Marilyn Monroe was more than a 1950’s sex goddess, her apparent vulnerability and innocence in combination with her sexuality has endeared her to make it to number 91 on the top most influential women ever. Unlike any other woman she had her insecurities about her physical appearance, which unfortunately led to her death. Whether she knew it or not Marilyn Monroe was a very influential actress, fashionista during her life and even more today almost 48 years after her death.
“There was my name up in lights. I said, 'God, somebody's made a mistake.' But there it was, in lights. And I sat there and said, 'Remember, you're not a star.' Yet there it was up in lights." –Marilyn Monroe
Marilyn Monroe was born Norma Jean Mortensen on June 1, 1926 to Gladys Baker. “Norma” was separated from her mom because of her psychological condition and spent most of her childhood in foster homes and orphanages. In 1937 she moved in with a family friend who took custody of her, unfortunately in 1942 she was forced to make the decision to be married at 16 or go back into the orphanage because of the family friends’ financial situation. She made the decision to get married to Jimmy Dougherty whom she remained married to for 4 years but then divorced him because she wanted to pursue her lifelong dream of becoming an actor. Also in 1946 she dyed her hair that unforgettable platinum blonde and changed her name legally to Marilyn Monroe. "I'm going to be a great movie star someday”, is a quote that she said when she left her husband. She died her hair to look more like her favorite actress Jean Harlow.
"I believe that everything happens for a reason. People change so that you can learn to let go, things go wrong so that you appreciate them when they're right, you believe lies so you eventually learn to trust no one but yourself, and sometimes good things fall apart so better things can fall together." – Marilyn Monroe
Marilyn Monroe was never “discovered”, she worked very hard for what she wanted and did not let anybody or anything stop her on her way to the top. Overall Marilyn was in about 30 ½ movies, the half of movie being the movie that she only got to do half of because of her untimely death. She signed her first deal with 20th Century Fox in 1946. In the beginning years of her acting career she was in 2 films in which she had two very brief scenes (“The Shocking Miss Pilgrim” and “Scudda Hoo! Scudda Hay!”). The next film that she appeared in was the “Dangerous Years in 1947 where her role was a little bit bigger. Unfortunately also in 1947 Fox decided to drop her from the contract, Marilyn took this as an opportunity to go back to modeling and acting school to better her skills. In 1948 Colombia Pictures signed a contract with her to do a film called “Ladies of the Chorus” but she was dropped from them when the film was finished even though the critics liked her. Marilyn took this downfall and went back to school but this time only for her main ambition; to be an actor. She was then picked back up by United Artists’ in 1949 to do one film (“Love Happy”) and did two more in 1950 with MGM and Fox, in those three movies she will only be remembered as the “ditzy but sexy blonde”. In 1952 she starred in “Monkey Business” which was the first time the public had seen her as a platinum blonde. “Gentlemen Prefer Blondes” was the next movie that she did in 1953 as the role of Lori Lee, Marilyn Monroe had now become a “genuine box-office drawing card” meaning people loved to see her face in the movies.
Her film “How to Marry a Millionaire” was the first movie that she did with big stars of that time (Betty Grable, Lauren Bacall, etc.) which was also in 1953, even though people were still figuring out her name she was a big success with the male audiences that went to see that movie. 1954 was the year that a lot of people would say was her best and most memorable year. This was the year where Marilyn Monroe was in a movie called “The Seven Year Itch”, this title may not be known to many people of today but this was the movie that had gentlemen almost out of their seats with the jaw-dropping subway grating scene. In this scene Marilyn stands above a subway grating and a subway passing by creates a wind so big that it blows her famous white dress up from her; she strategically placed her hands on the dress careful not to reveal herself but provocative enough to keep minds guessing. After that movie Marylyn’s movie career slowed down significantly, meaning she only made about three movies up until 1960 where she appeared in “Let’s Make Love” which the critics did not like. In 1961 she made up for the loss in her previous movie by starring in “The Misfits” which the critics loved, unfortunately this would be the last movie that the actress completed. “Something’s Gotta Give” was Marilyn’s last movie; she was supposed to play the role of Ellen Arden who was a woman who was stuck on an island for seven years and then returns home to find her husband remarried and happy. Even though the movie never finished Ginger from Gilligan’s island was loosely based on her character from this movie.
"I've never fooled anyone. I've let people fool themselves. They didn't bother to find out who and what I was. Instead they would invent a character for me. I wouldn't argue with them. They were obviously loving somebody I wasn't.”
Fashion; a word used by many people each and every day. If asked many people around the world would say that Marilyn Monroe was fashion. Her whole demeanor was fashion, and everything she did was fashion forward. Some say that she was very ahead of her time with some of the things that she wore. Marilyn’s favorite designer was Emilio Pucci. Pucci designed most of her everyday wardrobe and her movie outfits. She “dressed for the men”, she knew what she was wearing although she claims that she didn’t. Almost every outfit made her outstanding hourglass figure stand out. Marilyn’s figure was what made her famous at the time, most women in the ‘50’s and ‘60’s liked to cover themselves up and Marilyn did not like clothes. Even though it is 2010 a lot of celebrities such as Lindsay Lohan and Madonna have tried to replicate Marilyn’s style and photographs among many others. Her style was so simple and classy that people often thought it to be a little plain. It is thought that some of the styles of dresses now that have no zipper were inspired by her because sources say that she “like to be sewed into her dress.” The most risqué of the outfits that she wore was the one that was made by designer Jean Louis was a dress that was made out of “skin and beads”. “Skin and beads” meaning that under the light her dress would become transparent and the glisten of the rhinestones would become her outfit. This was the dress that she wore to New York when she sang happy birthday to the president. This outfit was partially replicated by Britney Spears when she wore a one piece pants rendition on the dress. Her walk was also something that set her apart from others. Marilyn had some of the heels in her shoes shaved down so that she would sway more when she walked.
Being recognized as a sex symbol was only one of the many things that Marilyn Monroe was known as. A sex symbol is person mainly a celebrity, who is well known for their sexual attractiveness. Marilyn was just that, plus a whole lot more. With her being the person that she was “insecure” people often liked to take advantage of her. Some say that she is the sexiest woman whether is dead or when she was alive. Some things that made her sex appeal more open was “her platinum blonde hair, her dreamy water-nymph eyes and parted kissing lips, the pale silken skin that cameras adored” and a lot more that all the men seemed to adore. Her soft voice also added greatly to her sex appeal. A lot of women now look up to her because of the appeal that she gave off. Her sex appeal is still so great after her death that she is number 15 on the top 100 Sexiest Movie Stars.
“That's the trouble; a sex symbol becomes a thing. But if I'm going to be a symbol of something, I'd rather have it sex than some other things we've got symbols of." – Marilyn Monroe on being a sex symbol in the 1950’s.
Today we see Marilyn Monroe as beautiful individual, who every under confident or overconfident woman wants to be like or is like in some way or another. Her impact was so great after she died that young children of today know who she is. Even though it has been almost 50 years since her death it is like she is still alive today. Her style lives on through celebrities and their performances on stage and actress on the screens. Today you can see many people with her platinum blonde hair style with the exact same curls, trying to resemble her facial remarks as well. Her impact that she has on today is a little more than words can describe. Marilyn never saw herself as beautiful, or anything that people say that is now. The huge confidence that she had on stage and on the screen, was there only and no place else. The confidence that people look up to is the stage Marilyn, not the real Marilyn a.k.a. Norma Jean who is just like every other woman out there with insecurities about her body because it does not fit certain images. Today her body would be seen as too “thick” for anything and she probably would not make it very big unless she lost weight.
“People had a habit of looking at me as if I were some kind of mirror instead of a person. They didn't see me, they saw their own lewd thoughts, then they white-masked themselves by calling me the lewd one.
In conclusion everything from the way that Marilyn Monroe walked and talked to how she look and even smiled, has impacted her fans of today and “yester-year” . Her confidence that came through the screen has inspired people of all ages to want to be like Marilyn Monroe, not the insecure and “ugly” Norma Jean Baker. Her impact will last forever whether she planned for it to be like that or not, it’s not going anywhere. Her legacy has kept on living even though she has been gone for almost 50 years and the people who look up to her have never even SEEN a single film think that she is the great by just looking at her pictures and quotes.