey conducted a Satanic memorial service for her at his Black House in San Francisco.
Mansfield was survived by her five children: Jayne (born 1950), Mickey (born 1958), Zoltan (born 1960), Mariska (born 1964) and Tony (born 1965).
By the time of her fateful death, Mansfield had survived no less than six car accidents.
Star power: Hargitay's father, actor and former Mr. Universe bodybuilder Mickey Hargitay, died in September 2016
Hargitay is married to Peter Hermann, an actor who she met on set of Law & Order: Special Victims Unit.
The pair have three children together; biological son August, 17, adopted daughter Amaya, 12, and their adopted Andrew, 11.
Reflecting on the difficult lessons she was forced to learn as a young girl after the loss, Harigtay told Glamour in 2021: 'I think I learned about crisis very young, and I learned very young that s*** happens and there's no guarantees, and we keep going. And then we transform it.'
The Can't Hurry Love star continued: 'That's been kind of my superpower, and the gift of having trauma early in life. I’ve spent the last 50—how old am I?—57, so 54 years sort of trying to figure out what happened and why, and what am I supposed to do with it?'
In a previous interview with People, Hargitay revealed that she had developed 'catastrophic thinking' while dealing with her mother's death.
She told the weekly that losing her mother at an early age prepared her mentally that the worst could always happen as she explained: 'The way I’ve lived with loss is to lean into it. As the saying goes, the only way out is through.
'In my life, certainly I’ve tried to avoid pain, loss, feeling things. But I’ve learned instead to really lean into it, because sooner or later you have to pay the piper.'
The Downtown star did admit that her mentality doesn't make loss any easier but can help her put it all into perspective.
'I’m not saying it’s easy, and it certainly hasn’t been for me,' she explained. 'There’s been a lot of darkness. But on the other side things can be so bright.'
In 2013, Hargitay and her mother were united on the Hollywood Walk Of Fame when their stars placed stars were placed side by side.
Superstar couple: Hargitay is married to fellow actor Peter Hermann, who she met on set of Law & Order: Special Victims Unit; seen in October 2022
