Jean Howard

Jean Howard (born Ernestine Hill; October 13, 1910 – March 20, 2000) was an American actress and professional photographer. She was born in Longview, Texas and died in Beverly Hills, California.

Early years Howard was born Ernestine Hill on October 13, 1910, in Longview, Texas. Her father left her mother shortly thereafter and she lived with her mother. Her mother died when Ernestine was 13 years old. She then joined her father and stepmother in Dallas, from where her father traveled as a salesman.

When she was a teenager, she accompanied her nephew to a photographic studio to have his portrait taken. Paul Mahoney, the photographer, took her photograph, which led to his becoming her teacher and mentor. "Young, eager, and frustrated," Howard changed her name to Ernestine Mahoney and began participating in beauty contests and fashion shows. Her father paid her expenses while Mahoney taught her. Howard acted in local theatrical productions before she went to Hollywood in the late 1920s and became a part of the Studio Club, a group for women who hoped to act in films.

Personal life and death Howard married Hollywood talent agent Charles K. Feldman on August 25, 1934, in Harrison, New York, and they divorced in 1948. The couple continued to regularly live together until her travels to Europe with Cole Porter in the mid-1950s. She conceived with Feldman once, but lost the pregnancy and never had children. She married Tony Santoro, a musician from Italy, in 1973. She was buried in Hollywood Forever Cemetery.