Because Marilyn Monroe has been so enamored, so analyzed since her death in1962, at the young age of 36, there have been countless projects about herlife, many of them dramatizations that require an actress — or two — toattempt the iconic star’s je ne sais quoi. The many Marilyns have all tendedto have some things in common: There’s the screen siren’s voluminous blondehair — a shortcut to screaming, “THIS IS HER!” — her slender yet curvy figureand her breathy voice.
Ana de Armas will become the latest to play Marilyn when a film adaptation of_blonde_ , the 2000 Joyce Carol Oates novel of the same name, arrives inselect theaters on Sept. 16 and debuts on Netflix on Sept. 28. The book, whichwas made into a two-part TV movie, starring Poppy Montgomery and a pre- Grey’s Anatomy Patrick Dempsey, in 2001, is a fictionalized version of Marilyn’slife.
Already, de Armas’s performance in the newer version has been criticized, withsome calling her out for her accent. She received some big support on Aug. 1,though, when the Marilyn Monroe Estate released a statement lauding her forcapturing Marilyn’s “glamour, humanity and vulnerability” in the movie’strailer, adding “We can’t wait to see the film in its entirety!”
Yahoo Entertainment breaks down some of the previous movie and TV projectsthat have focused on the life of Marilyn Monroe — and who played the actress:
Goodbye, Norma Jean (1976) and Goodnight, Sweet Marilyn (1989)
Misty Rowe tosses her head back in 1976’s Goodbye, Norma Jean. (Photo:Everett Collection)
stars: Former hey haw cast member Misty Rowe appeared as a pre-HollywoodNorma Jean Baker in both films (the latter through flashbacks), while PaulaLane, who appeared on The Mike Douglas Show ** __** as a Monroe lookalike in1980, portrayed her more glamorous counterpart.
Based on: Scripts by director Larry Buchanan (1969 TV movie It ‘sAlive!) and, in the case of Goodbye, Norma Jean co-written by actor-turned-writer Lynn Shubert, explore Monroe’s sexual encounters and, eventually,speculate that a friend killed her out of mercy.
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Response: A surviving review from ___TV Guide_ calls the former a “rancidmovie bio” that’s “sensationalistic and slimy.”
Marilyn: The Untold Story (1980)
Catherine Hicks stars in Marilyn: The Untold Story in 1980. (Photo: SchillerProd./Courtesy Everett Collection)
stars: future 7th Heaven mom Catherine Hicks as Marilyn, and future_Growing Pains_ star Tracey Gold as the pint-sized her.
Based on: Norman Mailer’s 1973 book Marilyn: A Biography.
Response: the **** TV movie was nominated for four Emmys, including onefor Hicks as lead actress in a limited series or special. Writing for TVGuide Judith Crist lauded Hicks’s “breathtaking (and breathless) portrait ofthe actress.”
Marilyn and Me (1991)
Susan Griffiths’s turn to play Marilyn came in 1991’s Marilyn and Me.(Photo: New Films International/Courtesy: Everett Collection)
stars: Monroe impersonator **** Susan Griffiths, who appeared in PulpFiction and other productions.
Based on: Robert Slatzer’s claims that he secretly married the screen starin Mexico in 1952, which he laid out in two books, The Life and Curious Deathof Marilyn Monroe (1974) and The Marilyn Files (1992).
Response: Hairstylist Linle White was nominated for an Emmy.
Norma Jean and Marilyn (1996)
Ashley Judd plays Norma Jean, while Mira Sorvino plays Marilyn in Norma Jeanand Marilyn. (Photo: Everett Collection)
stars: Mira Sorvino as Marilyn, Ashley Judd as the inner Marilyn (NormaJean).
Based on: Anthony Summers’s 1985 book, Goddess: The Secret Lives ofMarilyn Monroe a biography based on more than 600 interviews.
Response: Both stars were rewarded with Emmy and Golden Globe nominations.
blonde (2001)
Poppy Montgomery stars in a 2001 version of blonde. (Photo: Joe Pugliese/TVGuide/courtesy Everett Collection)
stars: Poppy Montgomery as Marilyn.
Based on: Oates’s book, the same source material for the new Blonde.
Response: While Montgomery didn’t win big awards, she notably won oversome critics, such as one at variety with her “impressive performance.”
My Week With Marilyn (2011)
My Week with Marilyn_ stars Michelle Williams as Marilyn Monroe. (Photo:Laurence Cendrowicz/The Weinstein Company/courtesy Everett Collection)”src=”https://s.yimg.com/ny/api/res/1.2/mH4fuUbc.M064rXOgXrb0A-/YXBwaWQ9aGlnaGxhbmRlcjt3PTk2MA-/https://s.yimg.com/os/creatr-uploaded-images/2022-08/74a4e4c0-167d-11ed-9d5f-57a23e8b68f9″ class=”caas-img”/>
My Week with Marilyn stars Michelle Williams as Marilyn Monroe. (Photo:Laurence Cendrowicz/The Weinstein Company/courtesy Everett Collection)
stars: Michelle Williams as Marilyn.
Based on: Colin Clark’s books The Prince, The Showgirl and Me (1995) and_My Week With Marilyn_ (2000), based on his account of his time working on theset of Monroe’s 1957 movie The Prince and the Showgirl which co-starredLaurence Olivier.
Response: The film grossed an estimated $35 million on a reported $10million budget. Williams was nominated for an Oscar and won a Golden Globe,while Kenneth Branagh snagged a nod for best supporting actor for hisportrayal of Olivier.
smash (2012)
Smash_ actress Katharine McPhee plays a “bombshell.””src=”https://s.yimg.com/ny/api/res/1.2/4jW_4CtMk5hrfBn7CFKhrQ-/YXBwaWQ9aGlnaGxhbmRlcjt3PTk2MA-/https://s.yimg.com/os/creatr-uploaded-images/2022-08/ec5ef6e0-2898-11ed-b575-772185e5b7aa” class=”caas-img”/>
smash actress Katharine McPhee plays a “Bombshell.”
Megan Hilty’s Marilyn Monroe sits with Will Chase’s Joe DiMaggio on an episodeof smash. (Photo: Everett Collection)
Uma Thurman plays the star in smash production “Bombshell.” (Photo: WillHart/NBC/Courtesy: Everett Collection)
stars: Show-within-a-show features Katharine McPhee, Megan Hilty and UmaThurman all playing Marilyn at different times.
Based on: This one is different, because the NBC show was actually aboutactresses Karen (McPhee) and Ivy (Hilty) competing to play Monroe in aBroadway production about her life. At one point, a veteran actress, Rebecca(Thurman), comes in to be Marilyn, too.
Response: Thurman was nominated for an Emmy for her guest appearance, andthe show was recognized for its music and choreography. It was up for the bestTV comedy or musical award at the Golden Globes in 2013.
The Secret Life of Marilyn Monroe (2015)
Kelli Garner stars as Marilyn in The Secret Life of Marilyn Monroe. (Photo:Everett Collection)
stars: Kelli Garner ( Lars and the Real Girl , Pan Am ) as Marilyn.Notably, Susan Sarandon and her daughter Eva Amurri play the older and youngerversions of Marilyn’s mother, Gladys.
Based on: Lifetime’s two-part TV miniseries focused on Marilyn’srelationship with her family and how she tried to hide that part of her lifefrom the public, and it was taken from J. Randy Taraborrelli’s 2009 bio of thesame name.
Response: Reviews of Garner’s performance skewed from meh to wow, but theminiseries picked up three non-acting Emmy nods.
blonde (2022)
Ana de Armas is Marilyn Monroe in blonde. (Photo: Netflix/Courtesy EverettCollection)
stars: Ana De Armas.
Based on: Joyce Carol Oates’s 2000 biographical fiction novel.
Response: To be determined.
This story was originally published on Sept. 16, 2022 at 11:00 a.m. ET.