![]() ![]() But her Monroe-like look fell out of style as the 1950s gave way to the counterculture of the 1960s at one point, Mansfield was even mocked by the Beatles. From the start of her Hollywood career, Mansfield always recognized her own beauty (that famous photo of Sophia Loren throwing shade at a busty blonde? That's Mansfield) and how it could boost her career. The Jayne Mansfield episode has been the saddest, at least for me. Kelly would go on to marry a prince and leave Hollywood a year later Monroe would die at age 36 in 1962. Over the course of the season, Longworth weaves these stars’ stories together, exploring how hair color played a role in the lives of - for example - “hot blonde” Marilyn Monroe and “cold blonde” Grace Kelly, the two most bankable female stars of 1955. In her episodes about these women, she looks at how that played out in their on- and off-screen lives, and how each blonde matched her era - or didn't, with often disastrous results. "One of the things that blondes represent is this better-than-humanness - or, at the same time, in some cases, extreme sexuality," she says. Unless you're a true Hollywood buff, you probably don't know all these names, but you may know their legends - like that of Peg Entwistle, who committed suicide in 1932 by jumping from the Hollywood sign, and Jayne Mansfield - who, despite popular myth, was not decapitated in the car crash that killed her. Photo: Silver Screen Collection/Getty Images Longworth likes to keep subjects of future episodes under wraps, although fans can find hints on the show's Twitter and Instagram feeds Longworth posted a photo of Monaco, for instance, before the Grace Kelly episode went live. So far, Longworth has devoted episodes to Peg Entwistle, Thelma Todd, Jean Harlow, Veronica Lake, Carole Landis, Marilyn Monroe, Jayne Mansfield, Barbara Payton, and Grace Kelly two more will stream before season’s end. “Dead Blondes” focuses on, well, just that: 11 blonde actresses who died tragically, unexpectedly, or otherwise before their time. For more than three years, the show has examined "the secret and/or forgotten histories of Hollywood's first century,” to quote its tagline. That might seem like a long leap - connecting a pop star and a podcast host - but when Perry went platinum, I was deep into the “Dead Blondes” season of Longworth’s podcast, You Must Remember This. When Katy Perry bleached her hair, the first person I thought of was Karina Longworth. You can also see what we’re up to by signing up here. The archives will remain available here for new stories, head over to Vox.com, where our staff is covering consumer culture for The Goods by Vox. Thank you to everyone who read our work over the years. ![]()
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