Norma Jeane Mortenson popularly known as Marilyn Monroe is an iconic actress that created the now popular trend called the Marilyn effect.
Born on June 1st 1926, Marilyn was a top actress, model, and singer known for playing comic "blonde bombshell" characters. She became one of the most popular sex symbols of the 1950s and early 1960s and graced the bedroom walls of many young men during her prime days.
Continue reading to find out her story and days in Hollywood.
The creation of Marilyn Monroe
Norma jeane had a pretty rough childhood and had to struggle to get her name recognised by the world.
The star actress went through more than 12 foster homes and at one point was raised in an orphanage. As soon as she was able to stand on her own feet Jeane took to modelling to make a living.
From her modelling days, her talent as an actor and singer began to shine through due to the way she carried herself.
This was the start of the Marilyn’s effect. According to those close to the actress, she was able to slip in and out of the Monroe personality. "Marilyn knew how to turn on and turn off Marilyn to the point where she could be walking down the street wearing the same exact thing, looking like Marilyn, and go completely unnoticed," explains marriage proposal planner and TikTok influencer Destinee Quinn in a video shared to the platform.
According to PsychCentral, this instant change in energy was first deemed the "Marilyn Monroe effect" by Amy Greene, the wife of the actress’s personal photographer.
Greene’s story on how how she first witness the Marilyn effect happened when she and the star were just walking around New York City enjoying a stroll on a nice day.
Greene said that Monroe “loved New York because no one bothered her there like they did in Hollywood, so she could put on her plain-Jane clothes and no one would notice her”.
She continued: “So, as we we’re walking down Broadway, she turns to me and says, ‘Do you want to see me become her?’ I didn’t know what she meant but I just said ‘Yes’ – and then I saw it.
“I don’t know how to explain what she did because it was so very subtle, but she turned something on within herself that was almost like magic. Suddenly cars were slowing, and people were turning their heads and stopping to stare.
“They were recognising that this was Marilyn Monroe as if she pulled off a mask or something, even though a second ago nobody noticed her. I had never seen anything like it.”
Today, the term Marilyn Monroe effect is used to explain how the way you carry yourself can completely change how you appear to others. The effect encourages you to adopt the age-old concept of "fake it until you make it." In other words, by acting confidently, you will be perceived as such, and can fight back against low self-esteem.
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The Constraintment of Marilyn
Marilyn rose to fame for playing the dumb blonde men wanted to get down with. Although this role indeed gave her fame and fortune, the actress wanted more for herself and wished to be seen as a person rather than a sex figure.
But being who she wanted wasn’t forthcoming, as Hollywood needed her to maintain her sexy blonde character which earned money.
This gave way to the tragic figure of a sensitive and insecure woman unable to escape the pressures of Hollywood. Her vulnerability and sensuousness combined with her need to been seen led to her untimely death on August 4th 1962, due to a barbiturate overdose inside her home.
In 14th September 2023, Marilyn Monroe was eventually raised to the status of an American cultural icon.
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