Jean Harlow photo

Jean Harlow

Acting

  • Born
  • March 3, 1911
  • Died
  • June 7, 1937
  • Place of birth
  • Kansas City, Missouri, USA

Biography

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.

As actor 87

Intimate Portrait poster
Intimate Portrait
1993
MGM Parade poster
MGM Parade
1955
Scarface poster
Scarface
1932
Marilyn Monroe: Beyond the Legend poster
Marilyn Monroe: Beyond the Legend
1986
Hollywood Out-takes and Rare Footage poster
Hollywood Out-takes and Rare Footage
1983
That's Entertainment! poster
That's Entertainment!
1974
That's Entertainment, Part II poster
That's Entertainment, Part II
1976
The Public Enemy poster
The Public Enemy
1931
Brother, Can You Spare a Dime? poster
Brother, Can You Spare a Dime?
1975
That's Entertainment! III poster
That's Entertainment! III
1994
Dinner at Eight poster
Dinner at Eight
1933
Hell's Angels poster
Hell's Angels
1930
Libeled Lady poster
Libeled Lady
1936
Platinum Blonde poster
Platinum Blonde
1931
Hollywood Scandals and Tragedies poster
Hollywood Scandals and Tragedies
1988
Hollywood: The Dream Factory poster
Hollywood: The Dream Factory
1972
Going Hollywood: The '30s poster
Going Hollywood: The '30s
1984
Thou Shalt Not: Sex, Sin and Censorship in Pre-Code Hollywood poster
Thou Shalt Not: Sex, Sin and Censorship in Pre-Code Hollywood
2008
James Stewart: A Wonderful Life poster
James Stewart: A Wonderful Life
1987
Red Dust poster
Red Dust
1932
The Spencer Tracy Legacy: A Tribute by Katharine Hepburn poster
The Spencer Tracy Legacy: A Tribute by Katharine Hepburn
1986
The Big Parade of Comedy poster
The Big Parade of Comedy
1964
Sports on the Silver Screen poster
Sports on the Silver Screen
1997
China Seas poster
China Seas
1935
Jay Sebring… Cutting to the Truth poster
Jay Sebring… Cutting to the Truth
2020
Beau Hunks poster
Beau Hunks
1931
The Beast of the City poster
The Beast of the City
1932
Hollywood: The Selznick Years poster
Hollywood: The Selznick Years
1961
The Saturday Night Kid poster
The Saturday Night Kid
1929
Wife vs. Secretary poster
Wife vs. Secretary
1936
This Thing Called Love poster
This Thing Called Love
1929
Bacon Grabbers poster
Bacon Grabbers
1929
Double Whoopee poster
Double Whoopee
1929
Judy Garland: By Myself poster
Judy Garland: By Myself
2004
The Girl from Missouri poster
The Girl from Missouri
1934
The Good, The Bad, and the Beautiful poster
The Good, The Bad, and the Beautiful
1996
Goldie poster
Goldie
1931
Clara Bow: Discovering the "It" Girl poster
Clara Bow: Discovering the "It" Girl
1999
Checking Out: Grand Hotel
2004
Why Be Good?: Sexuality & Censorship in Early Cinema poster
Why Be Good?: Sexuality & Censorship in Early Cinema
2007
Legends in Light: The Photography of George Hurrell
1995
Red-Headed Woman poster
Red-Headed Woman
1932
42nd Street: From Book to Screen to Stage poster
42nd Street: From Book to Screen to Stage
2006
Bombshell poster
Bombshell
1933
Screen Snapshots (Series 22, No. 10) poster
Screen Snapshots (Series 22, No. 10)
1942
Beyond Tara: The Extraordinary Life of Hattie McDaniel poster
Beyond Tara: The Extraordinary Life of Hattie McDaniel
2001
Suzy poster
Suzy
1936
The Casting Couch poster
The Casting Couch
1995
Howard Hughes: His Women and His Movies poster
Howard Hughes: His Women and His Movies
2000
Chasing Husbands poster
Chasing Husbands
1928
The Secret Six poster
The Secret Six
1931
The Further Perils of Laurel and Hardy poster
The Further Perils of Laurel and Hardy
1967
Complicated Women poster
Complicated Women
2003
Death In Hollywood poster
Death In Hollywood
1990
Hollywood on Parade No. A-12 poster
Hollywood on Parade No. A-12
1933
Beer and Blood: Enemies of the Public poster
Beer and Blood: Enemies of the Public
2005
Reckless poster
Reckless
1935
The Love Parade poster
The Love Parade
1929
Betty Boop: Queen of the Cartoons poster
Betty Boop: Queen of the Cartoons
1995
Hold Your Man poster
Hold Your Man
1933
Becoming Marilyn poster
Becoming Marilyn
2022
The Golden Age of Comedy poster
The Golden Age of Comedy
1957
Honor Bound poster
Honor Bound
1928
Two Tragic Blondes - Marilyn Monroe And Jean Harlow
1989
Saratoga poster
Saratoga
1937
Jean Harlow: Platinum Bombshell poster
Jean Harlow: Platinum Bombshell
1996
Why Be Good? poster
Why Be Good?
1929
Personal Property poster
Personal Property
1937
Riffraff poster
Riffraff
1936
The Love Story of Jean Harlow and William Powell poster
The Love Story of Jean Harlow and William Powell
2023
Iron Man poster
Iron Man
1931
Liberty poster
Liberty
1929
Moran of the Marines poster
Moran of the Marines
1928
Why Is a Plumber? poster
Why Is a Plumber?
1929
Screen Snapshots (Series 25, No. 1): 25th Anniversary poster
Screen Snapshots (Series 25, No. 1): 25th Anniversary
1945
Death Scenes poster
Death Scenes
1989
Discovering Jean Harlow poster
Discovering Jean Harlow
2015
Marilyn Monroe poster
Marilyn Monroe
1986
New York Nights poster
New York Nights
1929
Masquerade poster
Masquerade
1929
Voice of Hollywood (Series 2, No. 3) poster
Voice of Hollywood (Series 2, No. 3)
1931
Three Wise Girls poster
Three Wise Girls
1932
The Unkissed Man poster
The Unkissed Man
1929
Fugitives poster
Fugitives
1929
Close Harmony poster
Close Harmony
1929
Weak But Willing poster
Weak But Willing
1929
Thundering Toupees poster
Thundering Toupees
1929