60 Fun Facts About Marilyn Monroe

What was Marilyn Monroe's birth name?

She legally changed her name to Marilyn Monroe only in February 1956, a decade after adopting it.

In which city was Marilyn Monroe born?

She was born at Los Angeles General Hospital in Boyle Heights on June 1, 1926, and died in the same city 36 years later.

Where did the 'Monroe' in her screen alias come from?

Fox executive Ben Lyon picked 'Marilyn' because she reminded him of the Broadway star Marilyn Miller.

How old was Monroe when she married her first husband, James Dougherty?

The wedding was arranged so she would not have to go back to the orphanage when her guardians moved to West Virginia.

Monroe was discovered while working in a factory making what during World War II?

Photographer David Conover was sent to the Radioplane plant in Van Nuys to shoot morale-boosting pictures of women workers.

What was Monroe's natural hair colour before she went platinum blonde?

The Blue Book Model Agency decided her figure suited pin-ups rather than high fashion, and the makeover followed.

Under which pseudonym were the 1949 nude calendar photographs taken?

She had earlier modelled as Jean Norman; the calendar shots resurfaced in 1952 and, handled cleverly, only boosted her career.

When asked what she had on during the 1949 nude photo shoot, what did Monroe famously reply?

Such double entendres, delivered in a breathy voice, came to be known as 'Monroeisms'.

Monroe's 1949 nude photograph became the centrefold of the first issue of which magazine in 1953?

Hugh Hefner used a Miss America parade photo for the cover; Monroe never consented to either.

Which two acclaimed 1950 films gave Monroe small but noticed early roles?

Bette Davis, the star of All About Eve, said afterwards: 'Definitely, no question, I knew she was going to make it.'

Which agency executive and lover negotiated Monroe's seven-year Fox contract, dying days later?

He died of a heart attack in December 1950, leaving her devastated.

In which 1953 Technicolor noir did Monroe play a femme fatale plotting to murder Joseph Cotten?

Its most famous shot is a 30-second walk away from the camera, hips swaying, that the studio used heavily in the marketing.

Who co-starred with Monroe as the other gold-digging showgirl in Gentlemen Prefer Blondes?

The two pressed their hand and footprints into wet concrete outside Grauman's Chinese Theatre to promote the film.

Which song from Gentlemen Prefer Blondes did critics single out as Monroe's showpiece?

Variety wrote that she showed the 'ability to sex a song'; the role had originally been intended for Betty Grable.

How to Marry a Millionaire teamed Monroe with Betty Grable and which other star?

It was only the second film ever released in CinemaScope, Fox's widescreen weapon against television.

Fox suspended Monroe in January 1954 for refusing to shoot which musical?

As the price of dropping it, she had to make There's No Business Like Show Business, which she strongly disliked.

Which retired New York Yankees star did Monroe marry at San Francisco City Hall in January 1954?

The marriage lasted nine months; he later arranged her funeral and barred most of Hollywood from it.

From her 1954 Japan honeymoon, Monroe flew to which country to sing for 60,000 US Marines?

The USO shows ran over four days; she was later named Photoplay's 'Most Popular Female Star'.

The famous subway grate scene, with Monroe's white dress blowing up, was staged for which film?

Filmed on Lexington Avenue before nearly 2,000 spectators, the stunt made front pages worldwide and finished off her marriage to DiMaggio.

On which Manhattan avenue was the subway grate scene shot?

The shoot lasted several hours; the scene was then re-shot on a Hollywood soundstage for the finished film.

With which photographer did Monroe found Marilyn Monroe Productions in 1954?

The move has been called 'instrumental' in the collapse of the studio system; she later bought out his share.

Under whom did Monroe study method acting at the Actors Studio in 1955?

His wife Paula replaced Natasha Lytess as her on-set coach, and the Strasbergs became like family to her.

Which Broadway play parodied Monroe's production company, with Jayne Mansfield as a dumb actress starting a studio?

Fox later cultivated Mansfield and Sheree North as Monroe lookalikes; other studios pushed Mamie Van Doren, Kim Novak and Diana Dors.

Which playwright did Monroe marry in June 1956?

Variety's headline read 'Egghead Weds Hourglass'; the FBI opened a file on her because Miller was under investigation.

Which country banned all of Monroe's films after she converted to Judaism on marrying Miller?

The press treated the marriage as a mismatch between a sex symbol and an intellectual.

For Bus Stop (1956), Monroe learned which regional accent to play a saloon singer?

She also chose deliberately unglamorous costumes and sang badly on purpose; Bosley Crowther wrote 'Marilyn Monroe has finally proved herself an actress.'

Who directed, co-produced and co-starred with Monroe in The Prince and the Showgirl (1957)?

He infuriated her by saying 'All you have to do is be sexy'; she retaliated by turning up late.

Which Italian award did Monroe win for The Prince and the Showgirl?

The film flopped in America but did better in Europe, also earning her a BAFTA nomination and France's Crystal Star.

What was the name of Monroe's character in Some Like It Hot?

She thought it was another dumb blonde but took it for 10% of the profits and Miller's encouragement.

Which Some Like It Hot co-star said that kissing Monroe was 'like kissing Hitler' after endless retakes?

Director Billy Wilder still concluded that 'it takes a real artist to come on the set and not know her lines and yet give the performance she did'.

Who directed Some Like It Hot, the film that won Monroe her only Golden Globe for acting?

Wilder also had a reputation for being difficult, and the two clashed constantly over how she should play the role.

With which French co-star did Monroe have a widely reported affair during Let's Make Love (1960)?

Hedda Hopper called it 'the most vulgar picture she's ever done'; Monroe had taken the part only because she was behind on her Fox contract.

Truman Capote wanted Monroe as Holly Golightly in Breakfast at Tiffany's. Who got the role?

The producers feared Monroe would complicate the production.

Who wrote The Misfits (1961), Monroe's last completed film, specifically to give her a dramatic role?

He kept rewriting scenes the night before shooting, and began an affair with set photographer Inge Morath during the production.

Which three actors played the ageing cowboys opposite Monroe in The Misfits?

Filming in the Nevada desert was halted in August 1960 for Monroe to spend a week in hospital detox.

In 1961, Monroe was mistakenly locked in a padded cell for three days at which New York clinic?

Ex-husband Joe DiMaggio helped get her transferred to Columbia University Medical Center, rekindling their friendship.

Which singer did Monroe help by promising to sit in the Mocambo's front row every night?

Monroe was a fan and civil rights mattered to her; she once quizzed Robert Kennedy about his department's plans at a dinner.

At which venue did Monroe sing 'Happy Birthday, Mr. President' to John F. Kennedy in May 1962?

Her beige rhinestone dress made her look nude under the lights; she had bought a $1,000 ticket to the Democratic fundraiser to be there.

Fox fired Monroe in June 1962 from which unfinished film?

Co-star Dean Martin refused to make it with anyone else, so the studio sued him too and shut the film down.

Which actress was hired to replace Monroe on her final, unfinished film before the production collapsed?

Fox was already bleeding money on Cleopatra and could not afford another film running late.

What is the title of Bert Stern's posthumously published Vogue photographs of Monroe?

The two series were shot over three days in the summer of 1962.

How old was Monroe when she died on August 4, 1962?

The Los Angeles coroner ruled her barbiturate overdose a probable suicide.

In which neighbourhood of her home city was the house at 12305 Fifth Helena Drive, where Monroe died?

The city council designated the house a Historic Cultural Monument in 2024.

Which deputy coroner classified Monroe's death as a probable suicide?

The dosages found in her body were several times the lethal limit, ruling out an accidental overdose.

Which of Monroe's ex-husbands arranged her funeral and was the only one to attend?

He barred most of Hollywood, believing the industry bore responsibility for her death.

Whose 1973 biography first brought the theory that Monroe was murdered into the mainstream?

A 1982 'threshold investigation' by the LA district attorney found no evidence of foul play.

Which 1930s blonde star did Monroe name as her childhood idol and hope to play in a biopic?

She even hired Harlow's hair stylist to colour her hair.

Monroe's distinctive hip-swinging gait earned her which nickname?

Stars and Stripes did separately crown her 'Miss Cheesecake of 1951' on behalf of soldiers in Korea.

Where does the AFI rank Monroe among the Golden Age's greatest female screen legends?

The Smithsonian also lists her among the 100 Most Significant Americans of All Time.

A 2022 DNA comparison confirmed Monroe's biological father was which man, her mother's superior at RKO?

Her birth certificate named Mortensen, misspelled Mortenson, but the couple had separated long before the pregnancy.

For which year did Time retroactively name Monroe woman of the year in its 2019 series?

That was the year of the DiMaggio wedding, the Korea shows and the subway grate.

Some Like It Hot was based on the plot of a 1935 French film with what title?

The original script was untraceable, so Walter Mirisch bought rights to the 1951 German remake Fanfaren der Liebe for Wilder and I. A. L. Diamond to rework.

Which actress did Wilder and Diamond originally have in mind for Sugar in Some Like It Hot?

They never expected a star as big as Monroe to want the part; she was paid 10% of the gross above $4 million.

Which California resort stood in for the Florida beach setting in Some Like It Hot?

Production ran from August to November 1958 at Samuel Goldwyn Studios and on location in Coronado.

Which Academy Award did Some Like It Hot win from its six nominations?

Orry-Kelly's gowns took the prize; in 1989 the Library of Congress picked it for the first 25 films in the National Film Registry.

How was the closing line 'Well, nobody's perfect' originally meant in the script?

Wilder and Diamond never found anything better; Wilder's tombstone reads 'I'm a writer, but then, nobody's perfect'.

How much was Monroe paid in total for Gentlemen Prefer Blondes, according to her last interview?

She was on her usual $500 a week, while the better-known Jane Russell earned $200,000.

Which future West Side Story Oscar winner appears uncredited in 'Diamonds Are a Girl's Best Friend'?

He is one of the wealthy men pursuing Monroe; Jane Russell insisted Jack Cole, not Howard Hawks, staged all the musical numbers.

Who co-starred with Monroe in The Seven Year Itch, reprising his Broadway role as Richard Sherman?

The play was by George Axelrod, who disliked how the Hays Code forced the film to reduce the affair to a kiss and suggestion.

Whose Second Piano Concerto soundtracks Sherman's seduction fantasy in The Seven Year Itch?

The Girl arrives in pink pajamas and turns out to be more interested in potato chips and champagne than high romance.