Marilyn Monroe: Seven Things You Didn’t Know
The legacy of the iconic bombshell Marilyn Monroe has definitely lived on. Monroe still inspires and intrigues today, being used as the inspiration of a fictional new musical in the cult TV show Smash, as well as being invoked in Scarlet Johansson’s new Dolce & Gabbana campaign and the newest Marilyn-centered biopic, the upcoming Blonde, which will star Jessica Chastain.
The legendary Monroe is maybe considered so sexy because of all the mystery she left behind — no one will ever truly understand the woman beneath the platinum — but here are a few things we do know about Marilyn that may surprise you.
Marilyn had to ask how to spell her name.
It’s common knowledge now that Marilyn Monroe was Norma Jean Mortenson Dougherty’s screen name, but reportedly, the first time she signed an autograph, Marilyn didn’t know where the ‘i’ went! Marilyn almost went by Jean Norman and Carole Lind.
Monroe did not appear onscreen in her first film role.
Though Marilyn’s iconic image lives on eternally in her 29 completed films, she was not seen onscreen in her first film, a musical comedy entitled The Shocking Miss Pilgrim. Her voice was featured as a telephone operator, and according to TV Guide, her scene was cut from the final film. The first film in which Marilyn had a real role was Dangerous Years, in which she played a waitress.
Rumors of Monroe’s chin implant have been confirmed…
… in a kind of creepy way. Mail Online reports that Monroe’s X-rays, which proved speculation about her cosmetic surgeries true, were discovered and auctioned off in 2013. If that’s not unsettling, I don’t know what is.
Marilyn has a huge presence on social media.
Among the hundreds of amateur-edited pictures of Monroe with quotes teenagers attribute to her that circle the web daily, Monroe’s official Facebook page boasts over 12 million likes, and her estate’s official Twitter — no, this isn’t one of those “parody accounts” — is followed by over 200K twitter users.
Monroe had a wild phobia of facial blemishes.
In fact, there is speculation that Marilyn washed her face up to fifteen times daily.
Marilyn nearly starred in Breakfast at Tiffany’s.
The image of Audrey Hepburn clad in diamonds with a long cigarette and a pastry in her hands is just as engrained in pop culture as Marilyn Monroe holding down her white dress in The Seven-Year Itch, but that image almost didn’t exist — Marilyn supposedly was author Capote’s original choice for Holly Golightly. Monroe was also a candidate for other iconic roles such as Cleopatra and Miss Adelaide (Guys and Dolls).
The Happy Birthday dress? Yeah, it really is that tight.
Marilyn apparently was literally sewn into the tight dress, under which she wore nothing. This dress, which she wore at her last public appearance, was sold in a 1999 auction for over $126 million.
Do any of these facts about Marilyn Monroe surprise you? Let us know in the comments.
[Image via Harpers Bazaar]
