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Marilyn Monroe is likely one of the most beloved, iconic, and mythologized stars of the twenty first century. From getting her begin in All About Eve to stealing the present in Gentleman Prefer Blondes to having a somber, but mystifying swan music in The Misfits, Marilyn lives on in our collective consciousness with indelible sparkle.
Due to our cultural obsession with the star, quite a few TV reveals, films, made-for-tv films, and extra have been created in her honor. Right here we breakdown among the numerous actresses who’ve portrayed the icon, from Susan Griffiths to Michelle Williams to now Ana de Armas, and extra.
Tracey Gold, Catherine Hicks
Tracey Gold was recognized for her function on the favored Nineteen Eighties sitcom Rising Pains, however earlier than she made her mark there, she performed a younger Norma Jean within the TV film Marilyn: The Untold Story. She was accompanied by actress Catherine Hicks who performed the grown up Marilyn for the 1980 biopic.
Madonna
Marilyn’s completely iconic “Diamonds Are a Girl’s Best Friend” quantity within the 1953 musical movie Gents Favor Blondes was completely impersonated by Madonna‘s 1984 music video for “Material Girl.” The video took all its cues from the unique routine, with Madonna decked out in the identical pink robe and matching pink gloves, working by way of a equally choreographed dance with males in tailor-made fits tending to the queen of pop. Though Madonna was solely giving an homage to the well-known actress, she did an epic job whereas doing so!
Paula Lane
Paula Lane starred within the 1989 flick Goodnight, Candy Marilyn, which was a follow-up movie to 1976’s Goodnight, Norma Jean. The film was directed by Larry Buchanan and in addition starred Misty Rowe, who portrayed before-she-was-famous Norma Jean within the 1976 film.
Susan Griffiths
Actress Susan Griffiths starred within the 1991 TV film Marilyn & Me, however her portrayal of the well-known icon went far past that one undertaking. Per the Daily Mail, Susan revamped $4 million from the quite a few events the place she impersonated Marilyn, additionally performing in Quantum Leap (1994), Timecop (1994), Pulp Fiction (1997), Darkish Skies (1997), and extra.
“Individuals at all times informed me I appeared like Marilyn,” Susan informed the Los Angeles Instances in an early ’90s interview. “At first it took a whole lot of apply to get Marilyn’s mannerisms proper, particularly her breathy voice, which was the toughest. I spent hours poring over her films and practising. Now the whole lot is simply second nature.” Along with movies, the actress has additionally appeared as Marilyn in a number of advertisements, on journal covers, and extra.
Mira Sorvino, Ashley Judd
Princess of the ’90s Mira Sorvino portrayed Marilyn in Norma Jean & Marilyn (1996), a made-for-TV biographical movie. Primarily based on the 1989 guide Norma Jean: My Secret Life With Marilyn Monroe, Mira was additionally joined by actress Ashley Judd who performed Marilyn’s youthful self, Norma Jean. The TV film was nominated for 5 Emmys, together with two for each lead actresses.
Barbara Niven
Barbara Niven performed the display screen goddess in 1998’s Rat Pack, an HBO made-for-tv film. Barbara portrayed Marilyn throughout the “Rat Pack” scene of the ’50s and ’60s, joined by Ray Liotta as Frank Sinatra, Joe Mantegna as Dean Martin, Don Cheadle as Sammy David Jr., and Angus Macfayden as Peter Lawford. Sinatra introduces Marilyn to John F. Kennedy within the film — a mystified and storied match in historical past — and the story reveals the actress seeing the politician behind the again of her then-husband, baseball star Joe DiMaggio.
Uma Thurman, Katharine McPhee, Megan Hilty
Three actresses, Uma Thurman, Katharine McPhee, and Megan Hilty, every took their flip because the legendary star in 2012’s TV collection Smash. The present, which lasted for 2 seasons, was concerning the staging of the fictional Marilyn Monroe musical referred to as Bombshell.
Michelle Williams
Michelle Williams mastered the breathy, ethereal Marilyn within the 2011 movie My Week With Marilyn which informed the story of a really particular week in time when Marilyn was making the 1957 film The Prince and the Showgirl. The story additionally featured Eddie Redmayne because the naïve however bold Colin Clarke, who labored as a manufacturing assistant on the Laurence Olivier-produced image. Clarke was tasked to help Marilyn on the London manufacturing whereas her husband on the time, playwright Arthur Miller, was again within the states. The 2 inevitably shared an intimate relationship.
Each Michelle and Kenneth Branagh (who performed Olivier) acquired Academy Awards nominations for his or her roles and the movie was critically acclaimed, additionally grossing $35 million worldwide.
Ana de Armas
Ana de Armas is the most recent actress set to tackle the function of Marilyn within the adaptation of creator Joyce Carol Oats‘ 2000 historic novel Blonde, which chronicles the imagined inner life of the epic star. Ana not too long ago informed the Sunday Times concerning the “arduous” work it took to step into the late actresses’ sneakers for the function, working to excellent her signature breathy voice.
“I attempted!” the Knives Out actress informed the outlet. “It solely took me 9 months of dialect teaching, and practising, and a few ADR classes. It was a giant torture, so exhausting. My mind was fried.”
