Officially, Jean Harlow is said to have died from cerebral edema, or swelling on the brain, according to the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. The swelling was caused by the uremic poisoning that happened when her kidneys were no longer functioning, sending the waste that’s normally filtered through the kidneys and eliminated in urine into her bloodstream instead, per Healthline.  

Harlow had already had a tough year by the time she died halfway through 1937. She’d had the flu in February and was hospitalized in April after getting her wisdom teeth pulled, per the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. Harlow was no stranger to illness. 

The Atlantic reported Harlow had contracted meningitis and polio before she was 16, and in her adult years, she’d had pneumonia, an appendectomy, had the flu several times, and also had two abortions — before they were performed legally. The Atlantic also questioned how much Harlow’s use of chemicals to keep her hair platinum blonde may have strained her already weakened kidneys, plus they say she had some bouts with binge drinking. 

In her brief but full life, Harlow had been married three times, according to Jean Harlow, with her second husband, producer Paul Bern, taking his own life just two months into their marriage. At the time of her death, she’d been dating actor William Powell for two years but they hadn’t married, yet the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported he, along with Harlow’s mother, were at her bedside when she finally died.