Jean Peters (October 15, 1926 – October 13, 2000) was an American actress, known as a star of
20th Century Fox in the late 1940s and early 1950s, and as the second (or possibly third) wife of
Howard Hughes. Although possibly best remembered for her siren role in
Pickup on South Street (1953), Peters was known for her resistance to being turned into a
sex symbol. She preferred to play unglamorous, down-to-earth women.