Jayne Mansfield was a Hollywood icon.
The bombshell, who is the mother of Law & Order: Special Victims Unit star Mariska Hargitay, became famous as an actress and model in the 1950s. Mansfield was most recognized for his roles in Playboy, Will Success Spoil Rock Hunter?, Too Hot to Handle, and Promises! Promises!. The starlet (who was married three times and had five children) also enjoyed the stage, playing on Broadway and in nightclubs throughout her career.
On June 29, 1967, a vehicle accident in Louisiana claimed the lives of Mansfield, her lover, and the driver. Hargitay and her brothers (who were all asleep in the backseat) escaped with minor injuries.
Hargitay revisited her mother’s life in the documentary My Mom Jayne, which aired on Max on June 27th, 2025.
From the horrific tragedy to the stories that arose following her death, here’s everything you need to know about Jayne Mansfield’s death.
How did Jayne Mansfield die?
Mansfield ended a concert at the Gus Stevens Supper Club in Biloxi, Mississippi, on June 28, 1967, and left for New Orleans, where she appeared on television the next day, according to The New York Times. She was accompanied by her attorney and lover, Sam Brody; a nightclub driver called Ronnie Harrison; and three of her five children: Hargitay, who was just three at the time, and her two brothers, Mickey Jr. and Zoltan.
During the early hours of June 29, the 1966 Buick convertible they were driving collided with the rear end of a tractor-trailer vehicle. The 18-wheeler vehicle slowed as it approached mosquito fogging equipment, according to The New York Times. Harrison, who was driving the automobile, apparently couldn’t see the truck due to the machine’s heavy white pesticide spray.
According to The New York Times, the force of the accident pushed the car’s engine into the front seat, killing all three adult occupants: Mansfield, Brody, and Harrison (along with Mansfield’s chihuahua). Hargitay and her brothers, Mickey Jr. and Zoltan, sustained minor injuries while napping in the backseat.
Though there were initial claims that Mansfield was beheaded in the accident, her undertaker, Jim Roberts, eventually verified that this was false.
“Her head was attached as much as mine is,” Roberts told The New York Times in 1997.
When did Jayne Mansfield die?
The collision that killed Mansfield, Brody, and Harrison occurred at 2:25 a.m. on June 29, 1967, according to The Salina Journal.
Where did Jayne Mansfield die?
Mansfield and her crew were on their way to New Orleans after performing at a nightclub in Biloxi, Mississippi. According to The Salina Journal, the collision occurred on U.S. Highway 90, roughly 30 miles outside of New Orleans, on a twisting, narrow part of the two-lane highway known as the Old Spanish Trail.
What age was Jayne Mansfield when she died?
Mansfield was 34 years old when she died.
Hargitay has long celebrated her mother’s birthday. On April 19, 2023, the SVU actor tweeted a flashback photo of her mother, who would have turned 90.
“Happy birthday, Mama,” Hargitay captioned the image. “We live to love you more each day.”
How did the public respond to Jayne Mansfield’s death?
Mansfield’s burial was conducted on July 3, 1967, in Pen Argyl, Pennsylvania, near where she spent some of her youth, according to the Desert Sun. She was interred in Fairview Cemetery beside her mother’s family.
Despite her loved ones’ wishes to keep the rituals private, about 1,000 admirers and observers descended on the small Pennsylvania town to attend the Hollywood bombshell’s memorial, resulting in a “circus atmosphere,” according to The Times-Picayune.
“I wish the whole world would remember her as I do,” Mansfield’s second husband, Mickey Hargitay, told reporters. “She was a terrific woman and a wonderful mother. I’m sad no one knows the genuine Jayne.”
Fans of Mansfield continued to visit her burial throughout the years, frequently collecting some dirt as a keepsake. According to The Morning Call, there were so many visitors that the cemetery had to put in a pickup truck load of dirt to replace what had been removed.
Mansfield’s death not only affected fans, but it also resulted in a safety upgrade. Following Mansfield’s death, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration altered the architecture of tractor-trailers to prevent the sort of disaster that killed the actress, according to Auto Week.
When Mansfield’s 1966 Buick collided with the slowing tractor-trailer, it went underneath the truck. Shortly after the fatal accident, the NHTSA ordered that all tractor-trailers be installed with steel bars—known as “Mansfield “Bars”—along the back of the cargo space to keep vehicles from rolling beneath.
What did Mariska Hargitay say about Jayne Mansfield’s death?
In May 2024, Hargitay, who was three years old when her mother’s death occurred, confessed that she constantly searches for evidence of Mansfield’s presence.
“I feel like my mom’s here with me,” Hargitay said to Amy Schumer, who was dressed in a sparkly pink outfit, at Variety’s Power of Women event in New York. “You embody Jayne Mansfield at this moment, and I value that.” I constantly search for signs, and she has arrived and is with me today.”
My Mom Jayne, Hargitay’s documentary, premiered at the Cannes Film Festival on May 17. In it, the actress stated that she had no recall of her mother.
“I have no memories of her,” Hargitay admitted. “And then my father died in 2006. “I’ve never spoken with my siblings about their experiences.”
In the documentary, Hargitay’s siblings revealed more details about the disaster, such as her near abandonment.
During an interview, Hargitay’s brother Zoltan described checking around after the accident, only to discover that his sister had vanished. Hargitay, who had suffered a head injury, became trapped below the passenger seat and was rescued.
Zoltan stated that Mansfield originally sat in the rear with her children before moving to the front. He said that if she had stayed in the rear, she could have lived.