Sadly, Jean Harlow only lived to the age of 26. According to Slate, things went downhill for the actor by the mid-1930s, when she moved back in with her mother after an emergency appendectomy. By 1937, Harlow was struggling with depression (perhaps due to the death of her second husband, Paul Bern) and alcoholism, yet decided she had the strength to film “Saratoga” — and that’s when things went incredibly downhill.
Right before she was due to start shooting the romantic comedy, Harlow had dental surgery for the removal of four wisdom teeth, which resulted in a serious infection, per Slate. By the time the star began filming in May, she also complained of stomach pain. First brushed off as the flu and then a swollen gallbladder, Harlow was prescribed dextrose injections, and her condition only worsened. According to The Atlantic, she looked nothing like herself by this point, with her swollen body twice the size due to water weight.
As Slate explains, another doctor came to visit the blonde starlet, who deduced that the dextrose injections were slowly killing her, as it was problems with her kidneys that she was having instead of her gallbladder. By June 3, Harlow allegedly felt better and was aiming to return to set, yet only four days later, she was pronounced dead. It’s alleged that when a friend came to visit the actor in her final days, they assured her she would get better, to which Harlow replied, “I don’t want to” (via Slate).
If you or someone you know is struggling with mental health, please contact the Crisis Text Line by texting HOME to 741741, call the National Alliance on Mental Illness helpline at 1-800-950-NAMI (6264), or visit the National Institute of Mental Health website.
