four reasons the American actress is a timeless icon

What do we think of when we hear that famous name, Marilyn Monroe? To a flamboyant actress with blonde hair and crimson lips? To a famous perfume, a pop art painting, a sulphurous presidential birthday party? To a powerful and touching woman, surrounded by mysteries? We are certainly thinking about all of these at once. To On the occasion of the 60th anniversary of her death, on the night of August 4 to 5, 1962, Franceinfo Culture explains to you in four points why Marilyn Monroe is an icon, and why her celebrity has endured to this day.

An American story that continues to fascinate

Kid from Los Angeles lugged from foster families to foster families to icon of American cinema… the trajectory of Norma Jeane Morteson, her real name, could in itself metaphorize part of the golden age of Hollywood. In his career are reflected the omnipotence of the studios and the construction of the famous “star-system” based on glamor and rigorous control of the image of stars to promote films. In a few years (and after a few strokes of the scalpel), Norma Jeane, a young girl with curly brown hair and a chubby face, is transformed into Marilyn Monroe, an incendiary blonde whose sensuality is sweeping over American cinema.

Alongside his career on the big screen, his private life fascinates the crowds and the tabloid press. Married three times, notably to the writer Arthur Miller, she counts among her lovers (real or presumed) the actors Marlon Brando, Yves Montand (then married to Simone Signoret), or even the President of the United States John Fitzgerald Kennedy to whom she wishes a languorous happy birthday, on the verge of drunkenness, during a surprise ceremony in 1962. A “Happy birthday Mister President” become cult.

Finally, Monroe’s stainless celebrity lies in the paradox of a life both constantly exposed to the general public but also tinged with mystery. The multiple depressive episodes that she goes through during her life, her tragic desires for motherhood (she has multiplied miscarriages) and her reputedly unstable personality contribute to fleshing out her legend. The culmination of the controversy, the doubts hanging over his death, in 1962 at the age of 36. Qualified as “probable suicide” by the police, following the ingestion of large quantities of barbiturates, rumors of assassination emerged shortly afterwards. Sixty years later, the doubt is still there.

A style that spans the ages

When we think of Marilyn Monroe, it’s often the image of blonde hair bobbed, slicked back, and paired with bold lipstick that first comes to mind. A style still sported by many stars on the red carpets. Several glamorous dresses, worn in films or at events, have also marked the spirits and crossed the ages.

Very recently, on May 2, 2022, during the very popular American evening of the Met Gala, Kim Kardashian was thus dressed in the famous flesh-colored dress embroidered with diamonds that Marilyn wore on the evening of the famous surprise song addressed to John F. Kennedy. . A loan granted by a private museum which sparked controversy: Kim Kardashian would have “irreparably damaged” the dress, according to a fan collector of the Hollywood actress.

Finally, Marilyn Monroe helped popularize the famous Chanel N°5 perfume, from the eponymous fashion house. A recording found by the brand plays the famous interview given by the actress in 1960 where she confesses to wearing only “Chanel No. 5” to sleep. An image that has become iconic, used by the actress not to say literally that she slept naked.

An iconography that we always tear off

Marilyn Monroe passed in front of the lens of great photographers (Sam Shaw, Milton Greene…), thus establishing her stature as an icon. But the one who has contributed the most to the durability of his image is certainly Andy Warhol. The series of screen prints of Marilyn executed by the master of pop art in the 60s has remained famous until today. One of the paintings, “Shot Sage Blue Marilyn”, even became the most expensive work of art of the 20th century to have been sold at public auction. On May 9, 2022, in New York, it was purchased for the modest sum of $195 million.

An actress who has become a subject of cinema in her own right

Certain film scenes in which Marilyn Monroe plays have entered the collective imagination: the scene of the skirt rising on a subway entrance in Seven years of reflectionthe one where she whispers “poupoupidou” in Some like it hot… sequences passed on to posterity and widely used in advertising, thus helping to bring them through the ages. In 2016, the Snickers brand unveiled, for example, this incredible spot with comedian Willem Dafoe, making direct reference to the actress.

In addition to these sequences that have become cult, Marilyn Monroe has also become a subject of cinema in its own right. Fictions about his life or referring to his career have multiplied in recent years in France (Poupoupidou, released in 2011) or abroad (My week with Marilynalso released in 2011, The secret life of Marilyn Monroe, 2015…).

Documentaries about his death or the mysteries surrounding his existence have also sprouted like mushrooms. Latest, released on Netflix in April 2022, The Marilyn Monroe mystery, untold conversations reveals audio recordings of the actress and her entourage. Finally, the digital streaming platform is due out on September 23 Blonde haira highly anticipated biopic of the Hollywood icon played by actress Ana de Armas.