Jayne Mansfield's Life in Photos

Born Vera Jayne Palmer in 1933, the future icon eloped with 20-year-old Paul Mansfield in 1950, just before graduating from high school. A year into their marriage they welcomed a baby girl, Jayne Marie Mansfield, while they were both studying acting at Southern Methodist University.

In 1951, Mansfield moved to Los Angeles to attend a summer session at UCLA. The aspiring actress entered the Miss California contest, but later dropped out. Afterward, she and her husband enrolled at the University of Texas in Austin, where she began performing in theater productions.