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Description
Troubled and often misunderstood, Marilyn Monroe became one of the most successful, profitable and, as it turned out, tragic products of the Hollywood motion picture industry.
Born Norma Jean Mortensen in 1926, this orphaned little girl passed through foster homes, and an abusive childhood, but her angelic smile, blond curls and natural beauty made her a star. And the fulfillment of a sex symbol, and the "All American Girl", all rolled into a Hollywood icon… Marilyn Monroe. In 1944 an Army photographer convinced her to pose for posters for the troops. She was an instant success and modeling offers came pouring in.
In 1953, she was cast in one of her most memorable roles, "Gentleman Prefer Blondes", and it was this role that solidified her reputation as a sex symbol. From comedy, in "Some Like It Hot", to drama "Bus Stop", Marilyn became a pin-up movie star. Marrying Joe DiMaggio in 1954 (Which lasted only 274 days.) and being courted by some of Hollywood's leading men and the scandal of presidential affairs, Marilyn was a star, who's light never faded.
In 1955, tired of her sex symbol stereotype, and not fully understanding her stardom and having an inferiority complex she sought what she saw as sophistication and intelligence she rebelled and moved to New York to work with director Lee Strasberg at the Actors Studio to improve her dramatic acting abilities. She also underwent psychoanalysis to learn more about herself.
In 1956 she married playwright Arthur miller, and that same year her dramatic debut in "Bus Stop" which was praised by critics and fans. She continued to make box office hits but was becoming increasingly dependant on drugs and alcohol, so much so that at time she was unable to work.
Her final film, "The Misfits", written for her by Arthur Miller and directed by John Huston (1961), was a critical success and many fans and co-workers thought she was making a comeback from years of drug and alcohol dependency. A week after the film opened she divorced Miller.
But she flashed across the heavens and crashed in a fight with fame… we all lost Norma Jean and so did Marilyn Monroe, some where along the way. She died of a drug overdose in 1962, at the age of 36.
Michael Coupe was a fan and like all men enamored with her natural sensuality and beauty. He captured this in two exceptional applications of his art, that transcends the physical form and with the precision of his thousands upon thousands of points. In his early full form portrait, and the in depth eyes of the searching look of a small town girl who became a movie star, a sex symbol and a victim of fame.
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