Jean Harlow (born Harlean Harlow Carpenter; March 3, 1911 – June 7, 1937) was an American actress. Known for her portrayal of "bad girl" characters, she was the leading sex symbol of the early 1930s and one of the defining figures of the pre-Code era of American cinema. Often nicknamed the "Blonde Bombshell" and the "Platinum Blonde,” Harlow was popular for her "Laughing Vamp" screen persona. Harlow was in the film industry for only nine years, but she became one of Hollywood's biggest movie stars, whose image has endured in the public eye. In 1999, the American Film Institute ranked Harlow number 22 on its greatest female screen legends list.
Harlow was first signed by business magnate Howard Hughes, who directed her first major role in Hell's Angels (1930). After a series of critically failed films, and Hughes' loss of interest in her career, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer bought out Harlow's contract in 1932 and cast her in leading roles in a string of hits built on her comedic talent: Red-Headed Woman (1932), Red Dust (1932), Dinner at Eight (1933), Reckless (1935), and Suzy (1936). Harlow's popularity rivaled and then surpassed that of MGM's top leading ladies Joan Crawford, Greta Garbo, and Norma Shearer. She died at the age of 26 of kidney failure while filming Saratoga. MGM completed the film using body doubles and released it less than two months after her death; it became the highest-grossing film of 1937, and the highest-grossing film of her career.
1911–1925: Early life and education
Harlow was born Harlean Harlow Carpenter in a house located at 3344 Olive Street in Kansas City, Missouri.
Her father, Mont Clair Carpenter (1877–1974), son of Abraham L. Carpenter and Dianna (née Beal), was a dentist who attended dental school in Kansas City. He was from a working-class background. Her mother, Jean Poe Carpenter (née Harlow; 1891–1958), was the daughter of wealthy real estate broker Skip Harlow and his wife, Ella Harlow (née Williams). In 1908, Skip Harlow arranged his daughter's marriage to Mont Clair Carpenter. She was underage at the time and grew resentful and unhappy in the marriage, but the Carpenters remained together, living in a Kansas City house owned by her father.
Harlow's family called her "Baby," a nickname she was accustomed to and which endured for the rest of her life. It was not until she was five years old that she learned her real name was Harlean, when the staff and students at Miss Barstow's Finishing School for Girls used the name. Harlow was always very close to her mother, who was extremely protective. Her mother reportedly told her daughter that she owed everything she had to her; "She was always all mine!", Mama Jean said of her daughter in interviews. Jean Carpenter was later known as "Mama Jean" after Harlow achieved star status as Jean Harlow.
When Harlow was finishing school, her mother filed for a divorce. On September 29, 1922, the uncontested divorce was finalized, giving sole custody of Harlow to her mother. Although Harlow loved her father, she did not see him often after the divorce.
In 1923, the 32-year-old Jean Carpenter took her daughter and moved to Hollywood in hopes of becoming an actress, but was told that she was too old to begin a film career. Harlow was enrolled at the Hollywood School for Girls, where she met Douglas Fairbanks Jr., Joel McCrea, and Irene Mayer Selznick, but dropped out at the age of 14, in the spring of 1925.
With their finances dwindling, Jean and Harlow moved back to Kansas City after Skip Harlow issued an ultimatum that he would disinherit his daughter if they did not return. Several weeks later, Skip sent his granddaughter to summer camp at Camp Cha-Ton-Ka, in Michigamme, Michigan, where she contracted scarlet fever. Jean Carpenter traveled to Michigan to care for Harlow, rowing herself across the lake to the camp, but was told that she could not see her daughter.
Harlow next attended the Ferry Hall School (now Lake Forest Academy) in Lake Forest, Illinois. Jean Carpenter had an ulterior motive for her daughter's attendance at this particular school: It was close to the Chicago home of her boyfriend, Marino Bello.
Harlow enjoyed cooking, and a few of her recipes were published in newspapers and in Motion Picture magazine.
During Harlow's freshman year at the school, she was paired with a "big sister" from the senior class who introduced her to 19-year-old Charles "Chuck" Fremont McGrew III, an heir to a large fortune. By the fall of 1926, Harlow and Chuck were dating seriously, and they were married in 1928. Jean Carpenter was also married to Marino Bello on January 18; however, Harlow did not attend her mother's wedding.
In 1928, two months after the wedding, Chuck McGrew turned 21 and received part of his inheritance. The couple left Chicago and moved to Los Angeles, settling into a home in Beverly Hills, where Harlow thrived as a wealthy socialite. McGrew hoped to distance Harlow from her mother with the move. Neither Chuck nor Harlow worked during this time, and both were considered heavy drinkers.
While living in Los Angeles, Harlow befriended a young aspiring actress named Rosalie Roy. Not owning a car herself, Rosalie asked Harlow to drive her to Fox Studios for an appointment. While waiting for Rosalie, Harlow was noticed and approached by Fox executives, whom she told she was not interested. Nevertheless, she was given letters of introduction to Central Casting. A few days later, Rosalie Roy bet Harlow that she did not have the nerve to go in for an audition. Unwilling to lose a wager and pressed by her enthusiastic mother, who had followed her daughter to Los Angeles by this time, Harlow went to Central Casting and signed in under her mother's maiden name, Jean Harlow.
After several calls from casting and several job offers that Harlow rejected, Mother Jean finally persuaded her into accepting work at the studio. Harlow appeared in her first film, Honor Bound (1928), as an unbilled "extra" for $7 a day (equivalent to approximately $131 in 2025 dollars) and a box lunch, common pay for such work. This led to a wage increase to $10 per day and small parts in feature films such as Moran of the Marines (1928) and the Charley Chase lost film Chasing Husbands (1928). In December 1928, Harlow, as Jean Harlow, signed a five-year contract with Hal Roach Studios for $100 per week. She had small roles in the 1929 Laurel and Hardy shorts: Double Whoopee, Liberty and Bacon Grabbers, the last giving her a costarring credit.
In March 1929, she parted with Hal Roach, who tore up her contract after Harlow told him, "It's breaking up my marriage, what can I do?" In June 1929, Harlow separated from her husband, who disapproved of her career, and moved in with Mother Jean and Bello. After her separation from McGrew, Harlow continued working as an "extra" in such films as This Thing Called Love, Close Harmony, and The Love Parade (all 1929), until she landed her first speaking role in the Clara Bow film The Saturday Night Kid. Harlow and her husband divorced in 1929.
1929–1932: Platinum blonde star
In late 1929, Harlow was spotted by Ben Lyon, an actor filming Howard Hughes' Hell's Angels; another account gives Angels head cameraman Arthur Landau as the man who spotted and suggested her to Hughes. Hughes was reshooting most of his originally silent film with sound and needed an actress to replace Greta Nissen, whose Norwegian accent was undesirable for her character. Harlow screen-tested for Hughes, who cast her in the part. On October 24, 1929, Harlow signed a five-year contract with Hughes worth $100 per week (equivalent to approximately $1,875 in 2025 dollars).