Marilyn Monroe

Marilyn Monroe

What do you think when you hear the word movie star? You probably think of a beautiful, young, very talented actress. When I hear the word, I think of Marilyn Monroe. Monroe was a Hollywood glamour with the glow and energy that interested the world. Dominating the age of movie stars to come, without a question, she is the most famous woman of the 20th century. Born as Norma Jeane Mortenson, she had a tough childhood growing up in foster homes and orphanages. But, she overcame her rough younger years and grew into a beautiful entertainer. Marilyn Monroe is considered a legend because she was not only an amazing actress, but was known for her beauty.

Marilyn Monroe was known in her time as one of America’s first sex symbols. Marilyn changed the conformity of the 50’s by introducing the sexual revolution (Gleiberman 22). What he means is that Monroe was one of the first women in the 1950’s to express herself. One more example of her being a sex symbol was that Playboy named her “the playmate of the century”. She offered such beauty in her looks that she became the first and is still today said as the greatest icon for America’s sex cause. America’s sex cause was the period of time in the 1950’s where there was an evolution from the really uptight and strict to a society of free expression. Monroe somewhat added the boost to push people to being more open with their sexuality instead of covering their bodies and experiences. Many have compared her to Elvis Presley because her image, much like this, had a profound impact on society culturally (Goldberg 13).

Marilyn was associated with numerous men throughout her life. The reason for that was because she would have either cheated on them or she would get tired of them. Also contributing to this was the fact that she was sexually active at a very young age. A lot of men in Marilyn’s life were famous or held important positions in Hollywood. Some of the most famous people she was involved with included Joe DiMaggio, Charlie Chaplin, Arthur Miller, Walter Whitman, and her alleged affairs with the Kennedy brothers. Most of the men in Marilyn’s life were used just to help her in her career and to gain publicity. Marilyn had a lot of different partners in her life but she knew what she had to do to further her career. Because of this, it helped her become one of the most famous people of all time.

Even though her life was cut short, Monroe had a huge impact in Hollywood. She spent a lot of time in the public eye, especially her famous skirt blowing scene in the movie “The Seven Year Itch”. She stood on the street in Manhattan for hours to have the scene taken where she exposed her underwear (Marilyn 77). That famous scene is still remembered today; because there are Halloween costumes of the outfit she wore. She starred in 30 films altogether and left one unfinished. Her first movie roll was a bit part in 1947’s The Shocking Miss Pilgrim. She played small but influential roles until her performance in 1953’s Niagara, which delivered her to stardom. Another time where Marilyn was in the public eye was when she made her famous trip to cheer up the American troops that were stationed in South Korea in 1954.

Though Marilyn’s career seemed like a Cinderella story, it ended tragically at the age of 36.