Jayne Mansfield (1933 - 1967)
Sophia Loren eyeing Jayne Mansfield's breasts (ca.1957/58), photo by Joe Shere.
Biography
Jayne Mansfield (April 19, 1933 – June 29, 1967) was an American actress and sex symbol. --http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jayne_Mansfield [Apr 2005]Sophia Loren eyeing Jane Mansfield
It was Hollywood, 1958. Roman film goddess Sophia Loren had just breezed into town hoping to conquer America. One night, the actress was fêted at the swanky restaurant Romanoff's. Her unlikely dinner companion was Jayne Mansfield, the poor man's Marilyn Monroe. A roving photographer named Joe Shere swooped by their table and took a shot of the pair.
In the resulting photo, Mansfield smiles up at the camera while Sophia Loren is captured staring at Mansfield's Grand Canyon décolleté as if there are poisonous snakes down there. Australian-born photographer Daniela Federici created an homage to that shot using model Anna Nicole Smith (as Mansfield) and New York City DJ Sky Nellor (as Loren). This picture represents Federici's aesthetic in a nutshell -- Italian neorealist cinema circa 1950/1960s meets Hollywood glamour. Federici's sexy photographs are as self-referential as any Godard film from the 1960s, which makes sense since Federici digs the French Nouvelle Vague as well. --http://archive.salon.com/sex/gallery/2002/08/23/federici/index_np.html [Apr 2005]
April 17th, 1957
Jayne's most well known incident of stealing the spotlight took place on April 17th, 1957 at Romanoff's in Hollywood. It was during a reception welcoming Sophia Loren to the States and commemorating her first U.S. film. Jayne sidled up to Loren's table wearing a very low-cut dress. --http://www.angelfire.com/film/jaynemansfield/trivia.html [Apr 2005]
Intentionally losing control of her bathing suit
Twenty-one year-old Jayne Mansfield - a buxom and unknown starlet - literally splashed onto the celebrity scene by intentionally losing control of her bathing suit at a poolside press gathering. Photos of her "accident" appeared in the January 12, 1955 issue of Variety, and one month later she was Playboy’s Miss February. --http://celebpicsirc.com/pics-50s.html [Apr 2005]
Hollywood Babylon (1959) - Kenneth Anger
Jayne Mansfield on the cover of the Italian edition of Hollywood Babylon I
image sourced here.
Hollywood Babylon (1959) - Kenneth Anger [Amazon.com] [FR] [DE] [UK]
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