Emmy® and Golden Globe® winning actress and filmmaker Mariska Hargitay was three years old when her mother, Jayne Mansfield, tragically died in a car accident at age 34—leaving behind five children. The HBO Original documentary MY MOM JAYNE, directed by Hargitay and debuting on Friday June 27, explores the complexities behind Jayne Mansfield’s public persona, a self-creation she grew desperate to escape. Through deeply personal interviews with siblings and an excavation of the photographs, letters, and cherished belongings Jayne left behind, Mariska assembles a new picture of the extraordinary, complex woman.
Featuring film clips from Jayne’s work in the 1950s and ‘60s, archival footage from her many talk show appearances and interviews, as well as striking personal footage, the film contextualizes the dazzling star power of the most photographed Hollywood celebrity of her day. A story of loss and longing, healing and transformation, MY MOM JAYNE is a testament to the rewards of an unflinching search for truth, unveiling Mariska’s journey to reclaim her mother’s story—and her own.
“This movie is a labor of love and longing,” said Mariska Hargitay. “It’s a search for the mother I never knew, an integration of a part of myself I’d never owned, and a reclaiming of my mother’s story and my own truth.
MY MOM JAYNE | HBO Documentaries | debut June 27, streaming on HBO Max
Just mentioning, Mark, that another bombshell of the era, slightly before Mansfield, who could swing was Jane Russell.
She’s always gotten more Interesting the more I’ve learned about her. Very intelligent and musical.