“I don’t mind living in a man’s world as long as I can be a woman in it.”
I thought this would be a perfect time to show how amazing Marilyn Monroe was since a lot of things about her aren’t true. I mean she did say herself:
“The true things rarely get into circulation. It’s usually the false things.”
1. She Was Hardworking and Dedicated to Her Craft
Marilyn had dreams, she wanted to be an actress and she would do anything she could to make that happen.
One of the big quotes that get associated with Marilyn proves this:
“I used to think as I looked out on the Hollywood night — there must be thousands of girls sitting alone like me, dreaming of becoming a movie star. But I’m not going to worry about them. I’m dreaming the hardest.”
At the beginning of her career she had 2 hour acting lessons, 1 hour each for dancing, singing and fencing and at the end of the day she would do horseback riding as well. She stated to Ben Lyon: “One day maybe opportunity will knock and I wanna be prepared.”
Years after her career started Marilyn wanted to get better roles and prove herself as an actress. she went to New York and studied at The Actors Studio for nearly fourteen months to enhance her craft. There she learned about “Method Acting” and would use it in her future films.
Marilyn was very serious about her acting and anything she took interest in, she always put her heart and soul into it.
“I want to be a fine actress, and I’d hate to settle for less. As a matter of fact, and for the record, I wont.” -Marilyn Modern Screen Magazine, 1951.
“I realize more and more the responsibility, and it is a responsibility, that I want to be a good actress.” -Marilyn, Radio interview with Dave Garroway
“My one desire is to do my best, the best that I can from the moment the camera starts until it stops.” -Marilyn to George Belmont, 1960.
“I’m tired of being known as the girl with the shape. I am going to show that I am capable of deeper acting.” -Marilyn to Maurice Zolotow, 1955.
2. She was incredibly intelligent
While she played a lot of dumb blonde roles, especially near the beginning of her career, Marilyn was the exact opposite.
She had a personal library of 400+ books and even her first charge account was at a bookstore.
In her book collection she had works of literature, art, biographies, poetry, politics, history, theology, philosophy, psychology, religion, gardening, cooking and even children’s books
Some of her books include:
“On the Road” “The Invisible Man” “The Great Gatsby” “Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland” “Ulysses” “The Sun Also Rises”
her favorite author was Fyodor Dostoevsky and she dreamed of playing Grushenka in “The Brothers Karamazov
Not only did Marilyn have great appreciation for books but she also had great appreciation for artists.
Goya, Picasso, El Greco, Michelangelo and Botticelli.
She also loved Abraham Lincoln and considered him one of her heroes. She read many biographies on him, and in 1954 she got a portrait of him.
“My father is Abraham Lincoln- I mean I think of Lincoln as my father. He was a wise and good man.”
“I know this man very well, we have the same dreams, I have had the same dreams since I was a child.” -Marilyn on Goya
“I don’t mind if people think I am a dumb blonde, but I dread the thought of being a dumb blonde” -Marilyn, Screenland, August 1952
“You know, it’s interesting. People associate that if you happen to have blonde hair naturally or not naturally or if you’re not out of shape in some way, you’re absolutely dumb. You’re considered dumb! I don’t know why that is. I think it’s a very limited view.” -Marilyn to Dave Garrowy for NBC Monitor’s first broadcast. June 12th 1955
“I was born under the sign of Gemini. That stands for intellect. Everyone else I’ve told that to laughed.” -Marilyn LIFE Magazine interview, 1952.
3. She Devoted Herself to Charity.
Marilyn regularly visited orphanages and children’s hospitals. The most famous one would be performing for soldiers in Korea.
But she also performed at a lot more, including:
St. Jude’s Hospital
The March of Dimes
The Arthritis and Rheumatism Foundation.
She donated her earnings from the world premier of “The Prince and The Showgirl” to The Milk Fund for Babies in 1957.
While in Mexico she famously wrote a check for $1,000 but immediately tore it up and wrote a new one for $10,000.
Even her last public appearance on June 1st 1962 was for a benefit for muscular dystrophy, despite being ill Marilyn insisted on showing up.
Even after Marilyn passed away 25% of her estate went to “The Furtherance of the work of such psychiatric institutions or group”
Dr. Marianne Kris elected it to be donated to The Anna Freud Children’s Clinic because of Marilyn’s love for children.
4. She Was All for Equality
Marilyn was in a time when people were very racist and very homophobic, but Marilyn was neither of those things and spoke out about them many times.
Her co-star on the set of “The Misfits” Montgomery Clift was homosexual and someone she was very close to.
“People who aren’t fit to open the door for him sneer at his homosexuality. What do they know about it? Labels. People love putting labels on each other. Then they feel safe. People tried making me into a lesbian. I laughed. No sex is wrong if there’s love in it.”
Marilyn was seen with William Travilla and an unknown black male at an almost exclusively black club in Los Angeles something that just wasn’t done back then. Marilyn’s studio was outraged and the photo wasn’t allowed to be seen for decades.
And Marilyn was known for playing with black children more because she knew they got less love than the others.
“What I really want to say is that what the world really needs is a feeling of kinship. Everybody. Stars, workers, laborers, Negroes, Jews, Arabs. We are all brothers.”
“I don’t understand why people aren’t a little more generous with each other.”
5. She Loved Animals
Marilyn had a number of animals during her life.
Her first husband James Dougherty recalled he came home to find his young bride trying to lead a cow into their kitchen because she felt sorry for it being out in the rain. She would scoop up fish on the beach and throw them back into the ocean and when she came across a group of young boys trapping pigeons to sell to a butcher, she made sure to meet them the same time every week and give them money so they would set them free and she always worried for her basset hound Hugo because he had low slung male parts and she feared he would injure himself.
She let her last dog Maf sleep on the expensive beaver coat she had gotten as a present.
“I like animals. If you talk to a dog or a cat it doesn’t tell you to shut up.”
“Dogs never bite me. Just humans.”
6. She was Tremendously Close with Her Fans
Not only did she make sure to always take pictures and sign autographs, she invited some of her most passionate fans to spend time with her directly. They would share cab rides together, be invited to her apartment, accompany her to her costume tests. She even once invited some of her fans to have a picnic with her. She loved to get to know them and spend time with them.
One fan of hers was an ill girl named Barbara Heinz. She was dying of bone cancer and only had months to live. She sent a letter to Marilyn asking for an autographed photo of her and her pet Maf. Marilyn arranged the session to be held at The Beverly Hills Hotel and she was on time for it.
Marilyn’s letter to the young girl was signed and sent two weeks later with
“From Marilyn Monroe to Barbara Heinz. With love.”
“If I’m a star, the people made me a star. No studio, no person. But the people did.”
“This makeup is for my fans, those people waiting inside the movie houses, or outside on the street waiting in the crowd at an opening. They are the people the studios won’t let close to the theatre unless they pay to get in. When I arrive there I’ll turn to wave to them and they’ll see me and won’t be disappointed. My fans want me to be glamorous I can’t let them down.”
She may have been the world’s biggest movie star but Marilyn preferred staying home with her friends than going to a big premier or party. She enjoyed cooking, gardening and remodeling her home in her free time. She collected recipes and would even exchange with the editor of Ladies Home Journal.
Those in her close circle say she never spoke badly about anyone, was always the first to volunteer to do the dishes. If you complimented something she was wearing or something she owned, chances are it would be on your doorstep the next day. And whenever she went out she would almost always come home with an empty pocket, cause she would give her money to people on the streets.
“In all the time I’ve known her, I’ve never heard her make a catty remark. She never criticizes other actresses, and Hollywood is the capital for criticism.” ~Sidney Skolsky
“She was not the usual movie idol. There was something democratic about her. She was the type who would join in and wash up the supper dishes even if you didn’t ask her.” ~Carl Sandburg
8. She was the First Celebrity to Speak Openly About Sexual Abuse
During the 1950s speaking openly about such a thing was not heard of. Marilyn told one of her first Fox studio biographers in 1950 (who decided not to print it at that time)
In that time sexual abuse was looked down upon when it came to the victim, rather than the other way around.
So, Marilyn’s bravery is definitely something to admire, especially since it opened doors and many people are more cautious and more open about the topic.
9. She was One of the First Women to Start Her Own Production Company
She was tired of playing the same roles and getting paid less by a significant amount, so Marilyn rebelled against the studios.
She walked out of her contract after she received yet another script with a degrading role.
Her and Milton Greene together created Marilyn Monroe Productions Marilyn got 51% of the company and was president, while Milton got 49% and was vice president.
10. She was Extremely Unmaterialistic
She may be viewed as one of the most fabulous women to have ever lived, the original “diva” and is known as one of the biggest fashion icons ever, but Marilyn preferred to be more casual.
She only owned exactly two pieces of jewelry, her wedding ring from her marriage to Joe DiMaggio, and some earring Frank Sinatra gifted her, everything else was costume jewelry or borrowed from the studio, including a lot of her outfits.
So really… Are Diamonds a Girl’s Best Friend?
“I’ve never made much money, considering what I have had to spend. I don’t even own a diamond the size of a pinhead.” -Marilyn Modern Screen, 1956
Marilyn said that during her first marriage she preferred to be playing in the street with the neighborhood kids, than keeping house.
Later on in her life she would spend extra time with the children of her friends such as Norman Rosten’s daughter, Sam Shaw’s daughters, Milton Greene’s son and The Strasberg’s daughter Susan.
She especially devoted herself to her stepchildren from her marriages to both Joe DiMaggio and Arthur Miller and made sure to keep in contact with them, even after getting a divorce from their fathers.
“To understand Marilyn best, you have to see her around children. They love her; her whole approach to life has their kind of simplicity and directness.” ~Arthur Miller
“The thing I want more than anything else? I want a baby! I want to have children! I used to feel that for every child I had, I would adopt another.” -Marilyn to George Barris, 1962
“I think it’s terribly important for parents to give a child a good emotional education. A child needs more than food and shelter. He needs love and security.” -Marilyn to Family Weekly, December 1960.
“I collect my stepchildren’s letters. My stepson is 11, my stepdaughter is 14, and they are both adorable. She really is a Madonna. Just look at that picture of them! -Marilyn on Arthur Miller’s children, Cosmopolitan Magazine, March 1959
12. She Always Made Sure to be Herself
Being in the public eye losing yourself can be a common thing, but Marilyn made sure not to be like that, and wanted the people who watched her to do the same.
Marilyn had a problem with being late and was very sensitive and she was aware of both and never degraded herself because of it.
She wasn’t afraid to let people know when she was nervous or afraid, she always told people she strived to become better.
“After all, if I can’t be myself, who can I be then I would like to know?” -Marilyn, 1956
“I want to grow old without facelifts. They take the character out of the face, the character. I want to have the courage to be loyal to the face I’ve made.”
“When a girl puts on an act, pretends to be something she thinks will impress the boy, she ends up with a feeling on insecurity. Be who you really are!” -Marilyn to The Los Angeles Times, 1952
“I will be as sensitive as I am without being ashamed of it”
13. She revolutionized sex
In a time where sex was seen as revolting and was shunned upon, Marilyn brought light to it, and saw it as something beautiful.
“(On sex) It’s a part of nature. I go along with nature.” -Marilyn to Pete Martin, 1956
“We are all born sexual creatures, thank God! It’s a pity many people despise and crush this natural gift.” -Marilyn to Richard Meryman, 1962
“No director ever said ‘Now Marilyn be sexy’ sex isn’t a thing apart, it’s all of you. Sometimes, after a scene, somebody will say ‘Great! Very sexy Marilyn!” but I have just done something natural.” -Marilyn LOOK interview, 1957
“If you are born with what the world calls sex appeal, you can either let it wreck you or use it to your advantage in this tough show business struggle and it isn’t always easy to pick the right route.” -Marilyn, Silver Screen, April 1954
“If I’m going to be a symbol of something I’d rather have it sex than some other things they’ve got symbols of!”
14. She Valued Herself as a Woman.
It seems everyday someone accuses Marilyn of sleeping with them, in reality Marilyn was not one to sleep around. In a day where most starlets used the casting couch, Marilyn refused to, even if she knew it would help her quicker. She worked hard every single day of her career, and never let a man or who she sometimes referred to as “wolves” use her, or her body.
“Of course there are other ways a girl could survive until another studio came along. A starlet could take on a lover, usually a well-heeled married man who could pay her bills, or she could become the mistress to an old man and through his connections help advance her career. Believe me, there are and still are many starstruck girls that do get by that way. But for myself, respect is one of life’s greatest treasures. I mean, what does it all add up to if you don’t have that? If there is one thing in my life that I am proud of, is I’ve never been kept a woman. And believe me it wasn’t because there weren’t opportunities to become one. I think I had as many problems as the next starlet keeping the Hollywood wolves from my door. These wolves could just not understand me, they would tell me ‘But Marilyn, you’re not playing the game the way you should be. Be smart. You’ll never get anywhere in this business acting the way you do.’ my answer to them would be ‘the only acting I do is for the motion picture camera.’ I was determined. No one was going to use me or my body even if he could help my career. I’ve never gone out with a man I didn’t want to. No one, not even the studio could force me to date someone. The one thing I hate more than anything else is being used. I’ve always worked hard for the sake of one day becoming a talented actress. I knew I would make it one day if I only kept at it and worked hard without lowering my principles and pride in myself.” -Marilyn to George Barris
15. She Survived
After having an unstable childhood, dealing with abandonment her whole life, suffering multiple miscarriages, dealing with anxiety and depression, and so much more Marilyn became the most famous woman in the world.
Her beauty, her acting and her intelligence will live on forever.
Often very misunderstood and mislabeled Marilyn is the exact opposite of who the public claims.
She was strong, passionate, determined and everything in between.
“The luckiest thing that ever happened to me was being born a woman.”
xoxo ~Andis
Marilyn Monroe 