Ernestine Jane Geraldine Russell

 Ernestine Jane Geraldine Russell was an American actress and model. She was one of Hollywood's leading sex symbols in the 1940s and 1950s. Russell was known for her beauty, silhouette, and a great presence that combined charisma and seriousness.

She was born on June 21, 1921, and died on February 28, 2011.

She made 20 films between 1943 and 1970. Her first film was "The Outlaw." Her final film was "Darker Than Amber." Her last on-screen appearance was in a 1986 episode of television's "Hunter."

On the musical front, Russell formed a gospel quartet in 1954, with three other members of a faith-sharing group called the Hollywood Christian Group. The other original members were Connie Haines, Beryl Davis and Della Russell. Backed by an orchestra conducted by Lyn Murray, their choral single "Do Lord" reached number 27 on the Billboard singles chart in May 1954, selling two million copies.

In October 1957, she debuted in a successful solo nightclub act at the Sands Hotel in Las Vegas.

In February 1952, Russell and her husband adopted a baby girl, whom they named Tracy. In December 1952, they adopted a 15-month-old boy, Thomas, whose birth mother, Hannah McDermott, had moved to London to escape poverty in Northern Ireland, and, in 1956, they adopted a nine-month-old boy, Robert John.

In 1955, she founded Waif, an organization to place children with adoptive families, and which pioneered adoptions from foreign countries by Americans.

Russell was referenced in a 1956 episode of The Honeymooners. Ralph Kramden (played by Jackie Gleason) arrives home "dead" tired, vowing to go straight to bed after dinner, quipping, "You couldn't get me out of this house tonight if you told me that Jane Russell was runnin’ a party upstairs and she couldn't get started until I arrived!" Later, Kramden becomes aware that his best friend and neighbor, Ed Norton, is in fact throwing a party upstairs and did not invite him. After being reminded by his wife, Alice, of his reluctance to attend even a party that Jane Russell was throwing, an insulted Kramden rants, "I was talking about Jane Russell: I said nothing about any party that Norton's running!"

On the sitcom Maude (the episode "The Wallet"), Walter Findlay (played by Bill Macy) carries a lipstick impression and autograph of Jane Russell on a cocktail napkin in his wallet as a good luck charm.

On February 28, 2011 Daughter-in-law Etta Waterfield said that Russell was a "pillar of health" but caught a bad cold and died of respiratory difficulties. Russell's children, Thomas K. Waterfield, Tracy Foundas and Robert "Buck" Waterfield," were at her side. Her funeral was held on March 12, 2011, at Pacific Christian Church, Santa Maria. She was cremated at Santa Barbara Cemetery and her ashes were scattered at sea.

She was an incredible woman, who was known for many talents and gifts, and applied them to all aspects of her life and career!