Bombshell Facts About Jean Harlow, Hollywood’s Platinum Blonde
“Men like me because I don’t wear a brassiere. Women like me because I don’t look like a girl who would steal a husband. At least not for long.” – Jean Harlow
For a time in the 1930s, Jean Harlow was the biggest star in Hollywood. Her vampy good looks, easy glamour, and natural sex appeal earned her the nickname “The Blonde Bombshell,”
but underneath her polished façade was a tender soul too often abused by studios and wracked with heartache—all the way until her devastating end. Put on a maribou-feather dressing robe and read these facts about Jean Harlow.
Jean Harlow Facts
1. Working Class to World Class
Harlow had humble beginnings. She was born Harlean Harlow Carpenter in Kansas City, Missouri—just about as far as you could get from the bright lights of Sunset Boulevard.
Her father Mont Clair Carpenter came from a working-class background and made his living as a dentist, but her mother Jean grew up the privileged daughter of a real estate broker.
2. Certified Platinum
Jean Harlow was famous for her so-called “platinum blonde” hair—in fact, it was her stardom that helped first coin the shiny term.
When he was promoting Harlow in one of his films, director Howard Hughes publicized her hair color as new-fangled “platinum,” quickly turning Harlow into the original Blonde Bombshell.
3. The Naked Truth
At the height of her fame, rumors abounded that Harlow only slept in the nude—and perhaps more scandalously, that she never wore underwear.
