Jean Harlow

Known for ActingBorn 1911-03-03Died 1937-06-07Kansas City, Missouri, USA

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. Though her screen persona changed dramatically during her career, one constant was her sense of humor. She was given superior movie roles to show off her looks and nascent comedic talent. Harlow was in the film industry for only nine years, but she became one of the biggest stars in the US, whose image in the public eye has endured. Harlow was consistently voted one of the strongest box office draws in the United States from 1933 onward, often surpassing that of MGM's top leading ladies, such as Greta Garbo, Joan Crawford and Norma Shearer. Her movies also continued to make huge profits at the box office even during the middle of the Depression. In 1999, the American Film Institute ranked Harlow No. 22 on its greatest female screen legends of classical Hollywood cinema list.Read more

Movies & web series

Discovering Jean Harlow

The Good, The Bad, and the Beautiful

Marilyn Monroe

Screen Snapshots (Series 25, No. 1): 25th Anniversary

Masquerade

Fugitives

Howard Hughes: His Women and His Movies

Sports on the Silver Screen

Two Tragic Blondes - Marilyn Monroe And Jean Harlow

Going Hollywood: The '30s

Judy Garland: By Myself

Weak But Willing

This Thing Called Love

Honor Bound

The Casting Couch

Clara Bow: Discovering the "It" Girl

The Spencer Tracy Legacy: A Tribute by Katharine Hepburn

Betty Boop: Queen of the Cartoons

Jay Sebring… Cutting to the Truth

Beer and Blood: Enemies of the Public

Becoming Marilyn

Why Is a Plumber?

Marilyn Monroe: Beyond the Legend

That's Entertainment!

Hollywood: The Dream Factory

MGM Parade

Checking Out: Grand Hotel

That's Entertainment! III

Complicated Women

The Big Parade of Comedy

Hollywood Out-takes and Rare Footage

The Girl from Missouri

That's Entertainment, Part II

Scarface

Death In Hollywood

The Further Perils of Laurel and Hardy

The Golden Age of Comedy

Libeled Lady

The Public Enemy

James Stewart: A Wonderful Life

Moran of the Marines

Chasing Husbands

Personal Property

Red Dust

Liberty

Thou Shalt Not: Sex, Sin and Censorship in Pre-Code Hollywood

Beau Hunks

Dinner at Eight