There is an immortal image of Marilyn Monroe that lives in the public mind. We recall the sensuous platinum blonde with lips painted bright red, the iconic beauty mark perfectly situated on her left cheek, and she's wearing a chic low-cut dress that shows off her gorgeous figure and legs. More than six decades after her death at the age of thirty-six, this photo remains omnipresent.
But, behind the persona so carefully constructed by Monroe, there was a strong and savvy career woman. She knew the public was entranced by this sexy “dumb blonde” image, but to her, that was merely acting. When Monroe made the bold decision in the early 1950s to stand up to her studio, 20th Century-Fox, the public realized that the beguiling actress was no pushover.
Early in 1953, the 26-year-old was growing disenchanted with her six-year acting career. Having been in her contract with 20th Century-Fox, one of Hollywood’s “Big Six” studios, for two years, she had acted alongside big-name stars like Bette Davis, Claudette Colbert, and Cary Grant, but the roles she played were hardly fulfilling. She was longing for a strong script, a role that she could sink her teeth into and navigate away from the characters that the studio forced upon her.
Monroe hoped that the new year would mark a turning point, and it did, but not in the way she envisioned. Gentlemen Prefer Blondes, released in July 1953 and co-starring Jane Russell, was a box office hit, grossing around $5 million. That fall, How to Marry a Millionaire, featuring an all-star cast that included Lauren Bacall and Betty Grable, proved to be an even bigger smash, generating more than $7 million. Fox was basking in Monroe’s allure.
