Jayne Mansfield Only Paid $76,000 for Her Famous Pink Palace
Jayne Mansfield wasn’t your typical ’50s woman. The actor didn’t mind some attention. During a time when women weren’t expected to be mothers and wives while working, Mansfield decided to be a superstar.
Her tenacity and talent made her famous — a status that earned her several perks, including the money to buy a house and paint it in her signature color. Mansfield reportedly only paid $76,000 for her famous Pink Palace. Here’s what you should know about it.
Jayne Mansfield paid $76,000 for her legendary house
Long before Lady Gaga made headlines with a bowling alley in her house, screen siren Mansfield made news with her over-the-top home painted her signature color. Mansfield loved the color pink. The. Promises! Promises! star made it her mission to ensure everything around her was pink, including her vast home.
Located at the corner of Carolwood Drive and Sunset Boulevard, the elegant Mediterranean home was built in 1929 for Rudy Vallee. After the release of The Girl Can’t Help It, Mansfield sought to make the home hers. She forked out $76,000 for the mansion, an extravagant amount for the time.
With her husband Mickey Hargitay and a set designer named Glen Holse, Mansfield wasted no time in remodeling the 40-room house into what would become the iconic Pink Palace. Mansfield left nothing to chance, ensuring the home reflected her personality.
Along with a pink exterior, Mansfield endeared the home with a pink marble bathtub. She installed wall-to-wall pink shag carpet, and, oh, did we mention the pink champagne fountain? Heart shapes were everywhere, from the bathtub to the driveway, not to mention the swimming pool.
Hargitay ensured his wife was aware of his love by engraving the words “I Love You, Jaynie” on the heart-shaped pool in gold mosaic. The dominant fuzzy pink theme was occasionally contrasted by a hard-edged counterpoint of mirrored walls, rock walls, and tufted red leather.
Reports claim that Jayne Mansfield‘s house was haunted
The Pink Palace was Mansfield’s residence until her untimely death in a car crash in 1967. According to House Beautiful, although Hargitay and Mansfield parted ways in 1964, her death was too great to bear. The Mr. Universe actor never set foot in the mansion again.
In the years that followed, the house exchanged hands with several celebs. Owners included Engelbert Humperdinck, Cass Elliot of The Mamas and The Papas, and The Beatles’ very own Ringo Starr.
However, various reports of the Pink Palace being haunted have surfaced. Some claim Mansfield never left the home, even after her death. Hollywood.com reports that when Starr moved into the house, he tried painting it white. But Mansfield’s original pink color kept seeping through the white paint despite several attempts.
Humperdinck, who had ties to the actor, also claimed Mansfield’s ghost had visited him. The singer had a Catholic priest bless the house and shared that he never saw the actor again.
The Pink Palace is one of the ‘Lost Houses of LA‘
The iconic Pink Palace was part of Mansfield’s public persona. She reportedly often invited reporters to hang out in the backyard and would wave at tour buses from her balcony. After Humperdinck moved out of the home, a developer bought it in 2002 for $30 million and tore it down. The developer razed the property to enlarge his already vast lot.
The Mediterranean mansion then joined the long list of “Lost Houses of LA,” which include Marion Davies’ beach house, Josef von Sternberg’s house, and the legendary Alla Nazimova’s Garden of Allah.
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