Marilyn Monroe's 100th Birthday: See the Actresses Who've Played the Movie Icon
When Marilyn Monroe died on Aug. 4, 1962, countless conspiracy theories were born.
The Los Angeles County Coroner determined that the 36-year-old—who was born Norma Jeane Baker on June 1, 1926—died of acute barbiturate poisoning and ruled her overdose a probable suicide.
But that verdict has simply never sat well with people who suspected she suffered an even darker fate.
"I’ve learned a lot that I wouldn’t trade for anything," Monroe told Life magazine in a July interview published two days before her death. "I wouldn’t want a child of mine to go through what I’ve been through."
The Some Like It Hot star added, "I hope to ultimately be able, through my work, to illuminate for some people some things I’ve learned. Maybe it’s just a dream. But I’m also entitled to my dreams."
At the same time, it wasn't a secret Monroe had been struggling. Her battles with substance abuse and depression were well-documented, and she was fired in June from the romantic comedy Something's Got to Give for, as 20th Century Fox put it, "spectacular absenteeism."
And yet in the nearly 64 years since, every moment of her final hours, days, weeks and months have been dissected for clues of foul play.
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"I didn’t know much about the death scene, about the autopsy not being as complete as it should have been, that one of the detectives was convinced the scene was staged," The Last Days of Marilyn Monroe author James Patterson told The Hollywood Reporter in November. Despite his 2025 book's subtitle, "A True Crime Thriller," fine print notes it's "a work of fiction."
And while Joyce Carole Oates never claimed her 2000 epic Blonde, which was adapted into a haunting 2022 film starring Ana de Armas, to be anything other than inspired-by fiction, her ending includes a nefarious plot. In the book, Monroe overdoses, but someone comes into her Brentwood home, administers a fatal injection of Nembutal and clears the house of materials that could tie her to...somebody.
“That could be something like a hallucination,” Oates told The Telegraph in 2022 of the death scene. “But I also wanted to leave the possibility—like an alternative universe. It’s quite possible—not probable, but possible—that she was assassinated."
Monroe's alleged affairs with President John F. Kennedy and then-U.S. Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy were the unnamed elephants in Oates' room, but the extent of their involvement with the actress remains so much hearsay.
No member of the Kennedy family has ever spoken publicly about Monroe, though J. Randy Taraborrelli wrote in his 2023 book Jackie: Public, Private, Secret that first lady Jacqueline Kennedy fielded a call from the actress at their home in Hyannis Port, Mass., in April 1962.
She considered Monroe a "disaster waiting to happen," Taraborrelli wrote, "someone too vulnerable, too weak to be played with by JFK."
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Meanwhile, Monroe's friend Arthur James attributed her death to her involvement with the Kennedys, but only in that she was suffering from a broken heart.
After she performed "Happy Birthday" for the president at Madison Square Garden on May 19, 1962, "She was terribly hurt when she was told directly never to call or contact again, Robert or John," James told biographer Andrew Summers, as heard in the 2022 Netflix documentary The Mystery of Marilyn Monroe: The Unheard Tapes. "That was an order. Jack didn't contact her, Bob did. And that's what killed her."
Though alternative theories will never die, an official 1982 inquiry maintained that the real unsolvable mystery was whether or not Monroe intended to kill herself.
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On Aug. 4, 1962, the day in question, Monroe's housekeeper Eunice Murray called the actress' psychiatrist Dr. Ralph Greenson at around 3:30 a.m. after noticing a light still on in Monroe's locked bedroom. When Murray told Greenson she could see through a window that Monroe was lying on her bed, he said he'd be right over and to call Monroe's doctor Dr. Hyman Engelberg.
Engelberg called police at 4:25 a.m. to report that he was calling from Monroe's home and she was dead.
There was an empty Nembutal bottle on the floor and, according to police, no suicide note.
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"I could see the phone clutched fiercely in her right hand," Greenson later wrote, per Summers' 1985 book Goddess: The Secret Lives of Marilyn Monroe. "I supposed she was trying to make a phone call before she was overwhelmed."
And she couldn't have had any idea how much more obsessed people would be with her in death than when she was alive.
Monroe compared fame to caviar, telling Life, "It’s good to have caviar, but if you had it every damn day, you know?"
On what would have been her 100th birthday, see more of Monroe's life in photos:
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Blown Away
A look so iconic that anyone and everyone knows about Marilyn's white halter dress. Designer William Travilla knew that her Seven Year Itch costume needed to bring the wow factor for the infamous wind-blowing scene, where she flirtatiously pulled the pleated skirt down as the subway vent breezed by underneath.
Wraparound ribbons cinched the star's waist and kept the design's structure, while the bottom half danced in the wind. Marilyn's large white stud earrings, perfectly curled hair and bold red lip made it even more alluring. Despite the movie scene's suggestive nature, Marilyn was cautious about being too racy and wore two pairs of white underwear so no one caught a glimpse of her unmentionables, per The New York Times.
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The infamous nude dress that made everyone clutch their pearls. To celebrate John F. Kennedy's birthday at Madison Square Garden in May 1962, Marilyn sashayed onto the stage in a white mink coat that cleverly concealed the evocative figure-framing design underneath. But when she dramatically pulled off the coat and seductively sang "Happy Birthday Mr. President" in the glimmering "naked" gown, everyone watched in awe.
Designer Jean Louis made the provocative piece out of very thin material and had it "embroidered with rhinestones so she would shine in the spotlight," according to Marilyn in Fashion authors Christopher Nickens and George Zeno, adding, "She wore nothing, absolutely nothing, underneath."
Kim Kardashian made the controversial decision to wear the historical dress to the 2022 Met Gala in May— which was loaned to her by the Ripley's Believe It Or Not Museum.
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Believe it or not, Marilyn's original costume for her memorable "Diamond's Are a Girl's Best Friend" performance in Gentleman Prefer Blondes was a lot more scandalous—it entailed a diamond bustier and matching panties. However, the studio wanted William Travilla to tone it down, per Marilyn in Fashion. His next creation, the legendary hot pink strapless gown, made the cut and it became a star in its own right.
The design was made of a satin fabric that sparkled alongside the heavy layers of diamonds Marilyn wore for the film. Its backside included a massive bow, lined in black velvet, for added oomph. Matching opera-length gloves that reached all the way towards her armpits (the drama!) and studded open-toe pumps tied it all together.
Proving its star factor, Madonna channeled Marilyn for her "Material Girl" music video in 1985 and replicated everything from the fashion to the set of the musical number.
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Although Marilyn slipped into this gold lamé stunner quite a few times throughout her career, she most famously wore it for a series of portraits. The pleated design by William Travilla featured a plunging halter neckline that glistened with each movement.
The blonde beauty had to be sewn into this garment, which was made from "one complete circle of fabric," authors Christopher Nickens and George Zeno reported.
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The A-lister shimmied across the Golden Globes stage in 1962 to receive the Henrietta Award for World Film Favorite Female. The awards show marked Marilyn's first major Hollywood event after she kept a low profile for a few years, so it only made sense that she'd want to light up the stage in a dazzling emerald dress.
Created by Norman Norell, the curve-hugging design featured sequins all over and an interesting armhole configuration, in which Marilyn (whether intentionally or accidentally) wore the slots of armholes on the outside, making the neckline have a V-cut as opposed to its original boatneck style.
In May, Kim slipped into the floor-length gown after the 2022 Met Gala, bringing the iconic floor-length gown back into the spotlight.
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The A-lister mesmerized U.S. soldiers stationed in Korea when she sashayed across the stage in this dazzling eggplant-colored dress with sequins sewn in a vermicular pattern. According to Marilyn in Fashion, she said this was the first time she "felt like a star."
Marilyn, who performed for troops while she and Joe DiMaggio were on their honeymoon, loved the dress so much she asked designer Ceil Chapman to make one for her in black.
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The Niagara actress captivated audiences with her femme fatale role as Rose in the film-noir thriller. Although her vibrant magenta dress with the keyhole cutout is memorable, it was this red-hot look that truly blew moviegoers away.
Dressed in a fiery wide-sleeved wool jacket worn over a plunging white blouse and black pencil skirt, Marilyn left an unforgettable impression as she moved her hips from side to side and walked away from the camera in this visually stunning costume.
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Marilyn made a showstopping appearance at the How to Marry a Millionaire premiere in a white-hot strapless William Travilla design. The white lace, embellished in opalescent sequins, popped over the nude crepe material underneath.
An ivory sash draped across her body, which added an extra dose of glamour. And in true Marilyn fashion, more was more as she accessorized with a fur shawl, satin opera-length gloves and diamond drop earrings. In 1991, Madonna also paid homage to the actress in a similar ensemble for the Oscars.
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A fresh-faced Marilyn seductively posed in a potato sack dress for promotional photos for Twentieth Century Fox. Rumor has it that a columnist called the starlet "cheap and vulgar" after she sizzled in a daring dress at a Beverly Hills Hotel party, adding that she would've "looked far better in a potato sack."
It's believed the studio captilized off the scandal, putting Marilyn in the now-famous dress. But while the story behind the look is juicy, The Hollywood Reporter claimed the less captivating reason for her ensemble is that Twentieth Century Fox wanted to promote their new star. And what better way to do so than by suggesting she was so beautiful she could make something as unattractive as a potato sack look good.
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Despite the sexy white halter dress from The Seven Year Itch, this sparkly see-through number from Some Like It Hot is Marilyn's most risqué movie costume.
Designer Orry-Kelly said he made the famed silver shimmery dress of "nude soufflé on the bias to lift her breasts and push her tummy in," according to Marilyn in Fashion, adding, "It was so slightly beaded over her breasts that her nipples were not covered and [director] Billy Wilder had to light her with a single spot that left the area strategically in darkness."
The front seems tame compared to the plunging open-back side of the dress, which creates the illusion that she's zipped it down on purpose. A red heart is cut out on her derrière, a cheeky iteration of wearing one's heart on their sleeve.
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Before asking Jean Louis to make her the naked dress, Marilyn actually wore one of his designs in her early film, Ladies of the Chorus, where she sexily sang "Every Baby Needs a Da-da-daddy." To complement the tone of the performance, she donned a glitzy black chiffon gown.
The evening dress featured a sheer top with a pluninging neckline and full sleeves adorned with sequins in a diamond shape. Vertical rows of sequins draped down the skirt, with the exception of the thigh-high slit.
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