1. Ernestine Jane Geraldine Russell was an American actress, model, and singer.
50 Facts About Jane Russell
1. 2.
Jane Russell moved from the Midwest to California, where she had her first film role in Howard Hughes' The Outlaw.
3.
In 1947, Jane Russell delved into music before returning to films.
4.
Jane Russell married three times, adopted three children, and in 1955 founded Waif, the first international adoption program.
5.
Jane Russell received several accolades for her achievements in film.
6.
Ernestine Jane Geraldine Russell was born on June 21,1921, in Bemidji, Minnesota.
7.
Jane Russell had four brothers: Thomas, Kenneth, Jamie, and Wallace.
8.
Jane Russell's parents lived in Edmonton, Alberta, until shortly before her birth and returned there nine days later, where they lived for the first year or two of her life.
9.
Jane Russell was interested in drama, and participated in stage productions at Van Nuys High School.
10.
Jane Russell modeled for photographers, and, at the urging of her mother, studied drama and acting with Max Reinhardt's Theatrical Workshop, and actress and acting coach Maria Ouspenskaya.
11.
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.
12.
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.
13.
Jane Russell was a popular pin-up photo with servicemen during World War II.
14.
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.
15.
Jane Russell shot Montana Belle for Fidelity Pictures in 1948, playing Belle Starr.
16.
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.
17.
Jane Russell did two more film noirs: The Las Vegas Story with Price and Victor Mature, and Macao with Mitchum.
18.
Jane Russell played Dorothy Shaw in the hit film Gentlemen Prefer Blondes opposite Marilyn Monroe for 20th Century Fox.
19.
The film was a huge success, Jane Russell's biggest hit since The Outlaw, making over $5 million.
20.
Jane Russell said that she initially wore the bikini in front of her "horrified" movie crew while "feeling very naked".
21.
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.
22.
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.
23.
That same year, 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.
24.
Russ-Field produced Gentlemen Marry Brunettes, a sequel to Blondes in which Jane Russell starred alongside Jeanne Crain, for release through United Artists.
25.
Russ-Field made some films without Jane Russell for United Artists, such as the 1956 filmThe King and Four Queens, starring Gable and Eleanor Parker.
26.
In 1957, Jane Russell starred in Russ-Field's last production, the romantic comedy The Fuzzy Pink Nightgown, which was a box-office failure.
27.
Jane Russell fulfilled later engagements in the United States, Canada, Mexico, South America and Europe.
28.
Jane Russell moved into television, appearing in episodes of Colgate Theatre, Westinghouse Desilu Playhouse, Death Valley Days and The Red Skelton Hour.
29.
Jane Russell was referenced in a 1956 episode of The Honeymooners.
30.
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.
31.
Jane Russell had a character role in The Born Losers and Darker Than Amber.
32.
In 1971, Jane Russell starred in the musical drama Company, making her debut on Broadway in the role of Joanne, succeeding Elaine Stritch.
33.
Jane Russell performed the role of Joanne for almost six months.
34.
Jane Russell had a semi-recurring guest role in the soap opera The Yellow Rose on television and guest-starred on Hunter.
35.
Jane Russell wrote her autobiography, Jane Russell: My Path and My Detours, which was published in 1985.
36.
In 1989, Jane Russell received the Women's International Center Living Legacy Award.
37.
Jane Russell was voted one of the 40 Most Iconic Movie Goddesses of all time in 2009 by Glamour.
38.
In 2001, Jane Russell was portrayed by Renee Henderson in the CBS miniseries Blonde, based on the novel of the same name by Joyce Carol Oates.
39.
The abortion went so wrong that Jane Russell had to be hospitalized and nearly died.
40.
Jane Russell married Waterfield in Las Vegas on April 24,1943.
41.
In 1955, Jane Russell founded Waif, an organization to place children with adoptive families, and which pioneered adoptions from foreign countries by Americans.
42.
In February 1968, Jane Russell filed for divorce from Waterfield, charging him with "cruelty and physical abuse".
43.
The divorce was finalized in July 1968, with Jane Russell gaining full custody of her two eldest children and Waterfield gaining full custody of their youngest child.
44.
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.
45.
Jane Russell tried to invite Marilyn Monroe to join, but she declined.
46.
Jane Russell appeared occasionally on the Praise the Lord television program on the Trinity Broadcasting Network, a Christian television channel based in Tustin, California.
47.
Jane Russell resided in the Santa Maria Valley along the Central Coast of California.
48.
Jane Russell died at her home in Santa Maria of a respiratory-related illness on February 28,2011.
49.
Jane Russell's funeral was held on March 12,2011, at Pacific Christian Church, Santa Maria.
50.
Jane Russell was survived by her three children, eight grandchildren, and 10 great-grandchildren.