Nicknamed “The Blonde Bombshell,” Jean Harlow’s life was full of strange deaths, including her husband’s mysterious end. Some say she was cursed… others say it was murder.
Jean Harlow had everything: fame, money, and a magnetic, mischievous presence on screen. But behind the platinum hair was a string of tragedies that would fuel gossip columns for decades.
In 1932, she married MGM executive Paul Bern. Just two months later, he was found dead in their Beverly Hills home — shot in the head, naked, with a bizarre note nearby. Officially ruled a suicide.
But rumors swirled that Bern’s ex-common-law wife killed him, or that MGM staged the whole thing to protect Harlow’s image.
Then came Marino Bello, Harlow’s stepfather, whose shady dealings and suspicious business failures left a trail of enemies. Harlow’s stepfather, a mob-connected businessman. He died in 1943 by suicide—found shot in a Hollywood parking lot following scandalous business troubles and gossip tying him to organized crime.
And Harlow herself? She died at 26 of kidney failure—but many say it was misdiagnosed, mistreated, and possibly ignored due to studio pressure (see below for more details on her death). Her co-star Clark Gable (yes, same one later married to Carole Lombard) was at her bedside. He never forgot her.
That’s at least three deaths—two mysterious, one tragic—and a whole lot of Hollywood superstition.
Some claimed Harlow discovered her husband with another woman. Others suggested mob involvement or that Bern had been impotent and ashamed. Even more chilling, some believed he was killed elsewhere and staged in the bedroom.
Jean, only 21 at the time, was whisked away by MGM fixers who cleaned up the scene. The studio released carefully crafted statements. Harlow was told to keep quiet.
Her later relationships were just as dark. William Powell, her last love, refused to marry her despite her pleas.
She died at just 26 from kidney failure, but many say she was broken long before.
To this day, the Paul Bern mystery remains unsolved.
Some call it Hollywood’s original cover-up. And the legend of Jean Harlow remains that of a beautiful ghost, forever haunted by the men who surrounded her.
How she died
Harlow had been experiencing fatigue, bloating, and other symptoms weeks before her death, but doctors allegedly dismissed them as a bad flu or gallbladder issue. She was still working on the film Saratoga with Clark Gable when she collapsed on set.
MGM reportedly downplayed her condition to keep filming on schedule and protect the box office. She was sent home instead of to a hospital early on.
There are rumors the studio delayed proper treatment to avoid halting production.
Lack of Aggressive Medical Care
Some accounts say she was treated at home with outdated or inadequate methods, possibly because the seriousness of her illness was misunderstood or intentionally ignored. By the time she was hospitalized, it was too late.
Some conspiracy-leaning sources have floated theories about poisoning or medical negligence, though there’s no hard evidence of either.
Others point to the possibility of untreated scarlet fever from her teens damaging her kidneys over time, which wasn’t taken seriously.