Marilyn Monroe is one of the most famous celebrities of all time. As a household name whose work has been referenced in everything from "Moulin Rouge" to "Rue Paul's Drag Race," the Golden Age actress was able to make a massive impact during her short career.
With such great notoriety, comes the tendency to create myths. Monroe's personality has been transformed into a larger-than-life caricature, his most iconic form having come to define his entire image, but in many ways his legacy has been misunderstood.
Here are ten things people get wrong about Marilyn Monroe.
1. Her Name Was Marilyn Monroe
Although this is the name by which she is best known, the name Marilyn Monroe was not the first name that California native Norma Jeanne Mortensen had. After her birth, she was baptized with her mother's name: Norma Jean Baker. She carried that name with her through foster care until she married a neighbor at the age of 16 and became Norma Jean Dougherty.
It wasn't until she signed her first acting contract with 20th Century Fox that she began contemplating the perfect stage name. Monroe and studio executive Ben Lyon put their heads together and asked to come up with the moniker that would help propel her to superstardom. Lyons suggested Marilyn after actress Marilyn Miller and Norma Jean suggested Monroe to her mother's family.
Thus, the name Marilyn Monroe was conceived; Her iconic looks and personality would soon follow.
2. She was a natural blonde
Monroe's iconic platinum blonde locks were born from the bottle like many other stars of the time.
For women hoping to make a name for themselves in the film industry in the 1940s, blonde was considered the most versatile color of hair. Monroe, who joined her first modeling agency as a curly-haired brunette, was dedicated to doing whatever it took to get attention. She began lightening her hair in the mid-1940s and immediately succumbed.
"For Marilyn, being blonde, it was like a Hollywood star-building machine," said photographer Nancy Lee Andrews, who saw what it could do for her. Over the years, Marilyn continued to lighten her hair until it finally reached her iconic platinum blonde hue, or as she called it "pillow case white." The color is still associated with her today, referenced everywhere from magazines to Billie Eilish's Met Gala appearance.
3. She Was Searched While Babysitting
With a name locked in and a new hairstyle, the next step for the upcoming starlet was crafting a good origin story. 20th Century Fox publicists introduced Monroe to the press as a young orphan who was discovered while caring for a Fox talent scout.
In fact, Monroe fought for her chances and was curious to know about the film industry. As Sarah Churchwell, author of "The Many Lives of Marilyn Monroe" puts it, "Marilyn wasn't waiting for powerful men to come in. In the movie business."
4. He gained fame easily
Stardom didn't just fall in Marilyn Monroe's lap. Beauty and talent were seen as basic requirements for any woman hoping to work in a male-dominated film industry and actors were considered the "Big Five" - Warner Bros., RKO, MGM, Paramount or 20th Century Fox. required a contract with Success.
Monroe struggled to secure a long-term contract. He had small roles with 20th Century Fox and Columbia Pictures before receiving a seven-year contract with Fox in 1951. What he lacked in instant success on-screen, however, he made up for with a firm understanding of his audience off-screen.
Monroe was able to use press coverage such as leveraging her relationship with Joe DiMaggio to keep her name relevant. As Alicia Malone of Turner Classic Movies explains, Marilyn was "very, very smart and very funny about the promotion. Marilyn always seemed to know what publicists wanted, what photographers wanted. So whenever she got a picture Given the opportunity, he made the most of it. This."
5. She had no control over her sexuality
Sex sells, and if anyone knew it, it was Monroe. While she was dismayed by the press and film executives' tendency to downplay her as a sex symbol and nothing more, Monroe understood that her unique sexuality could get over her. Time and again, she got typecast in good looking roles on-screen and a few more, but she wouldn't let the transaction go one way or the other.
Sarah Churchwell of Monroe's early performance in "Ladies of the Chorus" says, "Sexually attractive, and the object of the man looks in all the ways he should." But she's also making fun of it. And that's the moment Marilyn realized how this performance was going to work for her."
Monroe not only succumbed to her status as a sex bomb, she also refused to be ashamed of it. Early in his career, Monroe posed nude for a photographer strapped for money. Instead of accepting the popular stereotype at the time when the photoshoot was exposed in the press, Marilyn stood by her decision.
"He said, "Did you pose for the calendar?'" remembered Monroe, "and I said, "Yeah, is something wrong?' ,
6. He never raised his voice against sexism in Hollywood
In the 1940s and 1950s the studio system treated women as objects; Sex and relationships were exchanged and were often expected in exchange for auditions and contracts.
Monroe was not exempt from participating, and received a lot of unwanted advances while working toward a career in acting. At Columbia Pictures, studio head Harry Cohn invited Monroe on a trip on his yacht. Monroe suggests that she come along only if Cohan's wife is invited as well. Soon after her rejection, she was taken off his contract.
Decades before the Times' Up movement, Monroe detailed her harassment in an article entitled "Wolves I Have Known" published in "Motion Picture and Television Magazine". She wrote, "There are many kinds of wolves. Some are terrifying, others are just good time charlie trying to get something for nothing and others make a game of it." She called out the powerful men she faced as an up-and-comer and highlighted the unsafe conditions women were forced to endure if they wanted careers in motion pictures.
7. She was not a serious actress
Monroe is best known for her iconic roles where she played white men, but behind the scenes she was nothing but goofy. Early in his career, he sought guidance from Natasha Lytes, head of drama at Columbia Pictures. According to "Marilyn Monroe: The Personal Archive" author Cindy de la Hoz, Lytes "brought a wealth of knowledge about theater [that] was very enticing to Marilyn. She wanted to receive such a serious education about acting." Was."
Even after achieving great success in his career, Monroe continued to seek opportunities to become a more serious actor. She attended classes with Lee Strasberg at the Actors Studio in New York, where her peers noticed the lucrative careers of film stars like her. But Monroe was a devoted student of method acting, and earned the respect of her classmates through her hard work.
Actress Ellen Burstyn watches Anna Christie's portrayal of Marilyn in the studio. "Everyone who saw it said that it was not only the best work that Marilyn had ever done, it was the best work ever in the studio," she recalled. "She achieved real greatness in that scene."
8. She was not politically active
Marilyn Monroe had a strong political commitment. After her marriage to Joe DiMaggio in 1954, Marilyn took a detour from her honeymoon in Japan to visit US military bases in Korea. He performed for an estimated 100,000 military men over the course of ten shows.
Monroe supported his friends at home as well. She was very close to singer Ella Fitzgerald and was a big advocate in her career. When the popular nightclub Mocambo refused to book Fitzgerald, Monroe called the club and proposed that if they booked Fitzgerald for a week, she would sit in the front row for every performance. After the club agreed, Fitzgerald was sold and subsequently booked for a second week. The success took his career to a new level.
In a 1972 interview with Ms. Magazine, Fitzgerald recalled his relationship with Monroe, saying, "I owe Marilyn Monroe a real debt... She was an unusual woman—a little ahead of her time. And she did it." Didn't know."
9. He Was Paid Like a Big Star
Although she was one of the most talked-about actresses of the time, Marilyn's star power didn't always result in a hefty salary. At the end of her career, she was making a fraction of the money that her contemporaries were earning. In the previous film he worked on "Something's Gotta Give", Monroe was set to earn $100,000, far less than Elizabeth Taylor's reported $1 million for "Cleopatra" around the same time.
Pay disparity was worse earlier in his career, but Monroe fought back. In 1954, Monroe was ready to start working on the film "The Girl in Pink Tights" when she learned that her costar Frank Sinatra was ready to make more than three times her weekly salary. In protest, Marilyn refused to appear on the set, which delayed the film and eventually halted production altogether.
"For anyone who thought Monroe was a perpetual victim, she walked off the set of 'Pink Tights'," noted film critic Molly Haskell. "enough said."
10. It Didn't Affect the Industry
Although she loved acting, Monroe was largely unhappy with the roles she was offered with 20th Century Fox. She wanted to add more variety and depth to her characters. After completing the shooting of "The Seven Year Itch", Monroe broke her contract and fled to Los Angeles.
Despite threatening phone calls from Fox's legal teams and studio chief Daryl Zanuk, Monroe took on a new life in New York City. She and her friend, photographer Milton Greene, created Marilyn Monroe Productions, making her the first woman since Mary Pickford to start her own production company.
Fox tried to downplay Monroe's achievements by proposing that they could find a dozen actresses like her, but Marilyn's brand only grew. He could not be replaced. In late 1955, Fox surrendered and Monroe received a new, historic contract. Not only did his salary increase, but he was also given story approval, director's approval, and cinematographer's approval—a feat "veterans of the film's scene called... "Los Angeles Mirror."
The studio system that had determined so much of Monroe's career was beginning to break down. Although she was not there to experience the growth of the industry in the 60s and beyond, the ripple effects of her efforts can still be seen today.