An American actress, model, and singer, Marilyn Monroe became one of the major cultural icons of the 20th century. A symbol of Hollywood glamour and American consumer society in the 1950s–1960s, her tragic life continues to fuel conversations about the treatment of women in the entertainment industry.
Marilyn Monroe(1926 — 1962)
Marilyn Monroe
États-Unis
8 min read
Frequently asked questions
Famous Quotes
« I don't want to make money, I just want to be wonderful.»
« I am a serious woman who is not taken seriously.»
« Give a girl the right shoes and she can conquer the world.»
Key Facts
- 1926: Birth of Norma Jeane Mortenson in Los Angeles
- 1953: International breakthrough with Gentlemen Prefer Blondes and How to Marry a Millionaire
- 1954: Marriage to baseball legend Joe DiMaggio, a symbol of America
- 1959: Some Like It Hot by Billy Wilder, a landmark American comedy
- 1962: Death at age 36 under circumstances that remain mysterious
Works & Achievements
A musical film directed by Howard Hawks, in which Marilyn Monroe plays Lorelei Lee and performs 'Diamonds Are a Girl's Best Friend'. The film crystallized her image as the alluring, ambitious blonde, and cemented her status as an international star.
A comedy directed by Billy Wilder, famous for the iconic scene of the white dress billowing over a subway grate. The film is one of the most enduring images of American popular culture in the 1950s.
Considered one of the greatest comedies of all time, this Billy Wilder film earned Marilyn Monroe a Golden Globe. She plays Sugar Kane, a naive but endearing character, delivering a comic performance widely praised by critics.
Marilyn Monroe's last completed film, written expressly for her by her husband Arthur Miller. This dark dramatic film directed by John Huston marks the end of an era and a turn toward a dramatic acting career that her death cut short.
By creating her own production company, Marilyn Monroe became one of the first actresses to assert her artistic and financial independence in Hollywood, paving the way for other women in the industry.
A live performance at Madison Square Garden in New York City, at President Kennedy's birthday gala. This moment, captured by hundreds of photographers, remains one of the most talked-about public appearances of the twentieth century.
Anecdotes
Marilyn Monroe was born Norma Jeane Mortenson on June 1, 1926, in Los Angeles. With an absent father and an unstable mother, she spent much of her childhood in foster homes and an orphanage. It was in 1946, at age 20, that she signed her first contract with 20th Century Fox and adopted the stage name Marilyn Monroe.
In 1954, Marilyn Monroe married baseball legend Joe DiMaggio. Their marriage lasted only nine months, but DiMaggio remained deeply devoted to her until the end: after her death in 1962, he arranged for fresh roses to be placed on her grave every week for twenty years.
In May 1962, Marilyn Monroe sang a legendary 'Happy Birthday, Mr. President' at Madison Square Garden in New York, in honor of President John F. Kennedy's 45th birthday. She wore a rhinestone-studded gown so form-fitting it had to be sewn onto her. The performance remains one of the most iconic images of 1960s America.
Despite her image as a 'dumb blonde,' Marilyn Monroe was an avid reader and a cultured woman. She owned a personal library of over 400 books, read Dostoevsky, Proust, and Joyce, and trained seriously as an actress at the Actors Studio in New York under the direction of Lee Strasberg.
In 1955, Marilyn Monroe founded her own production company, Marilyn Monroe Productions, together with her friend and photographer Milton Greene. This move — unusual for an actress at the time — allowed her to renegotiate her contract with Fox and gain greater control over her roles and her career.
Primary Sources
I knew I belonged to the public and to the world, not because I was talented or even beautiful, but because I had never belonged to anything or anyone else.
Norma Jeane Dougherty, henceforth known as Marilyn Monroe, agrees to perform exclusively for the company for a period of one year, renewable.
A career is wonderful, but you can't curl up with it on a cold night. What I really want is to be a good actress.
I want to be a real actress, not just an image. I want to feel things from the inside and show them to the audience in an authentic way.
I am tired of being exploited. I want the right to choose my own roles and to have a say in the making of my films.
Key Places
The birthplace of Marilyn Monroe and the cradle of her Hollywood career. It was in Los Angeles that she was discovered, where she filmed her greatest movies, and where she died on August 4, 1962.
The legendary Hollywood theater where Marilyn Monroe pressed her handprints and footprints into the cement in 1953, joining the pantheon of American cinema's greatest stars.
The renowned acting school where Marilyn Monroe studied with Lee Strasberg from 1955, seeking to deepen her craft as an actress beyond her sex symbol image.
The iconic New York venue where Marilyn Monroe sang 'Happy Birthday, Mr. President' on May 19, 1962, at President Kennedy's birthday gala, before an audience of 15,000.
The burial place of Marilyn Monroe, where she was laid to rest on August 8, 1962. Joe DiMaggio arranged for red roses to be placed there three times a week for twenty years after her death.
Typical Objects
The white dress Marilyn wore in 'The Seven Year Itch' (1955), standing over a subway grate, is one of the most reproduced images of the 20th century. It symbolizes both her sex appeal and the feigned innocence of her public persona.
When asked what she wore to bed, Marilyn replied: 'A few drops of Chanel N°5.' This statement, published in Life Magazine in 1952, transformed the perfume into a worldwide symbol of feminine glamour.
Marilyn was one of the most photographed subjects of her era, captured by artists such as Richard Avedon and Eve Arnold. She had a unique relationship with photographers and understood the power of the image perfectly.
Marilyn carefully annotated her scripts, asking questions of her acting coaches and seeking to understand the deeper psychology of her characters. These annotations reveal an actress far more serious than her public image suggested.
The dress worn to sing 'Happy Birthday, Mr. President' in 1962, designed by Bob Mackie, was adorned with 2,500 hand-sewn crystals. Sold at auction in 2016 for $4.8 million, it has become a major cultural artifact.
Marilyn Monroe's personal library, comprising over 400 volumes ranging from Russian literature to philosophy, was dispersed after her death. These books bear witness to a rich intellectual life, at odds with the 'ditzy blonde' image Hollywood assigned her.
School Curriculum
Vocabulary & Tags
Key Vocabulary
Tags
Daily Life
Morning
Marilyn Monroe rarely rose before 10 or 11 in the morning, having often worked late the previous night on a film set or attended glamorous Hollywood parties. She would begin her day with light exercise and go over her messages with her secretary.
Afternoon
Afternoons were devoted to film shoots — frequently delayed due to her legendary tardiness — or to rehearsals and acting classes at the Actors Studio. She also made time to read in her personal library or receive close friends.
Evening
Marilyn's evenings swung between Hollywood galas, film premieres arrived at by limousine amid a flurry of camera flashes, and intimate dinners with the intellectuals and artists in her inner circle, such as Arthur Miller or Truman Capote.
Food
Marilyn Monroe had a light and unstructured diet, often neglected during intense filming schedules. She enjoyed simple meals, occasionally sipped champagne at social events, and at certain points followed strict diets imposed by the studios.
Clothing
Dressed by Hollywood's greatest costume designers such as William Travilla, Marilyn wore form-fitting gowns that highlighted her curves. In her private life, she preferred more relaxed outfits — a sweater, jeans, and a scarf — a striking contrast to her public image.
Housing
Marilyn lived in several residences across Los Angeles and New York throughout her life. Her final home was a modest villa in Brentwood, Los Angeles, which she had purchased in 1962 and was in the process of decorating to her taste, seeking a stable home after years of constant moves.
Historical Timeline
Period Vocabulary
Visual Style
Glamour hollywoodien des années 1950 : lumières de studio dorées, Technicolor saturé, robes à paillettes, photographie en noir et blanc contrasté, affiches de cinéma graphiques et colorées.
Sound Ambience
L'atmosphère sonore d'Hollywood dans les années 1950 : flashs de photographes, musique de studio, jazz des cocktails, foules en liesse lors des premières de films.
