Meet '50s and '60s star Jayne Mansfield's five children — including very famous daughter who's eclipsed her Hollywood fame

Born on 19 April 1933 in Pennsylvania as Vera Jayne Palmer, she was the only child of Vera Jeffrey Palmer and Herbert William Palmer, a successful attorney in New Jersey.

Jayne got her first on-screen role in a 1954 episode of Lux Video Theatre. Two years later, she starred in one of her best-loved films, The Girl Can't Help It. 

Jayne started her Hollywood career with small roles, like a cigarette girl in Pete Kelly's Blues (1955), as well as castings in Hell on Frisco Bay and Illegal. 

In 1957, she broke out in The Burglar and soon found stardom in Oh! For a Man! and Too Hot to Handle.

Jayne was just 16 years old when she tied the knot for the first time. She wed Paul Mansfield, who was five years her senior, in 1950 and the couple welcomed one daughter before their divorce in 1958.

The same year, she wed Mickey Hargitay who worked as a bodybuilder and actor, welcoming three children together. After they split in 1964, she said 'I do' to Matt Cimber, filmmaker and director, with whom she welcomed a son, before they split after two years in 1966.

Born on 8 November 1950, Jayne Marie Mansfield is the daughter of Jayne and her first husband Paul Mansfield. Like her mother, Jayne Marie appeared in Playboy, making them the first mother and daughter featured in the magazine.

She appeared in Olly, Olly, Oxen Free (1978) but stepped back from the public eye, with her sister Mariska revealing in 2008 that she was working as a money manager in LA. Jayne Mansfield did reappear in the documentary of her famous mother, My Mom Jayne (2025). 

Instead of a life in the limelight, Mickey Jr. has opted for natural sunshine, opening Mickey Hargitay's Plants in 1980. His website explains, "Among all the stars in Hollywood California, at Mickey's we are all reaching for the Earth!"

He told the Los Angeles Times in 2016: “[My family] made decisions to reach for the stars and I’ve wanted to keep my feet on the ground. I’ve wanted to do something that seems more grounded and is more real.”

Second son of Mickey Hargitay and Jayne, Zoltán prefers to keep behind the camera. Like his brother Mickey, Zoltán is happy working with his hands and has found success on set.

He's credited with work since the '90s, and in 2021 worked as a set carpenter for The Morning Show. His sister Mariska has proudly described her brother as "kind, loving and open and huge hearted".

The youngest daughter of Jayne Mansfield, Primetime Emmy-winning actress Mariska Hargitay has found the most fame of anyone in her family. She's starred in shows like Law and Order: Special Victims Unit, ER and Baywatch.

The 2025 film My Mom Jayne explores Mariska's journey to understanding her mother's public and private legacy. Included in the film is her surprising reveal that her biological father is not Mickey Hargitay but Nelson Sardelli.

The youngest of Jayne's five children, and her only child with her third husband Matt Cimber, Tony reportedly works as an estate agent in Las Vegas.

He broadly keeps out of the public eye, but has had several showbiz projects, including acting as an announcer in Married with Children in 1990 and directed two 2019 episodes of The Original Ladies of Wrestling.

Jayne Mansfield tragically passed at the age of 34 in a car crash on 29 June 1967. The accident also killed her boyfriend Sam Brody and driver Ronnie Harrison.

Three of her children, Mickey Jr., Zoltán and Mariska Hargitay, were in the back seat at the time of the crash and miraculously survived.