Marilyn Monroe still casts a long shadow across Hollywood. The highs and lows of her life and work are a constant source of comparison for fast-rising female stars. Especially if they happen to be young, talented and blonde.
Monroe’s indelible image defines what it means for an actor to achieve a transcendent level of celebrity status that never dims. Contemporary fans may never have seen any of her movies in full, but Monroe’s name and likeness are nonetheless imbued with meaning, from sex appeal to a tragic early death to her rags-to-riches origin story. The legend of how Norma Jeane Baker triumphed over a childhood in orphanages and foster care to become a Hollywood icon is deeply embedded into the American story.
Nearly 65 years after her death at age 36, every stage of Marilyn Monroe’s short life has been the source of endless fascination, as detailed in books, novels, movies, plays (her third husband, Arthur Miller, wrote two, 1964’s “After the Fall” and 2004’s “Finishing the Picture”), documentaries, TV series, artworks of all kinds and more. All of this has kept Monroe front and center as a pop culture touchstone.
The myth-making around Monroe started before her death. Kim Stanley played a thinly veiled version of Marilyn in Paddy Chayefsky’s 1958 film “The Goddess.” Barbara Loden won a Tony in 1964 for her portraying a thinly veiled version of Monroe in the original Broadway production of “After the Fall.” Most recently, up-and-comer Ana de Armas delivered a raw portrait in 2022’s “Blonde,” from writer-director Andrew Dominik, based on Joyce Carol Oates’ biographical novel from 2000.
