Hollywood has begun a series of events commemorating the 100th anniversary of the birth of screen icon Marilyn Monroe, celebrating a legacy that continues to shape popular culture more than six decades after her death.
The commemorations started on Sunday with the opening of Marilyn Monroe: Hollywood Icon at the Academy Museum of Motion Pictures. The exhibition explores her film career and personal life and features hundreds of original items, including rarely displayed memorabilia. Among the highlights is the famous pink dress she wore while performing “Diamonds Are a Girl’s Best Friend” in Gentlemen Prefer Blondes.
Celebrations continue on Monday at the historic TCL Chinese Theatre, where Monroe’s handprints remain preserved alongside those of her Gentlemen Prefer Blondes co-star Jane Russell. Fans are expected to sing “Happy Birthday”, recalling Monroe’s famous performance for John F. Kennedy. Organisers also plan to place 100 roses and a birthday cake at the site.
The museum will host special screenings throughout the month of some of Monroe’s best-known films, including The Asphalt Jungle, Niagara, The Seven Year Itch, Some Like It Hot and The Misfits. The exhibition will run until February 2027.
Later this week, on 4 June, Julien’s Auctions will hold its “100 Years of Marilyn” sale, featuring nearly 200 items connected to Monroe. The collection includes unpublished photographs, a script containing notes from her final unfinished film Something’s Got to Give, handwritten recipes and her personal Elizabeth Arden lipstick.
Born in Los Angeles on 1 June 1926, Monroe experienced a difficult childhood, spending time in orphanages and foster homes. She married at the age of 16 and entered the entertainment industry in 1944 after being photographed while working in a factory during the Second World War.
She soon moved into modelling, divorced her first husband and adopted the platinum blonde look that became her trademark. After signing her first contract with 20th Century Fox, she rose rapidly to international fame and had become one of Hollywood’s biggest stars by the age of 30.
Away from the screen, Monroe sought greater control over her career. She founded her own production company, studied at the Actors Studio and challenged studio decisions. While under contract with 20th Century Fox in the 1950s, she refused to appear in an adaptation of The Girl in Pink Tights, arguing that the script was weak and that her pay was unfairly lower than that of her co-star, Frank Sinatra.
Monroe also spoke publicly about the treatment of women in the film industry, criticising what she described as Hollywood “wolves” who preyed on female talent, decades before issues of workplace misconduct became a major public debate.
She died from an overdose at her home in Brentwood in August 1962 at the age of 36, but remains one of the most recognisable figures in film history.
