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Marilyn Monroe

Marilyn Monroe

Actor · 1926 – 1962 · Los Angeles, California, USA

Marilyn Monroe (born Norma Jeane Mortenson; June 1, 1926 – August 4, 1962) was an American actress. Famous for playing comedic "blonde bombshell" characters, she became one of the most popular sex symbols of the 1950s and early 1960s, as well as an emblem of the era's sexual revolution. She was a top-billed actress for a decade, and her films grossed $200 million (equivalent to $2 billion in 2021) by the time of her death in 1962. Long after her death, Monroe remains a major icon of pop culture. In 1999, the American Film Institute ranked her sixth on their list of the greatest female screen legends from the Golden Age of Hollywood. Multiple film critics and media outlets have cited Monroe as one of the best actors never to have received an Academy Award nomination. Born and raised in Los Angeles, Monroe spent most of her childhood in a total of 12 foster homes and an orphanage; she married at age sixteen. She was working in a factory during World War II when she met a photographer from the First Motion Picture Unit and began a successful pin-up modeling career, which led to short-lived film contracts with 20th Century Fox and Columbia Pictures. After a series of minor film roles, she signed a new contract with Fox in late 1950. Over the next two years, she became a popular actress with roles in several comedies, including As Young as You Feel and Monkey Business, and in the dramas Clash by Night and Don't Bother to Knock. She faced a scandal when it was revealed that she had posed for nude photographs prior to becoming a star, but the story did not damage her career and instead resulted in increased interest in her films. By 1953, Monroe was one of the most marketable Hollywood stars; she had leading roles in the film noir Niagara, which overtly relied on her sex appeal, and the comedies Gentlemen Prefer Blondes and How to Marry a Millionaire, which established her star image as a "dumb blonde". The same year, her nude images were used as the centerfold and on the cover of the first issue of Playboy. She played a significant role in the creation and management of her public image throughout her career, but she was disappointed when she was typecast and underpaid by the studio. She was briefly suspended in early 1954 for refusing a film project but returned to star in The Seven Year Itch (1955), one of the biggest box office successes of her career. When the studio was still reluctant to change Monroe's contract, she founded her own film production company in 1954. She dedicated 1955 to building the company and began studying method acting under Lee Strasberg at the Actors Studio. Later that year, Fox awarded her a new contract, which gave her more control and a larger salary. Her subsequent roles included a critically acclaimed performance in Bus Stop (1956) and her first independent production in The Prince and the Showgirl (1957). She won a Golden Globe for Best Actress for her role in Some Like It Hot (1959), a critical and commercial success. Her last completed film was the drama The Misfits (1961).

Movies23

  • Movie8.1

    Some Like It Hot

    1959 · 4K votes

  • Movie8.1

    All About Eve

    1950 · 1.8K votes

  • Movie7.0

    The Seven Year Itch

    1955 · 1K votes

  • Movie7.3

    Gentlemen Prefer Blondes

    1953 · 1.1K votes

  • Movie6.8
  • Movie6.7

    River of No Return

    1954 · 494 votes

  • Movie7.0

    The Misfits

    1961 · 449 votes

  • Movie6.8

    Niagara

    1953 · 458 votes

  • Movie6.4

    Let's Make Love

    1960 · 187 votes

  • Movie7.5

    Final Cut: Hölgyeim és uraim

    Final Cut: Ladies and Gentlemen

    2012 · 91 votes

  • Movie6.7

    Monkey Business

    1952 · 303 votes

  • Movie7.5

    The Asphalt Jungle

    1950 · 547 votes

  • Movie6.8

    Death In Hollywood

    1990 · 5 votes

  • Movie6.6

    Don't Bother to Knock

    1952 · 172 votes

  • Movie6.0

    Hollywood Invasion

    2011 · 1 votes

  • Movie6.1

    Bus Stop

    1956 · 254 votes

  • Movie6.4
  • Movie6.5

    Love, Marilyn

    2013 · 73 votes

  • Movie8.3

    Bardot

    2025 · 8 votes

  • Movie5.9

    We're Not Married!

    1952 · 28 votes

  • Movie6.9

    O. Henry's Full House

    1952 · 48 votes

  • Movie6.1
  • Movie7.4

Series13

  • TV7.0

    Golden Globe Awards

    1944 · 20 votes

  • TV5.5

    Mentiras verdaderas

    2011 · 2 votes

  • TV4.5

    Intimate Portrait

    1993 · 5 votes

  • TV9.5

    Spécial cinéma

    1974 · 2 votes

  • TV7.0

    The Bob Hope Show

    1950 · 5 votes

  • TV7.8

    The Jack Benny Program

    1950 · 17 votes

  • TV6.8

    ABC Stage 67

    1966 · 6 votes

  • TV7.5
  • TV5.3

    First Ladies

    2020 · 3 votes

  • TV8.1
  • TV7.0

    Le Siècle des icônes

    The Century of Icons

    2022 · 3 votes

  • TV
  • TV