Jean Harlow by elena-lu
Jean Harlow’s 100th birthday will be celebrated by Hollywood next month, so she is back in the news…not as if the famous starlet ever left it. The celebrated actress tragically died in 1937 at age 26 of renal failure, and the news reported it was because her Christian Scientist mother prevented her from receiving medical treatment. That is not the truth.
Actually according to David Stenn’s 1993 biography, Bombshell: the Life and Death of Jean Harlow, her mother had dozens of doctors regularly in attendance to meet Jean’s health care needs and not Christian Science practioners (healers) . So Jean Harlow wasn’t killed by Christian Science as some claimed.
Christian Scientists are free to make their own health care choices, not dictated by the church. It is fine that is what the Harlow’s chose traditional medical treatment, but please don’t blame Christian Science for Jean’s untimely death. Christian Science was not being used.
Mother Jean, as described by Stenn, called herself a Christian Scientist but “what she practised was not at all what her religion preached.” A medical doctor and three nurses were employed by Harlow’s mother to give Jean medical care during her loosing battle with renal failure.
Christian Science is often misunderstood by people keeping them from discovering a spiritual approach to healing. But many people are looking for solutions to health care, and Christian Science offers a way of health that can be very satisfying. I highly recommend exploring Christian Science prayer-based healing that has worked for up to six generations for over 140 years. The divine presence of God in one’s life is truly a healing blessing!
Very interesting Katie, I did not know this story!