The film actress, the first-rate Hollywood star, Jane Russell (full name Ernestine Jane Geraldine Russell) was born on June 21, 1921 in Bemidji, Minnesota.
The Russell family was large and friendly, the head of the family Roy William Russell served in the US Army with the rank of senior lieutenant, his wife, the mother of five children, Geraldine Jacoby was an actress. His mother's occupation served as an impetus for the choice of the profession of Jane, who from early childhood began to get involved in music (she learned to play the piano) and theater art (attended a school drama circle).
Contract with a millionaire
When Jane was 15 years old, her father died suddenly. Mother could not support five children, so Jane had to leave school and get a job. However, soon the financial situation of the Russell family improved, and Jane, at the insistence of her mother, continued to develop her artistic abilities. To do this, she went to the courses of theater art to Max Reinhardt, then she studied at the Maria Dormition School of Drama. In 1940, Jane met with millionaire Howard Hughes, an industrialist and part-time film producer. Hughes saw in Jane Russell, height, weight and the parameters of the figure which met the standards, significant acting potential and offered the aspiring actress a contract for a period of seven years. Jane agreed, although she did not quite understand the meaning of such a long contract.
Hughes invention
Hughes was about to counterbalance America's recognized sex symbol, Hollywood superstar Rita Hayworth, in the person of Russell. And first of all, the enterprising Howard wanted to bet on Jane's femininity, her breasts and flawless figure. However, his efforts almost ended in failure, the film "Out of Law" was on the verge of a ban due to the excessive openness of the actress's chest. But Hughes’s calculation was justified, and Russell competed with Rita Hayward and other Hollywood stars of the time. In the future, Howard Hughes even invented a special bra that maximally emphasizes the breasts of his favorite. All other clothes of Jane were also subordinated to the desire of the director for sexual superiority of Russell over other representatives of American cinema. The actress herself was not enthusiastic about the dubious undertakings of her patron, she wanted more intellectual roles.
Jane and Marilyn
In 1953, Jane Russell starred in Howard Hawks's film Gentlemen Prefer Blondes. This was her first work in tandem with America's main blonde, the inimitable Marilyn Monroe. The character Marilyn is a sweet, but extremely frivolous Lorelei Lee, who is engaged to a young millionaire Gus Esmond. Of course, she does not feel love for her groom, but she wants to become his wife for the money. Gus's father sees Lorelei through and through and in every way dissuades his son from a rash act. And Lee's girlfriend, a very decent Dorothy Shaw, played by Jane Russell, does not approve of her dance companion's predatory inclinations, but she tries to help her out when Lorelei gets into trouble. In the end, the girls manage to get out of a difficult situation. Jane Russell's reviews of Marilyn Monroe were the most flattering, she considered her a great actress of her time.
How to get married
The film "Gentlemen Marry Brunettes", directed by Richard Sal in 1955, is a continuation of the film "Gentlemen Prefer Blondes." The plot is about the same: two girls, this time the sisters Bonnie and Connie Jones, variety show artists, move from America to Paris to achieve success there, and if you're lucky, then successfully marry. Marilyn Monroe did not participate in the new film, Connie Jones was played by actress Jeanne Crane, and the role of Bonnie was played by Jane Russell. Despite the fact that both films were staged according to the book of the writer Anita Luz, the second film was not successful, the criticism was cool, the box office left much to be desired.
Leaving the cinema
Nevertheless, the actress Jane Russell considers both films to be of equal value and the best for her entire career in cinema. In 1970, the actress left the cinema, acted on the theater stage for some time, and then left the theater too. After the completion of her artistic career, Jane paid all attention to issues related to the adoption of foster children, since she personally once touched this problem.
Personal life
Jane Russell's biography contains pages of her personal life, which can be divided into three stages, since the actress was married three times. The first husband with whom she lived for almost twenty-five years was Bob Waterfield, a football player. Russell did not have children due to an unsuccessful abortion in his young years. Nevertheless, the actress took in her family two adoptive boys and one girl. However, she had to overcome many difficulties in processing documents. Russell was shocked by the dominance of bureaucratic obstacles in the field of adoption. In 1955, the actress opened a charity bureau to promote people who want to adopt a child.
The second husband, Jane Russell, actor Roger Barrett, a year after the wedding, died of a heart attack, this happened in 1969.
In 1974, the actress married John Calvin Peeples, who was engaged in real estate. The couple lived twenty-five years, in 1999, John Calvin died of heart disease.
Actress Jane Russell lived for almost ninety years, she died on February 28, 2011 in her home in Santa Maria, California.