Broadway period
1939, Jean began to perform on Broadway and was also a photography model. Mr Thirny set up a company for his daughter, Berthier, to store her salary and direct drama roles. At this time, Columbia Film Company offered her a six-month contract, and Jean got to know the Hollywood tycoon and playboy howard hughes who pursued her. Unfortunately, they failed, but they still maintained a good friendship. A photographer advised Thirny to lose weight, because "a thinner face would be more attractive", so Jean really started to go on a slimming diet, and has maintained a figure of 1.70cm/53kg for 20 years.
However, the Colombian company couldn't find a suitable theme for her, so Jean had to return to new york to star in the stage play Male Animals. As a result, the box office evaluation was very successful, and Thirny suddenly became a hot figure on Broadway. At this time, MGM invited her to star in the film National Velvet. When the film was postponed, Jean chose to sign a contract with 20th Century Fox. Daryl F. Zanuckd F. Zanuckd, president of Fox Company, was impressed by Jean's performance on the stage and decided to sign a contract to train her.