You can clock a Marilyn impersonator from a mile away. The parted red lips, the blonde bed hair, the sleepy siren eyes, the breathy whisper of her voice. The image of Marilyn Monroe has become more iconic (and more marketable) than her actual work. Her comedic timing, effortless charm, and full-bodied sensuality often gets forgotten, replaced instead with the copy-of-a-copy-of–a-copy sexpot persona that never encapsulates all Monroe was.
With a new, luscious adaptation of Joyce Carol Oates’s fictional biography Blonde hitting Netflix, Monroe’s story gets told once again with little aspiration of truthfulness but much focus on the details of all the things that transformed Norma Jeane Baker into Marilyn Monroe. The mystery and the tragedy of her early life — abandoned and reabandoned by a mother suffering from paranoid schizophrenia, sexually abused by her foster parent, unenthusiastically married off at 16 — and her rise to being one of the definitive Hollywood movie stars of all time make for TV-movie catnip. There have been countless films and series made about Monroe’s life. A lot of these are told from the point of view of the men who took advantage of her or pined for her from afar, so much so that there’s a whole genre of “Marilyn and me†stories that lean heavily toward the “and me†part. That’s not counting the myriad of cameos (she pops up in the background of a “supposedly dead celebrity†party of immortals in Death Becomes Her), allusions (Penélope Cruz in Broken Embraces dons a Marilyn-esque wig) and stories loosely inspired by her story (the Paddy Chayefsky-penned 1958 film The Goddess is widely assumed to be based on Monroe).
The fantasy of Marilyn Monroe is easily recognized, but embodying her is no easy feat for an actress because she is stepping not just into Monroe the person but the very idea of her that has been developed and twisted over decades.
22.
Charlotte Sullivan, The Kennedys (2011)
Played by Charlotte Sullivan in the penultimate episode of the miniseries dedicated to the public and private lives of the Kennedy clan, this is barely an imitation of Monroe. She is there to serve a function — that of a nuisance to JFK, an obsessed and unstable woman who has convinced herself the president of the United States will marry her. In a series criticized for taking liberties with historical facts, it’s not surprising there is little respect paid to the memory of Monroe (she has to mock-blow Bobby Kennedy), who’s presented here as little more than a crass, unstable bimbo.
21.
Melody Anderson, Marilyn & Bobby: Her Final Affair (1993)
Monroe’s purported affair with the Kennedys is the least interesting thing about her (and them). There’s nothing salvageable about this disposable TV drama that imagines Monroe as a messy sexpot who wakes up with a face full of makeup and a blow dry and seems to have a mommy kink. To be avoided at all costs unless one needs a strong sleeping aid.
20.
Sophie Monk, The Mystery of Natalie Wood (2004)
Let’s be honest: This one isn’t about Marilyn at all. She appears only briefly, basically in a glorified cameo in this by-the-numbers TV biopic of another Hollywood star who died in mysterious circumstances. And they don’t even get the wig right.
19.
Barbara Niven, The Rat Pack (1998)
In this character-actor-studded biopic (Ray Liotta, Don Cheadle, and Joe Mantegna!) about the Rat Pack, Monroe is but an afterthought — and a crass one at that. Barbara Niven (a Lifetime-movie staple) plays a cartoon version of Monroe: boobs out, big blonde wig, and desperate to get in bed with JFK. The disrespect paid to the woman is best summarized by a throwaway line from Dean Martin: “If she gets any more humid, we’re gonna need umbrellas.â€
18.
Constance Forslund, This Year’s Blonde (1980)
One of two TV movies made in 1980 about the rise of Monroe, this one focuses on her relationship with agent Johnny Hyde (Lloyd Bridges) early in her career. Low budget, mostly taking place in the offices of studio execs, Constance Forslund succeeds only in getting the breathy voice right.
17.
Susan Griffiths, Marilyn and Me (1991)
The biggest flaw of this film, aside from Susan Griffiths’s begging and superficial performance (“Tranquilizers, they help!â€), is that it’s looking at Monroe from a distance, always from the point of view of aspiring screenwriter Robert Slatzer (Jesse Dabson). Positioned as her one true love, the one who got away, and even a secret fourth husband, this is possibly the most offensive entry in the “mediocre man somehow charms Monroe†subgenre.
16.
Misty Rowe, Goodbye, Norma Jean (1976)
The first small-screen biopic of Monroe starts by declaring, ambitiously, “This is how it happened.â€Â Leaving the delicate story of Monroe in the hands of noted “schlockmeister†Larry Buchanan was arguably not a great idea. The resulting film (which garnered a sequel, Goodnight, Sweet Marilyn) is much more about men staring at the woman born Norma Jeane Mortenson than about the person herself. The film focuses on her life before she becomes Marilyn Monroe — ending with her transformation via a cheap blonde wig and silver dress — but it’s one gratuitous tit shot away from being full-on exploitation. Soft-core-porn Muzak underlines most scenes, including Misty Rowe’s empowerment monologue.
15.
Paula Lane, Goodnight, Sweet Marilyn (1989)
Credit where credit’s due: Buchanan did the split-persona trick before Norma Jean & Marilyn by casting a different actress, Paula Lane, a known Monroe look-alike and impersonator, for the follow-up to his sleazy Goodbye, Norma Jean. Using (a lot) of footage from the previous film, the bar is low, and Lane’s impersonation meets that bar. That’s the kindest I can be.
14.
Stéphanie Anderson, Calendar Girl (1993)
Another entry in the “mediocre man somehow charms Marilyn†mini-genre, in which not much is asked of Stéphanie Anderson in terms of a performance. Here, Monroe is covered up (literally) and spoken over (literally) because the story is never really about her; it’s about the boys obsessed with her as the ultimate goal. They take turns sleeping with an autographed picture of Monroe, idolizing her from afar, and, full of unearned teenage confidence, conning their way into inviting her out on a date, which she initially refuses. She goes on a pity date with the protagonist (played by Beverly Hills 90210–era Jason Priestley) and gets him out of a ticket because she is — OMG — very famous.
13.
Jodi Fleisher, Tropico (2013)
Lana Del Rey’s dreamy, pink-drenched short film premiered at the Cinerama Dome in 2013. Part biblical erotica (with Del Rey playing both Eve and the Virgin Mary), part pop-culture mashup (Monroe, John Wayne, and Elvis Presley are all in attendance in Del Rey’s Garden of Eden), this three-in-one video uses instantly recognizable iconography to make a point about sleaze and the American Dream, I guess? Which is Del Rey’s entire appeal. Jodi Fleisher (who has popped up as Monroe five times) is barely a cameo, breathlessly declaring, “Sex is part of nature. I go along with nature.â€
12.
Blake Lively, “G.G.,†Gossip Girl (2012)
In the 100th episode of Gossip Girl, Serena (Blake Lively) dreams herself to be Gentlemen Prefer Blondes–era Monroe, lip-syncing the “Diamonds Are a Girl’s Best Friend†performance before it’s wakey-wakey time. Lively does her impression with the cheeky delight of someone who isn’t aiming very high. The bleach-blonde bob looks great on her, but Lively’s face belongs to the aughts. It’s a karaoke take on a classic.
11.
Catherine Hicks, Marilyn: The Untold Story (1980)
Starting in the year of Monroe’s death, Catherine Hicks’s Marilyn is spacey and desperate for a connection, launching into recounting her life story to her lawyer, whom she doesn’t even recognize. She is presented as naïve to the point of ridiculousness, declaring, “I’m just tired of being treated like dirt†before sighing dramatically and going off to continue being merrily treated like dirt. Best known for playing the mom in 7th Heaven and Child’s Play, Hicks plays Monroe as someone who’s never seen a Monroe performance in her life, going off only a few stills and backward ideas around mental health. Based loosely on Norman Mailer’s conspiracy-theory biography of Monroe, this TV movie was surprisingly well received at the time of its airing, and Hicks even got an Emmy nod.
10.
Mira Sorvino, Norma Jean & Marilyn (1996)
More creatively ambitious and high budget than previous TV-movie biopics, the film does what it says on the tin and splits Monroe into two persons played by two actresses: Ashley Judd embodies Norma Jeane, savvy, cutthroat, and feral with ambition, while Mira Sorvino leans into the familiar tragic take on Marilyn: sad, lonely, and fucked up on pills and booze. Even in the scenes that are meant to showcase Monroe’s industry savvy, her performance is pleading, begging for approval. She fails to understand what made Monroe so appealing and instead drowns her in tragedy.
9.
Ana de Armas, Blonde (2022)
Andrew Dominik’s much-anticipated NC-17 adaptation of Oates’s novel has received generally mixed reviews since it premiered at this year’s Venice Film Festival. Much care was given to emulating Monroe, with some scenes so shockingly accurate I was momentarily convinced I was watching a high-budget deep fake and not Ana de Armas. However, her Monroe is one note, and that note is misery. She’s always crying, always begging for permission, forgiveness, or love. It’s a portrayal entirely uninterested in what made Monroe so famous and so enduring beyond being just very, very hot.
8.
Uma Thurman, Katharine McPhee, Megan Hilty, Smash (2012–13)
The entire premise of the short-lived Smash is the impossibility of a single performer fully capturing that indescribable thing that made Marilyn Monroe Marilyn Monroe. In the show, the competition between hungry actresses Karen (Katharine McPhee) and Ivy (Megan Hilty) to play Monroe in , Bombshell, a musical inspired by her life. At one point, Hollywood veteran but Broadway newbie Rebecca Duvall (Uma Thurman) swoops in and takes the role. Having three characters play Monroe cleverly illustrates the impossible task of one person playing all the contradictory personas she embodied. It also lays the groundwork for much ambitious backstabbing, which is always a plus.
7.
Madonna, “Material Girl†(1984)
Listen, no one loves Monroe more than Madonna. Her fandom has gone as far as having her re-creating the actress’ death bed for V magazine, for which she received a deserved backlash. In the music video directed by Mary Lambert, Madge paying homage to her favorite scene in Monroe’s filmography, illustrating the ironic point of the song: that she is not, in fact, interested in material things.
6.
Samantha Morton, Mister Lonely (2007)
Samantha Morton could play a shark if she wanted to. In a remote castle populated by celebrity impersonators, Marilyn lives with her husband, Charlie Chaplin (Denis Lavant), and their daughter, Shirley Temple (Esmé Creed-Miles). She brings Michael Jackson (Diego Luna) into the fold, and quietly, they fall in love. A strange movie about misfits who badly want to be seen by the world, Morton is playing a character playing Marilyn, adding a sweet meta-ness to the familiar blonde curls and breathy delivery.
5.
Poppy Montgomery, Blonde (2001)
Before she joined the FBI in Criminal Minds, Australian actress Poppy Montgomery starred in the first adaptation of Oates’s novel. Inspired by but not claiming in any way to represent Monroe’s life accurately, this affords the biopic the same kinds of liberties as the novel. This Monroe is mostly confused, latching on to any father figure who gives her attention, leaning into the bombshell persona designed for her but unaware of the effect she has on people (during the shoot of the famous nude spread, she’s mostly worried about her feet appearing dirty). Montgomery plays her with kindness but can never quite embody anything other than the tragedy of Monroe.
4.
Ashley Judd, Norma Jean & Marilyn (1996)
Even after Marilyn emerges into being, primped and bleached by Hollywood studio execs, Norma Jeane plagues her. Judd brings something to her take no other actress had at this point: ease in her own skin. She comfortably disrobes and poses for the famous nude that would end up in Playboy. She uses her lovers to advance her career shamelessly and openly. Her naked ambition is startling to watch (“Girls get movie contracts because they fuck the right peopleâ€), especially as the hustle merges with the self-hate. Norma Jeane becomes Marilyn’s ghost and harshest critic. Perhaps Judd overplays her ferocity, but it’s refreshing to see a take on Monroe that eschews tragedy porn.
3.
Theresa Russell, Insignificance (1985)
The only film on this list that’s in the Criterion Collection, this is the closest British iconoclastic filmmaker Nicolas Roeg ever came to comedy, imagining a meeting between Monroe and Albert Einstein during the production of The Seven Year Itch. They are unnamed but instantly recognizable. Played by Theresa Russell, whose makeup pays most attention to Monroe’s eyebrows and eyes, does well in capturing the clumsy smoothness of her comedic performances. Her Monroe is vivacious, eloquent, and, mostly, funny. Insignificance pits the pop-culture image of Marilyn as the ultimate beauty against the idea of Einstein as the ultimate brain to create something quite mystical and wholly entertaining.
2.
Kelli Garner, The Secret Life of Marilyn Monroe (2015)
Structured around an imaginary therapy session in which Monroe, played by Kelli Garner (whom I’ll always remember as the punky love interest Whatsername in the music video for Green Day’s “Jesus of Suburbiaâ€), attempts to understand the many traumas of her life. Garner plays Monroe as kinder to others than herself, worrying less about imitating her than about trying to understand the motivation behind her choices and eventual self-destruction. Much importance is given to the push-and-pull relationship between Marilyn and her mother, Gladys (Susan Sarandon) — far more than her marriages or affair with JFK, which sets this biopic apart from the others.
1.
Michelle Williams, My Week With Marilyn (2011)
Michelle Williams was the first and only choice to play Marilyn in this slight behind-the-screens comedy, which is a pleasant departure from the misery porn that are most Monroe biopics. The movie is based on the memoir by Colin Clark (Eddie Redmayne), a young third AD on the set of The Prince and the Showgirl, the less iconic comedy starring Sir Laurence Olivier as the eponymous prince who falls in love with Monroe’s showgirl. Williams taps into what most other actresses forget about Marilyn: her easy sensuality, drawing from her physical beauty as much as her effect on others. The film trods familiar ground (her insecurity and instability, mediocre man somehow charms Monroe) yet does well in remembering it’s not about Colin at all — it’s always about Marilyn.