Russell moved from the Midwest to California, where she had her first film role in 1943 with The Outlaw. In 1947, Russell delved into music before returning to films. After starring in multiple films in the 1950s, Russell again returned to music while completing several other films in the 1960s. She starred in over 20 films throughout her career.
Russell married three times and adopted three children and, in 1955, founded the World Adoption International Fund. For her achievements in film, she received several accolades including having her hand and foot prints immortalized in the forecourt of Grauman's Chinese
2 Career
2.1 The Outlaw
2.2 Early musical ventures
2.3 Motion-picture stardom
2.3.1 1950s
2.4 Return to music
2.4.1 Silver-screen decline
2.5 Other venues
3 Fictional portrayals
4 Personal life
5 Filmography
6 References
6.1 Notes
6.2 Bibliography
7 External links
Born Ernestine Jane Geraldine Russell in Bemidji, Minnesota, Russell was the eldest child and only daughter of the five children of Roy William Russell (January 5, 1890 – July 18, 1937) and Geraldine Jacobi (January 2, 1891 – December 26, 1986). Her brothers are Thomas (born 1924), Kenneth (born 1925), Jamie (born 1927) and Wallace (born 1929)
Russell's parents were both born in North Dakota and married in 1917.citation neededThree of her grandparents were born in Canada, while her paternal grandmother was born in Germany.[citation neededHer father had been a First Lieutenant in the U.S. Army, and her mother was a former actress with a road troupe. Her parents spent the early years of their marriage in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada.[citation needed] For her birth her mother temporarily moved back to the U.S. to ensure she was born a U.S. citizen.[original researchLater the family moved to the San Fernando Valley of Southern California. They lived in Burbank in 1930 and her father worked as an office manager at a soap manufacturing plant.[citation needed]
Russell's mother arranged for her to take piano lessons. In addition to music, she was interested in drama and participated in stage productions at Van Nuys High School.[citation needed] Her early ambition was to be a designer of some kind, until the death of her father at forty-six, when she decided to work as a receptionist after graduation. She also modeled for photographers and, at the urging of her mother, studied drama and acting with Max Reinhardt's Theatrical Workshop and with Russian actress Maria Ouspenskaya.[citation needed]
Jane Russell with Bob Hope in 1944
In 1940, Russell was signed to a seven-year contract by film mogul Howard Hughes and made her motion picture debut in The Outlaw (1943), a story about Billy the Kid that went to great lengths to showcase her voluptuous figure. Although the movie was completed in 1941, it was released for a limited showing two years later. There were problems with the censorship of the production code over the way her ample cleavage was displayed. When the movie was finally passed, it had a general release in 1946. During that time, she was kept busy doing publicity and became known nationally. Contrary to countless incorrect reports in the media since the release of The Outlaw, Russell did not wear the specially designed underwire bra (the first of its kin that Howard Hughes constructed for the film. According to Jane's 1988 autobiography, she was given the bra, decided it had a mediocre fit, and wore her own bra on the film set with the straps pulled down.
With measurements of 38D-24-36 and standing 5'7" (97-61-91 cm and 1.7 meters), Russell was more statuesque than most of her contemporaries. Aside from thousands of quips from radio comedians, including Bob Hope, who once introduced her as "the two and only Jane Russell" and "Culture is the ability to describe Jane Russell without moving your hands", the photo of her on a haystack was a popular pin-up with servicemen during World War II. She was not in another movie until 1946, when she played Joan Kenwood in Young Widow for RKO.
Jane Russell
Jane Russell
Jane Russell
Jane Russell
Jane Russell
Jane Russell
Jane Russell
Jane Russell
Jane Russell
Jane Russell
Jane Russell
Jane Russell
Jane Russell
Jane Russell
Jane Russell
Jane Russell
Jane Russell
Jane Russell
Jane Russell
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