1. Original incident

2. World-wide publicity

3. Reaction

4. Re-creations

5. References

6. Bibliography

7. External links

American actress Jayne Mansfield was known for her publicity stunts, including what are now called wardrobe malfunctions. The most well-known occurred during a dinner at the exclusive Beverly Hills Romanoff's restaurant. Hosted by Paramount Pictures, many A-list celebrities were present to officially welcome Italian actress Sophia Loren to Hollywood. Mansfield, who had not been invited, was the last person to arrive. She went directly to Loren's table. She was braless and wearing an extremely low-cut satin dress that showed off her ample 40D breasts. With photographers crowded around the table, she deliberately rose and leaned forward, further exposing her breasts and left nipple. A photograph of the two women, with Loren casting a side-eye look at Mansfield's exposed breasts, was distributed world-wide and became an international sensation.

Mansfield continued to stage planned incidents when she exposed her breasts to the public and press. She died in an auto accident at age 34. Loren went on to a long and successful Hollywood career.

Original incident

In April 1957, Italian actress Sophia Loren was being welcomed to Hollywood by Paramount Pictures at a dinner party at Romanoff's restaurant in Beverly Hills. Loren had achieved considerable success in Europe as an actress. She had been the most photographed actor at the 1955 Cannes Film Festival.^[2] She was regarded by some as Italian royalty for her work in The Pride and the Passion and Legend of the Lost (both 1957).^[3]

Busty American actress Jayne Mansfield was viewed as a C-class Marilyn Monroe due to her many roles as cheap, bubble-headed women in films like The Girl Can't Help It (1956) and Will Success Spoil Rock Hunter? (1958).^[2] She was prone to incidents that showed off her ample bosom. She once dove into a pool with many photographers present, and lost her top. She deliberately emerged from the pool topless.^[3] Mansfield had first appeared in Playboy magazine in February 1955 as the Playmate of the Month,^[4] and several times after that.^[5]

Mansfield was the last person to arrive at the dinner officially honoring Loren and walked directly to her table, where she was seated between Loren and her dinner companion Clifton Webb. Mansfield was braless and wearing a pale pink satin dress with a deep, plunging neckline. During the dinner with the press close by, Mansfield stood up and deliberately leaned forward over the table, exposing her 40D bust and the nipple of her left breast.^[6][7][8]

World-wide publicity

Loren was captured in several images staring at Mansfield's exposed breasts. More than one photographer captured the moment. Delmar Watson captured Loren staring at Mansfield's exposed breasts and nipple, and Joe Shere caught Loren looking side-eye at Mansfield's bust. Shere's image went viral.^[9] Distributed by the United Press International syndicate, the photograph was a sensation, receiving world-wide attention, and appeared in newspapers and magazines with the word censored hiding the actress's exposed bosom.^[10]

Reaction

Fearful of public outrage, most Italian newspapers refused to print the wirephotos; Il Giorno and Gazzetta del Popolo printed them after retouching to cover much of Mansfield's bosom, and only Il Giornale d'Italia printed them uncensored.^[11]

In November 2015, Loren described the dinner and incident in an interview with Entertainment Weekly. "All of cinema was there, it was incredible," she said. "And then comes in Jayne Mansfield, the last one to come. For me, that was when it got amazing. She came right for my table. She knew everyone was watching. She sat down. And now, she was barely… Listen. Look at the picture. Where are my eyes? I’m staring at her nipples because I am afraid they are about to come onto my plate. In my face you can see the fear. I’m so frightened that everything in her dress is going to blow—BOOM!—and spill all over the table." Loren is frequently asked to autograph a copy of the photograph, but refuses. "I don’t want to have anything to do with that."^[12][13][14] Although she was photographed smiling in a friendly way with Mansfield later in the evening, she said her mind was always on that dress.^[15]

Re-creations

In 1993, Daniela Federici created an homage with Anna Nicole Smith as Mansfield and New York City DJ Sky Nellor as Loren for a Guess Jeans campaign.^[16] Later, Mark Seliger took a picture named Heidi Klum at Romanoff's with Heidi Klum in a reproduction of the restaurant set.^[17] This photo was also parodied in the 2014 Modern Family episode "iSpy" with Julie Bowen in Loren's place staring down the chest of Sofia Vergara, who took Mansfield's spot.^[18]

References

Bibliography

• {{cite book |last=Saxton |first=Martha |authorlink=Martha Saxton |title=Jayne Mansfield and the American Fifties |publisher=Houghton Mifflin |year=1975 |location=New York |isbn=978-0-395-20289-0 |ref=harv}}
• {{cite book |last=Strait |first=Raymond |year=1974 |title=Tragic Secret Life of Jayne Mansfield |publisher=Robert Hale |isbn=0709155433|ref=harv}}

External links

• [https://www.messynessychic.com/2013/04/01/sophia-vs-jayne-the-other-photos-behind-that-sideways-glare/ Sophia vs Jayne: The OTHER Photos Behind That Sideways Glare] Additional photos

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