People today remember Jayne Mansfield as a famous Hollywood movie star. However, she starred in only three American movies before moving to low-budget European films. She was a master of publicity who appeared in newspapers across the nation almost daily. The media focused on her figure and her stormy love life. Through her constant exposure in the press, she gave the public the false impression that she was a major movie star.

This book charts the captivating life and career of Jayne Mansfield. A biography overviews her rise to fame, her three marriages and five children, and her death in a grisly automobile accident at an early age. The chapters that follow are each devoted to her performances in a particular genre, such as film, stage, and television. Each chapter contains annotated entries for her work in that media, providing cast and credit listings, plot summaries, review excerpts, and commentary. Appendices list her appearances on magazine and record covers, and an annotated bibliography discusses additional sources of information.