--- name: "Marilyn Monroe" canonical: "https://film.one/person/marilyn-monroe" fi1m_id: "marilyn-monroe" imdb_id: "nm0000054" tmdb_id: 3149 wikidata_id: "Q4616" roles: ["Actor"] born: "1 June 1926" died: "5 August 1962" reviewed_on_fi1m: 4 average_fi1m_score: 88 average_as: "actor" average_over: 4 updated: "2026-09-25T06:28:43.619107+00:00" licence: "© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL." --- # Marilyn Monroe ## Identity Marilyn Monroe - **Canonical:** https://film.one/person/marilyn-monroe - **Type:** Person - **Fi1m ID:** marilyn-monroe - **IMDb ID:** nm0000054 - **TMDB ID:** 3149 - **Wikidata ID:** Q4616 - **Same entity:** https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marilyn_Monroe, https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q4616, https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000054/, https://www.themoviedb.org/person/3149 Actor. Born 1 June 1926 in Los Angeles, California, USA. Died 5 August 1962. ## Details - **Work:** Actor - **Born:** 1 June 1926, Los Angeles, California, USA - **Died:** 5 August 1962 - **Active:** 1950–1959 - **Also known as:** Norma Jeane Baker, Norma Jeane Mortenson - **Golden Globes:** 2 Golden Globes (2 won) - **Average Fi1m score:** 88, as actor, over 4 titles - **Fi1m against the critics:** 88 to 86 across 4 titles - **Score spread:** 4 at 80+, 0 at 60–79, 0 under 60 - **Lead roles:** 1 of 4 acting credits billed first or second - **Genres:** Comedy 2, Crime 2, Drama 2, Romance 2 - **Screen time:** 8 hours of reviewed films - **Box office:** $41m across 4 films with figures - **Elsewhere:** https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marilyn_Monroe, https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q4616, https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000054/, https://www.themoviedb.org/person/3149 ## Coming up - *Portrait of Norma Jeane* (2027-12-09), as (archive footage) ## Streaming the US now - **The Roku Channel:** [*Some Like It Hot*](https://film.one/film/some-like-it-hot.md) (92) - **Amazon Prime Video:** [*All About Eve*](https://film.one/film/all-about-eve.md) (90) For United States; add `?region=XX` for another country. ## Fi1m on Marilyn Monroe > Marilyn Monroe could make a comic line sound hopeful and doubtful at once. We rate her most highly when a film gives that timing room to work, rather than treating her beauty as sufficient reason to keep watching. Listen to the uncertainty in Sugar’s voice in *Some Like It Hot* (1959): Monroe can make hope and doubt audible within the same breath. Billy Wilder’s farce gives her plenty of comic commotion to work among, but she keeps this woman’s disappointments from being lost in it. We were moved by Sugar because disappointment keeps troubling Monroe’s hopeful delivery without stopping her being funny. She does this without slowing the comedy or asking for a separate moment of sympathy. That is acting we rate highly, and it is easily missed if we watch only for the glamour. The early small parts in *The Asphalt Jungle* (1950) and *All About Eve* (1950) were followed by leading roles in *Gentlemen Prefer Blondes* (1953) and *How to Marry a Millionaire* (1953). The casting often asked for a glamorous woman assumed to be foolish, and her breathy voice helped make that image recognisable. *Bus Stop* (1956) offered a more grounded dramatic part as Cherie. By *The Misfits* (1961), her final completed film, she was again working in a more dramatic role. In *Some Like It Hot*, cinematographer Charles Lang gives the small changes in her expression enough attention to register. Orry-Kelly’s dresses make walking part of the comedy, while Tony Curtis’s self-control and Jack Lemmon’s busier movements supply contrasting rhythms around her. Monroe’s timing makes Sugar a participant in these exchanges, not simply their reward. The film can be insistent about showing her beauty, and Wilder’s gangster passages sometimes interrupt the pleasure of watching the three leads together. We would not use the more dramatic parts to apologise for the comedies. Getting hope, doubt and a joke into one line is demanding work, however lightly it is delivered. Monroe’s limited casting can make the roles sound interchangeable; Sugar is a good reason to look more carefully. Start with *Some Like It Hot*, and watch her even when Curtis and Lemmon are doing their best to keep us occupied. ## Biography Marilyn Monroe was an American actress. Born Norma Jeane Mortenson on 1 June 1926 in Los Angeles, she died on 5 August 1962. She began her career in modelling during the Second World War, leading to short contracts with 20th Century Fox and Columbia Pictures. After minor roles, she gained notice in *The Asphalt Jungle* (1950) and *All About Eve* (1950). She appeared in *Gentlemen Prefer Blondes* (1953), *How to Marry a Millionaire* (1953), *River of No Return* (1954), *The Seven Year Itch* (1955) and *Some Like It Hot* (1959) as Sugar Kane Kowalczyk. Later credits include *The Misfits* (1961). *Sources: imdb.com, en.wikipedia.org, history.com.* ## On Fi1m (4) - *Some Like It Hot* (1959), Fi1m 92, as Sugar Kane Kowalczyk — [page](https://film.one/film/some-like-it-hot.md) - *Gentlemen Prefer Blondes* (1953), Fi1m 82, as Lorelei Lee — [page](https://film.one/film/gentlemen-prefer-blondes.md) - *All About Eve* (1950), Fi1m 90, as Miss Caswell — [page](https://film.one/film/all-about-eve.md) - *The Asphalt Jungle* (1950), Fi1m 88, as Angela Phinlay — [page](https://film.one/film/the-asphalt-jungle.md) ## Complete filmography (64) Every credit, newest first. Titles without a page can be requested for review on the HTML page. - *Portrait of Norma Jeane* (2027), as (archive footage) - *Crushtime* (2025), as L'actrice blonde - *Marilyn, Her Final Secret* (2022), Actor - *Andy Warhol's America* (2022), Actor - *Mythos Côte d'Azur - Liebe, Luxus, Leidenschaft* (2021), Actor - *Andy Warhol, Fluorescent* (2016), as (archive footage) - *All Governments Lie: Truth, Deception, and the Spirit of I.F. Stone* (2016), as The Girl (archive footage) - *Destins secrets d’étoiles - Grace, Jackie, Liz, Marilyn…* (2015), Actor - *Footsteps on the Ceiling* (2013), as Miss Caswell (archive footage) - *Marilyn Monroe: In The Movies* (2012), Actor - *Marilyn despite herself* (2012), Actor - *Final Cut: Ladies and Gentlemen* (2012), as (archive footage) - *Bert Stern - Original Madman* (2011), Actor - *Bettie Page: The Girl in the Leopard Print Bikini* (2004), Actor - *Playboy's 50th Anniversary Celebration* (2003), Actor - *Prayer for Marilyn Monroe* (1998), Actor - *Hollywood Hall Of Fame - Marilyn Monroe* (1998), Actor - *The Casting Couch* (1995), Actor - *Marilyn Monroe: Portrait of a Legend...Suicide Or Murder?* (1995), Actor - *That's Entertainment! III* (1994), as (archive footage) (uncredited) - *Murderers, Mobsters, & Madmen: Volume 6: Hollywood Police Files* (1992), as (archive footage) (uncredited) - *Faces of Death VII* (1992), Actor - *The Discovery Of Marilyn Monroe* (1991), Actor - *Death In Hollywood* (1990), Actor - *Hollywood Heaven: Tragic Lives, Tragic Deaths* (1990), as (archive footage) - *Voyage to Nowhere* (1986), as (archive footage)(uncredited) - *Cœur bleu* (1980), as Songs - *Arthur Miller on Home Ground* (1979), Actor - *Marilyn Magdalene* (1972), Actor - *Marilyn* (1970), Actor - *Lykke og krone* (1962), Actor - *The Misfits* (1961), as Roslyn Taber - *Let's Make Love* (1960), as Amanda Dell - *Some Like It Hot* (1959), as Sugar Kane Kowalczyk — Fi1m 92, [page](https://film.one/film/some-like-it-hot.md) - *Zwischen Glück und Krone* (1959), Actor - *The Prince and the Showgirl* (1957), as Elsie · Executive Producer - *Bus Stop* (1956), as Cherie · Producer - *The Seven Year Itch* (1955), as The Girl - *There's No Business Like Show Business* (1954), as Vicky - *River of No Return* (1954), as Kay Weston - *How to Marry a Millionaire* (1953), as Pola Debevoise - *Gentlemen Prefer Blondes* (1953), as Lorelei Lee — Fi1m 82, [page](https://film.one/film/gentlemen-prefer-blondes.md) - *Niagara* (1953), as Rose Loomis - *O. Henry's Full House* (1952), as Streetwalker (segment "The Cop and the Anthem") - *Monkey Business* (1952), as Lois Laurel - *Don't Bother to Knock* (1952), as Nell Forbes - *We're Not Married!* (1952), as Annabel Jones - *Clash by Night* (1952), as Peggy - *Let's Make It Legal* (1951), as Joyce Mannering - *Love Nest* (1951), as Bobbie Stevens - *As Young as You Feel* (1951), as Harriet - *Home Town Story* (1951), as Iris Martin - *All About Eve* (1950), as Miss Caswell — Fi1m 90, [page](https://film.one/film/all-about-eve.md) - *The Fireball* (1950), as Polly - *The Jack Benny Program* (1950), series, as Marilyn Monroe - *Right Cross* (1950), as Dusky Ledoux (uncredited) - *A Ticket to Tomahawk* (1950), as Clara - *The Asphalt Jungle* (1950), as Angela Phinlay — Fi1m 88, [page](https://film.one/film/the-asphalt-jungle.md) - *Love Happy* (1949), as Grunion's Client - *Ladies of the Chorus* (1948), as Peggy Martin - *Green Grass of Wyoming* (1948), as Extra at Square Dance (uncredited) - *Scudda Hoo! Scudda Hay!* (1948), as Betty (uncredited) - *Dangerous Years* (1947), as Evie - *The Shocking Miss Pilgrim* (1947), as Telephone Operator (voice) (uncredited) ## Gallery - ![Marilyn Monroe](https://film.one/media/person/59233/gallery-5757d663ef92.jpg) Marilyn Monroe — Sam Shaw, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons (https://thumb.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/2/2a/Marilyn_Monroe_in_How_to_Marry_a_Millionaire.jpg/1280px-Marilyn_Monroe_in_How_to_Marry_a_Millionaire.jpg?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=thumbnail) - ![Audrey Hepburn y Marilyn Monroe. (2011)](https://film.one/media/person/59233/gallery-edacabad7007.jpg) Audrey Hepburn y Marilyn Monroe. (2011) — Nacho, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons (https://thumb.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/f/fe/Carteles_%288193239186%29.jpg/1280px-Carteles_%288193239186%29.jpg?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=thumbnail) - ![Los Angeles film developing foreman Charles Stanley Gifford Sr. (1889-1965) about 4 years before he became father of the future Marilyn Monroe](https://film.one/media/person/59233/gallery-a28f6c3c5946.jpg) Los Angeles film developing foreman Charles Stanley Gifford Sr. (1889-1965) about 4 years before he became father of the future Marilyn Monroe — Unknown photographer, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons (https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/97/Charles_Stanley_Gifford_c_1922.jpg?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=thumbnail_unscaled) - ![Marilyn Monroe on the set of Something's Got to Give in 1962 from the August 7, 1962 issue of Eureka Humboldt Standard page 3. Note this is a larger, better qua](https://film.one/media/person/59233/gallery-db9ebda82f11.jpg) Marilyn Monroe on the set of Something's Got to Give in 1962 from the August 7, 1962 issue of Eureka Humboldt Standard page 3. Note this is a larger, better qua — Eureka Humboldt Standard, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons (https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/16/Cropped_version_of_Monroe_on_the_set_of_Something%27s_Got_to_Give.jpg?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=thumbnail_unscaled) - ![Marilyn Monroe](https://film.one/media/person/59233/gallery-e87db0bda298.jpg) Marilyn Monroe — Image via TMDB - ![Marilyn Monroe](https://film.one/media/person/59233/gallery-ce07f9cb81d6.jpg) Marilyn Monroe — Image via TMDB - ![Marilyn Monroe](https://film.one/media/person/59233/gallery-48cca701506e.jpg) Marilyn Monroe — Image via TMDB - ![Part of Epstein Files released by the DOJ on December 19 2025](https://film.one/media/person/59233/gallery-7b4a3444cc87.jpg) Part of Epstein Files released by the DOJ on December 19 2025 — Federal Bureau of Investigation, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons (https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/d1/EFTA00001456_-_Modern_living_room_with_white_furniture_a_black-and-white_patterned_rug_and_framed_portraits_on_wood-paneled_walls.jpg?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=thumbnail_unscaled) - ![La galerie Joseph, Paris 3e. (2023)](https://film.one/media/person/59233/gallery-fc8d3f585a50.jpg) La galerie Joseph, Paris 3e. (2023) — ManoSolo13241324, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons (https://thumb.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/0/03/Galerie_Joseph.jpg/1280px-Galerie_Joseph.jpg?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=thumbnail) - ![Marilyn Monroe](https://film.one/media/person/59233/gallery-5b1a834cf590.jpg) Marilyn Monroe — Image via TMDB - ![Marilyn Monroe](https://film.one/media/person/59233/gallery-c136d3c3b3bc.jpg) Marilyn Monroe — Image via TMDB - ![Marilyn Monroe](https://film.one/media/person/59233/gallery-bfb1aff12a82.jpg) Marilyn Monroe — Image via TMDB ## Awards ### Golden Globes — 2 won - 1960: Golden Globe Awards (won) - 1959: Best Actress in a Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy (won), for *Some Like It Hot* ### Other awards — 2 won - Henrietta Award 1961: Henrietta Award (won) - Targa d'Oro 1958: Targa d'Oro (won), for *The Prince and the Showgirl* *From Wikidata, which records wins more completely than nominations.* --- © Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL. Canonical: https://film.one/person/marilyn-monroe