Jean Peters facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Jean Peters
Peters in the 1950s
Born	Elizabeth Jean Peters (1926-10-15)October 15, 1926 East Canton, Ohio, U.S.
Died	October 13, 2000(2000-10-13) (aged 73) Carlsbad, California, U.S.
Resting place	Holy Cross Cemetery, Culver City
Alma mater	University of Michigan Ohio State University UCLA
Occupation	Actress
Years active	1947–1988
Spouse(s)	Stuart W. Cramer III ​ ​ (m. 1954; div. 1955)​ Howard Hughes ​ ​ (m. 1957; div. 1971)​ Stan Hough ​ ​ (m. 1971; died 1990)​
Relatives	Arlen Stuart (paternal half-sister)

Elizabeth Jean Peters (born October 15, 1926 – died October 13, 2000) was an American actress who starred in movies. She became famous as a leading lady for 20th Century Fox in the late 1940s and early 1950s. She was also known as the second wife of the famous businessman Howard Hughes. Even though she played some glamorous roles, Jean Peters usually preferred to act as down-to-earth, everyday women.

Later in her life, after she had mostly stopped acting, Peters appeared in a few TV shows and movies between 1973 and 1988.

Jean Peters' Early Life and Discovering Acting

Jean Peters was born on October 15, 1926, in East Canton, Ohio. Her parents were Elizabeth and Gerald Peters. She grew up on a small farm in East Canton and went to East Canton High School. She was a Methodist.

After high school, Jean went to college at the University of Michigan and then Ohio State University. She studied literature and planned to become a teacher. While at Ohio State, she entered and won the Miss Ohio State Pageant in 1945. This win earned her a special screen test with the movie studio 20th Century-Fox.

Jean Peters' Acting Career Begins

Jean Peters moved to Hollywood and signed a seven-year contract with Fox. She decided to leave college to become an actress, though she later wished she had finished her degree first. (She did go back to college between filming movies to get her degree later on!)

First Movies and Early Challenges

Jean Peters was first chosen to replace another actress, Linda Darnell, in the movie Captain from Castile (1947). She starred alongside Tyrone Power. Even though it was her very first movie, the studio promoted her a lot. Captain from Castile was a big hit, and Jean Peters became noticed.

After this success, she was offered a similar role in the Western movie Yellow Sky (1948). However, she turned down the part. The studio was not happy with her decision and temporarily stopped her pay.

For her second film, Deep Waters (1948), Jean worked again with the director from Captain from Castile, Henry King. She felt confident working with him. While this movie wasn't as big as her first, Jean Peters was still praised. She was even named one of the top five new talents of the year.

Jean Peters then starred with Ray Milland in It Happens Every Spring (1949). She even offered to dye her hair for the role, but the studio said no. The movie was successful, but most of the attention went to Milland.

By 1950, Jean Peters had been playing main roles for a few years, but she wasn't as famous as some other stars. She took on a smaller role as a college girl in Take Care of My Little Girl (1951).

Becoming a Star: Big Roles and Famous Co-Stars

Jean Peters in Viva Zapata! (1952)

Jean Peters really wanted the main role in Anne of the Indies (1951), and she got it! The news said this movie finally made her a star. Before Anne of the Indies was even released, she was cast in Viva Zapata! (1952) with the famous actor Marlon Brando. Also in 1951, she worked with Marilyn Monroe for the first time in As Young as You Feel.

In 1953, director Samuel Fuller chose Jean Peters over Marilyn Monroe for the role of Candy in Pickup on South Street. He felt Jean had the tough, street-smart personality he was looking for. Marilyn Monroe, he thought, looked too innocent. Jean Peters wasn't thrilled with playing such a glamorous character. She preferred playing more realistic, less fancy women, like her roles in Anne of the Indies and Viva Zapata!.

Jean Peters refused to dye her hair for Pickup on South Street because she didn't want to be compared to other actresses. She even got help from Marilyn Monroe to understand how to play a "siren" character. Jean later said she enjoyed making the movie, but she didn't want to play more glamorous roles. She explained that playing everyday women allowed for more interesting and real stories.

She once said that characters who wear fancy clothes often don't get to show their true feelings. She liked playing roles she understood, like a simple farm girl from Ohio. She felt that Hollywood often made stars seem like goddesses, which made it hard for the public to see them as real people.

Jean Peters with Joseph Cotten in Niagara (1953)

Jean Peters and Marilyn Monroe also starred together in Niagara, which also featured Joseph Cotten. Jean's character was originally the main role, but the movie ended up focusing more on Marilyn Monroe, who was very popular at the time.

Jean Peters' third movie in 1953 was A Blueprint for Murder, where she worked with Joseph Cotten again. She said she liked this role because it allowed her to sing, though her singing wasn't actually used in the final movie.

Next, Jean Peters was chosen for the film Three Coins in the Fountain (1954), which was filmed in Italy. She wasn't happy with her role, saying she thought it would be more sophisticated. However, the movie was a huge success and brought her more attention.

Jean Peters' Final Films and Retirement

Jean Peters in the trailer for Broken Lance (1954)

In 1954, Jean Peters also appeared in the Western movies Apache and Broken Lance. She received great reviews for her performance in Apache, with one critic saying she was becoming "one of the finest young actresses around Hollywood today."

Jean Peters' last movie was A Man Called Peter (1955), where she played Catherine Marshall, the wife of a famous minister. After this film, Jean Peters turned down several other roles, which led the studio to suspend her pay.

Jean Peters decided she had done enough acting and left Fox to focus on her personal life. After she married Howard Hughes, she officially retired from acting. In 1957, a producer tried to convince her to keep acting, but she refused. She even said she planned to become a producer instead, though she never did.

Jean Peters' Return to Acting on Television

In 1970, there were rumors that Jean Peters might return to acting. She chose to appear in the TV movie Winesburg, Ohio (1973). She later said she wasn't happy with the show or her performance.

In 1976, Jean Peters had a supporting role in the TV miniseries The Moneychangers. She said she took the role because an old friend asked her, and it seemed like fun. She also admired her co-star, Christopher Plummer.

Jean Peters appeared in the 1981 TV movie Peter and Paul, which was produced by her husband at the time, Stan Hough. Her very last acting role was a guest appearance in the TV show Murder, She Wrote in 1988.

Jean Peters' Personal Life

When Jean Peters first moved to Hollywood, she lived with her aunt. From the start of her career, she admitted she didn't like being famous because of the crowds. Other actors at Fox said she was very serious about her work and not a "party girl." Even though she sometimes disagreed with the studio, other actors liked her a lot.

Jean Peters was good friends with Marilyn Monroe, who also worked for Fox. She also became friends with actors like Joseph Cotten, David Niven, and Jeanne Crain.

In 1954, Jean Peters married Stuart Cramer, an oilman. They had known each other for only a few weeks, and they separated a few months later.

In 1957, after her divorce, Jean Peters married the famous businessman Howard Hughes. They had first met in the 1940s, before she became a movie star. During their relationship in 1947, there was talk of marriage, but Jean said she couldn't combine it with her acting career. Some people said that Jean Peters was "the only woman [Hughes] ever loved." He even had security guards follow her everywhere, even when they weren't dating.

During her marriage to Howard Hughes, which lasted from 1957 to 1971, Jean Peters stopped acting and going to Hollywood events. She was able to live a normal life without being recognized, partly because she "didn't act like an actress." During this time, she spent her time doing charity work, arts and crafts, and studying psychology and anthropology at UCLA.

In 1971, Jean Peters and Howard Hughes divorced. She agreed to receive $70,000 a year for life, adjusted for inflation. She also gave up any claims to Hughes's huge fortune, which was worth billions of dollars. She refused to talk about her marriage to the media, saying she wanted to focus on her future. She hoped not to be known only as 'Mrs. Howard Hughes', even though she knew it would be hard.

Later in 1971, Jean Peters married Stan Hough, who was an executive at 20th Century Fox. They were married until Stan Hough passed away in 1990.

Jean Peters died from leukemia on October 13, 2000, in Carlsbad, California. She was 73 years old. She was buried at the Holy Cross Cemetery in Culver City, California.

Jean Peters' Filmography

Radio Appearances

See also

In Spanish: Jean Peters para niños