Marilyn Monroe, 100 years of a legend: Hollywood celebrates the woman who conquered the world
Exhibitions, screenings, auctions and tributes recall the birth of the actress who redefined fame, beauty and female power in the film industry.
Dresses worn by Marilyn Monroe are on display at the exhibition "Marilyn Monroe: Hollywood Icon."
A century after her birth, the luster of Marilyn Monroe is still intact.
Hollywood, the city that saw her rise and become a legend, kicks off a series of special events Monday to commemorate 100 years since the birth of the actress who forever transformed the history of cinema, popular culture and the collective imagination of several generations.
The celebration takes place exactly one hundred years after that June 1, 1926, when Norma Jeane Mortenson, the young woman who decades later would become Marilyn Monroe, one of the most recognizable and photographed faces on the planet, came into the world.
Flowers, souvenirs and a serenade for the eternal Marilyn
The celebrations kick off in one of the most emblematic places in Hollywood: the historic Chinese Theater, where Monroe's handprints remain immortalized next to those of Jane Russell, her co-star in the unforgettable film “Gentlemen Prefer Blondes.“
There, admirers from around the world plan to sing happy birthday in honor of the actress, recreating one of the most iconic moments of American culture: the sensual performance Monroe dedicated to President John F. Kennedy in 1962.
One hundred roses and a commemorative cake will complete the tribute on the legendary promenade, turned for decades into a place of pilgrimage for millions of admirers.
An exhibition to revive the legend
The tributes began even before the official date. The Academy Museum opened the exhibition Marilyn Monroe: Hollywood Icon, an ambitious exhibition that reviews both the film career of the actress and the most intimate aspects of a life marked by success, vulnerability and the constant search for professional recognition.
The exhibition brings together hundreds of original objects, several of them rarely exhibited to the public.
Among the most anticipated pieces is the famous pink dress worn by Monroe during her unforgettable performance of “Diamonds Are a Girl's Best Friend,” a sequence that became one of the most influential scenes in the history of musical cinema.
The exhibition will remain open until February 2027 and will be accompanied throughout the month by special screenings of some of the most important films of her career, including “The Asphalt Jungle,” “Niagara,” “The Seven Year Itch,” “Some Like It Hot” and “The Misfits.”
Much more than a symbol of beauty
Her childhood was marked by instability, foster homes and orphanages. She married as a teenager and began working in a factory during World War II.
It was precisely there that a photographer discovered the young woman who would change her destiny forever.
Shortly after came modeling, the characteristic platinum blonde hair and the first contract with Fox Studios. In just a few years, Monroe went from being an unknown to becoming the most famous woman in the world.
The woman who challenged Hollywood
Behind the glamorous star image there was also an artist determined to control her own career.
Monroe founded her own production company, studied acting at the prestigious Actors Studio in New York and publicly defied the major studios at a time when few women had power within the industry.
In the 1950s she rejected projects she considered mediocre and denounced the wage inequalities suffered by actresses compared to their male counterparts.
She also openly criticized the abuses of power faced by women in Hollywood.
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The myth that never disappeared
Marilyn Monroe passed away in August 1962 at the age of 36, but her influence never faded.
Her image continues to inspire films, exhibitions, books, songs, fashion campaigns and academic studies. More than six decades after her death, she remains a universal symbol of glamour, talent, freedom and contradiction.
As part of the centennial celebrations, the house Julien's Auctions will auction nearly 200 objects related to the actress, including annotated scripts, unpublished photographs, handwritten recipes and personal items that offer a closer look at the woman behind the myth.
Because one hundred years after her birth, Marilyn Monroe still occupies a privileged place in the Hollywood firmament: not just as a star, but as an entire constellation.
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