Ernestine Jane Geraldine Russell was an American actress, singer, and model.
46 Facts About Jane Russell
2.
In 1947, Jane Russell delved into music before returning to films.
3.
Jane Russell married three times, adopted three children, and in 1955 founded Waif, the first international adoption program.
4.
Jane Russell received several accolades for her achievements in film.
5.
Jane Russell was born on June 21,1921, at Sanford Bemidji Medical Center in Bemidji, Minnesota.
6.
Jane Russell was the eldest child and only daughter of the five children of Geraldine and Roy William Russell, who married on March 22,1918, in Kalamazoo, Michigan.
7.
Jane Russell's parents lived in Edmonton, Alberta until shortly before her birth and returned to that city nine days after her birth, where they lived for the first one or two years of her life.
8.
Jane Russell modeled for photographers, and, at the urging of her mother, studied drama and acting with Max Reinhardt's Theatrical Workshop and with actress and acting coach Maria Ouspenskaya.
9.
In 1940, Jane Russell was signed to a seven-year contract by film mogul Howard Hughes, and made her motion-picture debut in The Outlaw, a story about Billy the Kid that went to great lengths to showcase her voluptuous figure.
10.
Contrary to countless incorrect reports in the media since the release of The Outlaw, Jane Russell did not wear the specially designed underwire bra that Howard Hughes had designed and made for her to wear during filming.
11.
Jane Russell was a popular pin-up photo with servicemen during World War II.
12.
Jane Russell did not appear in another movie until 1946, when she played Joan Kenwood in Young Widow for Hunt Stromberg, who released it through United Artists.
13.
Jane Russell shot Montana Belle for Fidelity Pictures in 1948, playing Belle Starr.
14.
At that studio, Jane Russell co-starred with Groucho Marx and Frank Sinatra in a musical comedy, Double Dynamite, shot in 1948 and released in 1951.
15.
Jane Russell did two more film noirs: The Las Vegas Story with Price and Victor Mature, and Macao with Mitchum.
16.
Jane Russell played Dorothy Shaw in the hit film Gentlemen Prefer Blondes opposite Marilyn Monroe for 20th Century Fox.
17.
The film was a huge success, Jane Russell's biggest hit since The Outlaw, making over $5 million.
18.
Jane Russell said that she initially wore the bikini in front of her "horrified" movie crew while "feeling very naked".
19.
In March 1954, they signed a six-picture deal with United Artists to last over three years; Jane Russell only had to appear in three of the films.
20.
Jane Russell was paid $200,000 for her role and had the right to draw on Chandler's services for a film later on for her own production company.
21.
Jane Russell co-starred with Clark Gable in The Tall Men at 20th Century Fox, one of the most popular films of the year, with earnings of $6 million.
22.
Russ-Field produced Gentlemen Marry Brunettes, a sequel to Blondes in which Jane Russell starred alongside Jeanne Crain, for release through United Artists.
23.
Jane Russell-Field's last production was The Fuzzy Pink Nightgown, starring Jane Russell, which was a box-office failure.
24.
Jane Russell fulfilled later engagements in the United States, Canada, Mexico, South America and Europe.
25.
Jane Russell moved into television, appearing in episodes of Colgate Theatre, Westinghouse Desilu Playhouse, Death Valley Days and The Red Skelton Hour.
26.
Jane Russell was referenced in a 1956 episode of The Honeymooners.
27.
Jane Russell made her first movie appearance in a number of years in Fate Is the Hunter, in which she was seen as herself performing for the USO in a flashback sequence.
28.
Jane Russell had a character role in The Born Losers and Darker Than Amber.
29.
In 1971, Jane Russell starred in the musical drama Company, making her debut on Broadway in the role of Joanne, succeeding Elaine Stritch.
30.
Jane Russell performed the role of Joanne for almost six months.
31.
Also in the 1970s, Jane Russell started appearing in television commercials as a spokeswoman for Playtex "'Cross-Your-Heart Bras' for us full-figured gals", featuring the "18-Hour Bra", still one of International Playtex's best-known products even as of early March 2011.
32.
Jane Russell had a semi-recurring guest role in The Yellow Rose on television and guest-starred on Hunter.
33.
In 1989, Jane Russell received the Women's International Center Living Legacy Award.
34.
Jane Russell was voted one of the 40 Most Iconic Movie Goddesses of all time in 2009 by Glamour.
35.
Jane Russell was left unable to bear children, after a botched abortion in her teenage years robbed her of her fertility.
36.
Jane Russell was married three times, first to Bob Waterfield, from 1943 until their divorce in July 1968.
37.
Jane Russell was a UCLA All-American, Cleveland Rams quarterback, Los Angeles Rams quarterback, Los Angeles Rams head coach, and member of the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
38.
Two months after their divorce, Jane Russell married actor Roger Barrett who died of a heart attack only two months later in November 1968.
39.
Jane Russell married real-estate broker John Calvin Peoples on January 31,1974, living with him until his death from heart failure on April 9,1999.
40.
At the height of her career, Jane Russell started the "Hollywood Christian Group", a weekly Bible study at her home which was attended by many of the leading names in the film industry.
41.
Marilyn Monroe once said, "Jane Russell tried to convert me, and I tried to introduce her to Freud".
42.
Jane Russell had tried to take her to a bible study for Hollywood stars.
43.
Jane Russell appeared occasionally on the Praise the Lord program on the Trinity Broadcasting Network, a Christian television channel based in Costa Mesa, California.
44.
Jane Russell resided in the Santa Maria Valley along the Central Coast of California.
45.
Jane Russell died at her home in 507 Boscoe Ct, Santa Maria.
46.
Jane Russell's funeral was held on March 12,2011, at Pacific Christian Church, Santa Maria.