Jean Harlow

Sex appeal isn't always about looks alone. In the 1930's, Jean Harlow was known as much for her wit as for her platinum blonde hair and voluptuous figure. Reportedly discovered while dropping off a friend at a Hollywood studio lot in 1929, Harlow became a protégé of Howard Hughes, who cast her in Hell's Angels. By 1932, she was on contract with studio giant MGM, usually playing brassy, sharp-tongued women. Simultaneously, the young actress was dogged by scandal: Her second husband committed suicide, after which she married a cinematographer for less than a year. Later, Harlow was linked to several famous athletes and actors. Sadly, we’ll never know what could have come of her promising start in Hollywood—Harlow died of liver failure in 1937 near the peak of her celebrity.