Harlow was born Harlean Harlow Carpenter in Kansas City, Missouri. The name is sometimes incorrectly spelled Carpentier, following later studio press releases. Her father, Mont Clair Carpenter (1877–1974), was a dentist from a working-class background who attended dental college in Kansas City. Her mother, Jean Poe Carpenter (née Harlow), was the daughter of a wealthy real estate broker, Skip Harlow, and his wife, Ella Harlow (née Williams). The marriage was arranged by Skip Harlow in 1908, and Jean, an intelligent and strong-willed woman, was resentful and became very unhappy in the marriage. The couple lived in Kansas City in a house owned by Skip Harlow.
Harlow next attended the Ferry Hall School (now Lake Forest Academy) in Lake Forest, Illinois. Her mother had an ulterior motive for Harlean’s attendance there, as it was close to the Chicago home of her boyfriend, Marino Bello. Each freshman was paired with a “big sister” from the senior class, and Harlean’s big sister introduced her to 19-year-old Charles “Chuck” McGrew, heir to a large fortune, in the fall of 1926. Soon the two began to date, and then married. On January 18, 1927, Jean Carpenter also married her partner Bello, although Harlean was not present. Shortly after the wedding, the couple left Chicago and moved to Beverly Hills. McGrew turned 21 two months after the marriage and received part of his large inheritance. The couple moved to Los Angeles in 1928, settling into a home in Beverly Hills, where Harlean thrived as a wealthy socialite. McGrew hoped to distance Harlean from her mother with the move. Neither McGrew nor Harlean worked, and both, especially McGrew, were thought to drink heavily. The couple divorced in 1929.
In Los Angeles, Harlean befriended Rosalie Roy, a young aspiring actress. Lacking a car, Roy asked Harlean to drive her to Fox Studios for an appointment. Reputedly, Harlean was noticed and approached by Fox executives while waiting for her friend, but stated that she was not interested. Nevertheless, she was given dictated letters of introduction to Central Casting. A few days later, Rosalie Roy bet Harlean that she did not have the nerve to go and audition. Unwilling to lose a wager and pressed by her enthusiastic mother, Harlean drove to Central Casting and signed in under her mother’s maiden name, Jean Harlow.
