Jayne Mansfield’s Death: Revisiting the Fatal Car Accident and Her Hollywood Legacy, 58 Years Later

Jayne Mansfield was a Hollywood icon.

The bombshell — and mother of Law & Order: Special Victims Unit star Mariska Hargitay — rose to fame in the 1950s as an actress and a model. Mansfield was known for appearing in Playboy and starring in films such as Will Success Spoil Rock Hunter?, Too Hot to Handle and Promises! Promises!. The starlet (who was married three times and had five children) also loved the stage, performing on Broadway and in nightclubs throughout her career.

But her life was cut short on June 29, 1967, when Mansfield — along with her boyfriend and driver — was killed in a car accident in Louisiana. Hargitay and her siblings (who were all asleep in the backseat) survived with minor injuries.

In 2025, Hargitay reexamined her mother’s life in the documentary My Mom Jayne, which premiered on Max on June 27.

From the grisly accident to the rumors that surfaced after her death, here is everything to know about Jayne Mansfield’s death.

How did Jayne Mansfield die?

On June 28, 1967, Mansfield finished a show at the Gus Stevens Supper Club in Biloxi, Miss. and departed for New Orleans, where she had a television appearance the following day, according to The New York Times. Traveling with her were her attorney and boyfriend, Sam Brody, a driver from the nightclub named Ronnie Harrison and three of her five children: Hargitay, who was only 3 years old at the time, and her two brothers, Mickey Jr. and Zoltan.

During the early hours of June 29, the 1966 Buick convertible they were traveling in crashed into the rear end of a tractor trailer truck. The 18-wheeler truck had slowed because it was approaching a mosquito fogging machine, per The New York Times. Harrison, who was driving the car, was reportedly unable to see the truck because of the thick white insecticide being sprayed by the machine.

The force of the crash sent the car’s engine into its front seat, killing all three adult occupants: Mansfield, Brody and Harrison (as well as Mansfield’s chihuahua), according to The New York Times. Hargitay and her brothers, Mickey Jr. and Zoltan, only suffered minor injuries, as they were asleep in the backseat.

Though there were initial reports that Mansfield was decapitated in the accident, her undertaker Jim Roberts later revealed that that was untrue.

“Her head was attached as much as mine is,” Roberts told The New York Times in 1997.

When did Jayne Mansfield die?

The crash that killed Mansfield, Brody and Harrison happened at 2:25 a.m. on June 29, 1967, per The Salina Journal.

Where did Jayne Mansfield die?

Mansfield and her entourage were traveling from a nightclub performance in Biloxi, Miss. to New Orleans. The crash occurred on U.S. Highway 90 about 30 miles outside of New Orleans — on a winding, narrow stretch of the two-lane highway known as the Old Spanish Trail, per The Salina Journal.

How old was Jayne Mansfield when she died?

Mansfield was 34 years old at the time of her death.

Over the years, Hargitay has continued to honor her mother’s birthday. On April 19, 2023, the SVU star shared a throwback photo of her mother on what would have been her 90th birthday.

“Happy birthday Mama,” Hargitay captioned the post. “We live to love you more each day.”

What was the public reaction to Jayne Mansfield’s death?

Mansfield’s funeral was held on July 3, 1967, in Pen Argyl, Penn., near where she spent part of her childhood, per the Desert Sun. She was buried in the same plot as her mother’s family at Fairview Cemetery.

Though her loved ones wanted to keep the services private, nearly 1,000 fans and onlookers flocked to the small Pennsylvania town in an attempt to witness the Hollywood bombshell’s memorial, creating a “circus atmosphere,” according to The Times-Picayune.

“I wish the whole world would remember her as I do,” Mickey Hargitay, Mansfield’s second husband, told reporters. “She was a remarkable woman and a great mother. I am really sorry nobody knows the real Jayne.”

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Fans of Mansfield’s continued to visit her gravesite throughout the years, often taking some dirt with them as a memento. At one point, there were so many visitors that the cemetery had to bring in a pickup truck full of topsoil to replace what was taken, per The Morning Call.

Mansfield’s death didn’t just affect fans — it also caused a safety overhaul. Following Mansfield’s death, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration changed the design of tractor trailers to prevent the type of accident that claimed the actress’ life, according to Auto Week.

When the 1966 Buick that Mansfield was riding in collided with the slowing tractor trailer, the car slid underneath the truck. Shortly after the deadly accident, the NHTSA mandated that all tractor trailers be outfitted with steel bars — known as “Mansfield Bars” — along the back of the cargo area to prevent cars from rolling underneath.

What has Mariska Hargitay said about Jayne Mansfield’s death?

Hargitay, who was 3 years old when her mother was killed, “always looks for signs” of Mansfield’s presence, she revealed in May 2024.

“I feel like my mom’s here with me,” Hargitay said to Amy Schumer, who was wearing a sequined pink dress, at Variety’s Power of Women event in New York. “Because you’re Jayne Mansfield incarnate right now, so thank you for that. I always look for signs, and she’s here and she’s today with me.”

On May 17, Hargitay premiered her documentary, My Mom Jayne, at the Cannes Film Festival. In it, the actress revealed that she has no recollection of her mom.

“I don’t have any memories of her,” Hargitay said. “And then my dad died in 2006. I’ve never talked to my siblings about their experiences.”

In the documentary, Hargitay’s siblings revealed new details of the accident — including how Hargitay herself was nearly left behind.

During an interview, Hargitay’s brother Zoltan recalled looking around after the accident — only to find that his sister was missing. Hargitay, who had a head injury, had ended up lodged underneath the passenger seat, where she was rescued.

Zoltan added that, during the car ride, Mansfield was initially sitting in the backseat with her children before she moved up to the front. Had she stayed in the back, she might have survived, he said.