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(Photo by Courtesy Everett Collection)The latest: On May 31st, The Academy Museum of Motion Pictures will open a Marilyn Monroe exhibit, in honor of her 100th birthday. Marilyn Monroe: Hollywood Icon will feature posters, portraits, photographs, production documents, letters, and rarely seen personal materials that will give unique insight into the Hollywood icon.
As one of the most iconic pop culture figures of all time, Marilyn Monroe captured the public consciousness the moment she made her debut in the 1947 film Dangerous Years. And she hasn’t left all these years later, even after her untimely death in 1962.
After starting off as a pin-up model, Monroe, born Norma Jeane Mortenson, secured her first contract with 20th Century Fox, where she learned how to act, sing, and dance. This led to small parts in Scudda-Hoo! Scudda-Hay! and Ladies of the Chorus. She later befriended the vice president of William Morris, who helped her secure scene-stealing roles in classic films All About Eve and The Asphalt Jungle.
Monroe would go on to be featured in a set of successful comedies: As Young as You Feel, Love Nest, and Let’s Make It Legal. These films helped establish her image as the defining sex symbol of the 1950s, along with box office smashes Clash by Night, Don’t Bother to Knock, and We’re Not Married.
Monroe became a household name, and a string of successful hits proved she could lead and sell a film: Niagara, Gentlemen Prefer Blondes, How to Marry a Millionaire, and The Seven Year Itch. She received her first Golden Globe nomination for Bus Stop, and would later get her second for what many consider her most timeless film, Some Like It Hot.
1961’s The Misfits would prove to be her final movie, after she was fired from the unreleased film Something’s Got to Give. She died shortly after, leaving behind the kind of legacy that many actors could only dream of, and becoming one of the most celebrated performers in all of cinema history.
To celebrate this iconic legend, we’re gathering all of her films and ranking them by Tomatometer. Check out the list below and see for yourself why so many people still can’t stop talking about Marilyn Monroe. — Bryce Marrero
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