Marilyn Monroe - Success and Influence
Marilyn Monroe (1926-1962)
American movie star, born Norma Jeane Mortenson (pictured right).
Famously sang happy birthday to the American president, John F.
Kennedy.
She married and divorced:
- Joe DiMaggio (baseball player)
Her death has caused much speculation: suicide (much the most likely) or murder?
Why was she successful and influential?
1. Charisma and image
She wasn’t naturally beautiful, but, with the help of a lot of make-up and determination, she transformed
herself from ordinary Norma Jeane (pictured right in 1945) into gorgeous Marilyn.
“I can make my face do anything”, she said.
2. Fallibility
She had many weaknesses:
- unpunctuality and impatience.
Tony Curtis, her co-star in her most famous movie, Some Like It
Hot (1959), pictured right, said kissing her was “like kissing Hitler”.
But these fallibilities made her seem more human and gave her a vulnerability that
endeared her to millions.
She wanted love, but success made many people envy and
hate her.
“She lived her life like a candle in the wind, never knowing who to cling to, when the rain set in”, as
Elton John (pictured right) sang about
her.
3. Ability and self-respect
Her dumb blonde image, made her a much underestimated actress, but Billy Wilder the
greatly respected director of Someone Like It Hot (pictured together right filming it), called her:
“an absolute genius as a comic actress”.
Such praise was vital to her self-respect that was much more important to her than
fame and money.
She realized that you’re only as good as cinema goers say you are.
“Only the public can make you a star”, she said.
4. Willpower and determination
She intensely wanted to succeed and learn as an actress.
She had to overcome many difficulties:
- a vicious father and a schizophrenic mother
- insecurity and depression.
5. Ambition, learning and positive thinking
Monroe (pictured right below in the film Gentlemen Prefer Blondes) :
a) wanted to be a great movie star
She didn’t want to let fear and disappointment destroy her
dream.
“Fear is stupid. So are regrets”, she said.
b) knew she could act and wouldn’t let anyone convince her otherwise
She didn’t let her mistakes get her down but learned from them to become a better actress.
c) wanted to be somebody, not a sex object.
“It’s nice to be included in people’s fantasies, but you also like to be accepted for your own sake”, she said
in her last interview.
6. Wit
Her self-deprecating humour was very appealing.
When photographed by Playboy magazine and asked what she had on, she said the radio!
When asked what she wore in bed, her reply was the perfume, Chanel No.5!
7. Intelligence
Her dumb blonde image disguised her brains.
She read classics by:
- Fyodor Dostoevsky, the Russian writer (pictured right above).
- James Joyce, the Irish writer (pictured right) - his book, Ulysses.
- Thomas Paine ,the
English philosopher(pictured right below).
8. Integrity
Monroe (pictured right in 1962) knew that being true to herself and her acting
potential were much more important to her than the fickleness of fame.
Solitude was particularly important to her to:
Key quotes on
success
It’s nice to be included in people’s fantasies, but you also like to be accepted for your own sake.
All I want is to be loved, for myself and for my talent.
Key quote on women and
beauty
I can make my face do anything.
Key quote on fear and
anxiety
Fear is stupid. So are regrets
Key quote on
careers
A career is wonderful, but you can’t curl up to it on a cold night.
Key quotes on
motivation
The actress is not a machine, but they treat you like a machine. A money machine.
Hollywood’s a place where they’ll pay you a thousand dollars for a kiss and fifty cents for your soul.
Key quotes on
relationships
A wise girl kisses but doesn’t love, listens but doesn’t believe and leaves before she is left.
The real lover is the man who can thrill you just by touching your head or smiling into your eyes or by just
staring into space.
If you can make a woman laugh, you can make her do anything.
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