10 Fun Facts About Marilyn

Norma Jean Mortenson better known as Marilyn Monroe is one of those controversial figures that the world will never TRULY know. We will never know how she really died, who were or were not her lovers, or the way that she lived. But I'm sure you've heard all of the rumors and half truths about her from JFK to her tragic childhood. If you're reading this post to hear my opinion or a wild conspiracy theory on her tragic life story, you've come to the wrong blog! This post is to discuss the little things about Marilyn that you may not know. Her favorite books and singers, what made her smile light up, and her odd diet plans! Here is a list of 10 things you may not know about Marilyn Monroe.

1. Marilyn Monroe's makeup remained pretty consistent throughout her life but her 1950s look is what she is perhaps best known for. Her signature makeup look was created by Whitey Snyder who was her makeup artist from 1946 until 1962 where he even did Marilyn's funeral makeup. Marilyn utilized a simple skincare regime to which she'd wash her face several times a day with basic bar soap and water. For a moisturizing base Whitey Snyder used thin layers of Vaseline on her face to give her a slightly dewey look. The Vaseline served as her primer. For her signature eye he utilized the (Greta) "Garbo eye" which consists of a smoky haze of dark browns around the crease and white eyeshadow on the base and waterline to emphasize the eye. To further draw attention to the eyes, Whitey Snyder clipped false eyelashes and placed the half lashes only at the corner of Marilyn's eyes to really accentuate a cat eye shape.

The most important part of Marilyn's makeup routine (that I sometimes use because it's pure genius) is HIGHLIGHT. Whitey Snyder not only highlighted underneath the eyes but at Marilyn's temples. Underneath her temples, he'd put a little blush and a smidge of blush on the nose to bring warmth to her face.

2. There are many photographs of Marilyn Monroe reading, but books were not just a mere photographic prop for her! Marilyn had an extensive book collection consisting of 400+ books of everything from autobiographies to Russian literature to psychology books to humorous American novels. There are history books in the mix which may have stemmed from her time at UCLA. Marilyn was briefly a college student studying Renaissance Art and Literature. She was also trained in acting by the great Lee Strasberg and his wife Paula Strasberg and of course she was married to one of the most notable American playwrights, Arthur Miller. All of these fragments of her life may have also shaped parts of her library collection.

Marilyn Monroe's favorite books was How Stanislavsky Directs by Michael Gorchakov. Her favorite play was A Streetcar Named Desire by Tennessee Williams and Death of a Salesman by Arthur Miller. Some of her collection consisted of Madame Bovary by Gustave Flaubert, Paris Blues by Harold Flender, Letters of Sigmund Freud, and Nana by Emile Zola. To read over the list of her extensive and diverse personal library is truly extraordinary to read.

3. Speaking of poetry, Marilyn Monroe also wrote sincere, heartbreaking poems of her own. Her scrawling handwritten poems sometimes showcases the grammar of a child but generally speaking Marilyn had a very childlike disposition and a naïveté and sensitivity that can be seen in her personal writings. This poem reads:

Oh damn I wish that I were dead — absolutely nonexistent —
gone away from here — from
everywhere but how would I do it
There is always bridges — the Brooklyn
bridge — no not the Brooklyn Bridge
because But I love that bridge (everything is beautiful from there and the air is so clean) walking it seems
peaceful there even with all those
cars going crazy underneath. So
it would have to be some other bridge
an ugly one and with no view — except
I particularly like in particular all bridges — there’s some-
thing about them and besides these I’ve
never seen an ugly bridge

Only parts of us will ever
touch only parts of others —
one’s own truth is just that really — one’s own truth.
We can only share the part that is understood by within another’s knowing acceptable to the other — therefore so one
is for most part alone.
As it is meant to be in
evidently in nature — at best though perhaps it could make
our understanding seek
another’s loneliness out.

4. It is a well known fact that Marilyn Monroe's favorite drink was champagne specifically of the Dom Perignon variety! There are many a photograph of Marilyn with a glass of bubbly in hand--coupe always (never a flute)! She loved champagne so much that she'd often have a glass in the morning to give herself a peppy start to the day.

5. Marilyn Monroe had a soft spot for children perhaps for sentimental reasons as she could never have any. There's darling clips of her in outtake footage of her on the set of Something's Got to Give (1962), her last uncompleted film. Despite Marilyn's emotional and mental strain and breakdown during the production of the film, she set aside time with the child actors who played her children in the film. She wanted them to be as comfortable as possible on set!

6. Marilyn Monroe's two favorite singers of all time were Frank Sinatra and Ella Fitzgerald! One of the most popular clubs attended by Old Hollywood celebrities was Mocambo and Marilyn was a frequent attender. Ella Fitzgerald was not allowed to perform at the Mocambo due to being African American. Marilyn Monroe made a personal call to the nightclub stating that she wanted Ella booked immediately and that if they booked her, she'd sit front row at Mocambo every night. Marilyn knew that she was a target for the press and that this would get Mocambo to book one of the most talented vocalists of that time to their club despite their blatant racism. Ella credited performing at the Mocambo with Marilyn Monroe in the front row as the beginning point of her never having to perform at small night clubs again because of the amount of press she was able to garner!

7. Marilyn Monroe was was an unofficial member of the infamous Rat Pack. The original Rat Pack consisted of Humphrey Bogart, Lauren Bacall, and the most well known members Frank Sinatra, Sammy Davis Jr., Dean Martin, and Peter Lawford. Marilyn Monroe, Shirley Maclaine, and Buddy Greco were among those called "The Rat Pack Mascots." This group was heavily centered in Las Vegas and when Frank, Sammy, and/or Dean performed, the other members would often show up to support them. They also had social gatherings at one another's homes.

8. Marilyn Monroe's blonde tresses remained pretty much the same during the 1950s (perhaps her "signature hair") and then her hair switched up in the 1960s. Marilyn set her own hair by pin curling in a variation of the same pattern regularly. She parted majority of her hair to one side and on the side with the most curls she'd generally roll the hair in one direction (most likely to the left) with two rolls of three curls, while the side with the less amount of hair was rolled the other way. On the sides of her hair, the key was to make the pattern go in different directions. The hair near the crown of the head was most likely in standing pin curls so that there was some lift to it. The back of the hair was rolled in opposite directions as well alternating between standing pin curls and flat pin curls to get that tousled look that Marilyn Monroe perfected. The next day was reigned in with hairspray and a smooth brush out.

She also kept a small tube of hair bleach that she kept in her purse. She constantly touch up her roots. (Note: You will never find a photograph of Marilyn with dark roots.)

During the 1960s, Marilyn Monroe often wore wigs such as this lovely wig worn in her last completed film The Misfits (1961) in a style that was more of the period. The hair was straighter and thicker with a loose curl.

9. One of Marilyn Monroe's favorite performances was singing songs and entertaining thousands of American troops in Korea in February 1954 shortly after marrying Joe DiMaggio in San Francisco, California. Clips of her singing "Diamonds Are a Girl's Best Friend," "Bye Bye Baby," and "Do It Again" can be found here.

10. This is perhaps one of the most fascinating and fun facts about Marilyn Monroe was her eating habits and diet plan. She did an interview for Cosmopolitan magazine where she stated that for breakfast she enjoyed warm milk with two raw eggs that she drank to supplement multivitamins. For dinner she enjoyed steak, lamb chops or liver with raw carrots. For dessert she indulged in a hot fudge sundae. This seemed to be Marilyn's eating habits when she was traveling and staying at hotels.

Her diet plan when she was on a "health kick" truly showcases the difference in what is considered healthy eating today and back in the 1950s. This was her proposed diet plan:

Breakfast: 8:00 A.M.
Orange juice or stewed prunes
Cereal, well cooked
Toast (white), 2 slices, crisp, with butter
Milk or weak cocoa, 1 cup

10:00 A.M. Milk, 1 cup, and 1 cracker

Lunch or Supper: 1:00 P.M.
Choice of: Egg, 1 (boiled, poached, shirred or scrambled) or cottage cheese, 2 tablespoons
Choice of: Potato, 1, baked or mashed or spaghetti, boiled with tomato or butter (no cheese) or noodles, 1/2 cup (boiled), add milk (no cheese)
Toast or bread (white), stale, 1 slice with butter Jell-O or cooked fruit

3:30 P.M. Milk, 1 cup, and 1 cracker

Dinner: 6:30 P.M.
Choice of: Lean beef (boil, broil or roast) or chicken or lamb chop or sweetbread or fish or chicken liver
Potato, 1 (any way but fried)
Choice of: 1/2 cup tomatoes, beets, carrots, spinach, string beans or peas, pureed or strained
Bread (white), 1 slice with butter
Dessert: junket, custard, tapioca pudding or rice pudding or baked apple

11:00 P.M. Eggnog

Hope you all enjoyed these fun facts about Marilyn and I'll see you next week!

Disclaimer: I do not own any of the photographs in this post.