The Ultimate Guide to Marilyn Monroe’s Style (Life and Fashion Inspired)
Gentlemen Prefer Marilyn
Dougherty was a marine and had to leave Norma Jeane behind for a while. Around this time, she was working at a factory and was discovered by a photographer to shoot pin-up style photos for the troops. (Fun fact: Marilyn always supported the armed forces and would go on to interrupt her honeymoon to perform in Korea, where the troops adored her.)
By the late 1940s, Norma Jeane had dyed her brown hair lighter and began a modeling and film career. She landed a contract with 20-Century Fox and chose the stage name Marilyn Monroe.
I never wanted to be Marilyn–it just happened. Marilyn’s like a veil I wear over Norma Jeane. – Marilyn Monroe
It only took a few years for Marilyn to become a world-wide sensation. But she was typecast and sexualized in films as a the “girl next door” or the “dumb blonde.” She often felt limited. She was devoted to the craft and trained in acting, hoping to play different roles.
There’s No Business Like Show Business
Marilyn had a bad reputation on movie sets. She suffered anxiety, stage fright, and low self-esteem (among rumored other issues relating to her childhood traumas).
To cope with this, she took dangerous combinations of drugs and alcohol. As a result, she often showed up late, forgot her lines, and could take hours to film a simple one-line scene.
But in the 1950s, people weren’t understanding of her mental health issues, and the executives and men on set were cruel to Marilyn. She became co-dependent on her acting coach and friend Paula Strasberg, much to the dismay of her directors.
Many biographers question Strasberg’s influence, as she wanted Monroe to be a method actor; and though she encouraged Marilyn to go to psychoanalysis, she wanted her to use her traumas for acting.
I’ve spent most of my life running away from myself. – Marilyn Monroe
