BIO

Jean Harlow was born Harlean Harlow Carpenter in Kansas City, Missouri, in 1911.   Her father was a successful dentist.   Gaining sole custody of her daughter, her mother divorced and moved to Hollywood with the hope of becoming a film actress when Harlow was 11.   When that failed, they relocated to Chicago.   In 1927, at the age of 16, Harlow eloped with Charles McGrew, a young man soon to receive a portion of his family’s large fortune, and resettled in Los Angeles.

She became known in Hollywood as a wealthy young socialite.   Harlow did not need to work, but at the urging of her mother, began to pursue an acting career.   She soon was cast in a starring role in Hell's Angels.   As her career gained momentum her marriage suffered and she divorced in 1929.

Harlow appeared in more than 30 feature films until her untimely death in 1937.

She was married three times:

1. Charles McGrew, 1927-1929, divorced.
2. Paul Bern, writer/director/producer, 1932, widowed.   His death was officially ruled a suicide.
3. Harold Rosson, cinematographer, 1933-1934, divorced.   The sham marriage was enforced on her by MGM after her scandalous affair following her second husband’s death with the boxer Max Baer who was then married to the actress Dorothy Dunbar.

At the time of her death, Harlow was dating the actor William Powell.   She died suddenly of uremic poisoning in Los Angeles in 1937.   She had been feeling ill for several days, but her mother, whom she lived with and was a devout Christian Scientist, refused any doctor visits until it was too late.   Harlow was 26 years old.

Additional biographical information is available at:

NOTED FILMS

Complete filmography at: