The Academy Museum in Los Angeles is hosting an exhibition celebrating the life of Hollywood’s most famous blonde, Marilyn Monroe in the year she would have turned one hundred. Though underestimated, the visionary crafted a legacy for herself in a cutthroat industry and proceeded to become one of the most famous names to have lived. Original objects, posters, portraits, photographs, production documents, letters, costumes, and rare personal materials are on view through February 28, 2027.
She is not only one of the defining names of the Golden Age of Hollywood; her costumes have also become instantly recognisable symbols of the era. Halloween costumes, red carpet looks and fashion collections have all found inspiration in her many looks, many of which are currently on display, allowing viewers to get up close to the iconic garments, including the strapless gown from Love Happy (1949), two costumes from Some Like It Hot (1959) and, of course, the bright pink Diamonds Are a Girl’s Best Friend dress from Gentlemen Prefer Blondes (1953), one of Hollywood’s most famous looks. Another quintessentially Marilyn dress is, of course, the white halter dress she famously has to hold down as the wind from a subway grate lifts it up in The Seven Year Itch (1955); though the exact dress was bought at auction, a replica by the same designer is on view at the exhibit. Items from her final film, Something’s Got to Give (1962), which was left unfinished, are also on display. Also on view is the sequin look Marilyn wore when she rode an elephant to Madison Square Garden to announce her new production company.
As viewers enter, they walk down a red carpet and are greeted by a video of Monroe blowing a kiss. Her songs echo through the speakers as you journey through her career. A restored audio recording from Monroe’s final interview, published in Life magazine, can be heard at one point in the exhibition. She talks of her complicated relationship with stardom and the public scrutiny she faced: “With fame, you can read about yourself and somebody else’s ideas about you, but what’s important is how you feel about your own survival and living day to day with oneself… I like people, but the public scares me.” Many close to Marilyn have spoken about the persona she puts on to face the public and deal with the pressures on her.
Photographs and posters from her life’s work line the walls of the space, tracing her time as one of Hollywood’s most beloved faces. Marilyn was smart; she knew how to use her power and how to utilise her position to establish a legitimate name for herself and take control of her trajectory. She opened her own production company in rebellion against the sexist, restrictive contract she was under with 20th Century Fox. She could decide what projects to take on and would have creative control over her public image. This exhibition is not solely a celebration of her films; it is a commemoration of a revolutionary spirit and a defining figure in the world of art.
