Jayne Mansfield-Sophia Loren photo

Sophia Loren (left) with Mansfield (right) at Romanoff's in Beverly Hills^[1]

American actress Jayne Mansfield was known for her publicity stunts, including what are now called wardrobe malfunctions. One of the major incidents involved Sophia Loren.

Original incident

In April 1957, her breasts were the focus of a notorious publicity stunt intended to deflect media attention from Sophia Loren during a dinner party in the Italian star's honor. Photographs of the encounter were published around the world. The best-known photo showed Loren's gaze falling on the cleavage of the American actress (who was seated between Loren and her dinner companion, Clifton Webb) when Mansfield leaned over the table, allowing her breasts to spill over her low neckline and exposing one nipple.^[2] The photograph inspired a number of later photographers. The photograph of that episode was a UPI sensation, appearing in newspapers and magazines with the word "censored" hiding the actress's exposed bosom.^[3]

Publicity

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.^[4] The photo inspired a number of later photographers.

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.^[5] Later, Mark Seliger took a picture named Heidi Klum at Romanoff's with Heidi Klum in a reproduction of the restaurant set.^[6] This photo was also sent up 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.^[7]

References

Sources

• Strait, Raymond (1974). Tragic Secret Life of Jayne Mansfield. Robert Hale. ISBN 0709155433.
• Saxton, Martha (1975). Jayne Mansfield and the American Fifties. New York: Houghton Mifflin. ISBN 978-0-395-20289-0.

Citation

1. Merkin, Daphne (August 28, 2005). "The Great Divide". The New York Times.
2. Saxton 1975, p. 95
3. Strait 1992, pp. 115
4. "Too Low Down". The Palm Beach Post. April 15, 1957. p. 9.
5. Bowman, David (August 23, 2002). "Searching for Marcello". Salon.com. Retrieved September 7, 2008.
6. "Heidi Klum at Romanoff's". artnet. Retrieved September 7, 2008.
7. "Julie Bowen Gets Breast Envy, Gives Sofia Vergara Death Stare", socialnewsdaily.com