Born Harlean Carpentier,
Jean Harlow's unglamorous early life did not telegraph what was to come. She was a superstitious woman, who among other things, always sported a trademark lucky ankle bracelet. Her early movie work, which she did as a lark, was in
Hal Roach comedies. A chance meeting with
Howard Hughes marked a change in her movie career as he cast her in her first credited role in
Hell's Angels (1930). Her screen stardom quickly rose, being cast in a quick succession of popular movies, including
Platinum Blonde (1931), to which she would be forever tied in the eyes of the movie going public for her striking hair. Many consider her role in
Saratoga (1937) her most important. That movie would also be her last due to her untimely death.
—Huggo