No blonde bombshell has ever dazzled the world quite like Marilyn Monroe (formerly Norma Jeane Mortenson). Her sultry good looks, voluptuous curves, and winning smile set her apart on the screen and on the page -–though she was best displayed in full color, then an innovation. In life, she was known for her sensuous good looks, whispery voice, and funny comedic talent. But this screen goddess is not remembered for the way she lived. Rather, her legend continues because of the highly mysterious way she died.
A total of twenty-nine films can claim Monroe on their cast list, but the Hollywood starlet is best known for two of these films: the one that would be her last, and the one that she would never complete. The Misfits, which would not only be Monroe’s last film but Clark Gable’s as well, and the incomplete Something’s Gotta Give showed a melancholy, poignant Marilyn that seemed overshadowed by impending tragedy.
Other young women have done their best to imitate Monroe’s blonde, sultry, voluptuous package – though few women could ever begin to succeed. Madonna, the Material Girl herself, often likened herself to the Hollywood star in the past. Her video for the hit song Material Girl even seemed to be patterned from one of Marilyn’s more famous numbers, Diamonds are a Girl’s Best Friend (appearing in the movie Gentlemen Prefer Blondes). But Madonna will not share in the tragic legacy that once belonged solely to Monroe.
Weeks after her thirty-sixth birthday, Marilyn Monroe was found dead in her bedroom on August 4, 1962. A bottle of sleeping pills sat as sad testament on her night stand. Later, she was declared to be the victim of suicide. More than forty years later, people still question the death of Marilyn Monroe.
Almost from the beginning, questions lingered over this tragic and untimely death. Had Marilyn truly killed herself, or had she been killed? Rumors were rampant, some of them even indicting the President himself in the scandal. Had the leader of the nation dallied with Marilyn? Had the FBI set up her death? Was the case really so simple as suicide?
Years and years later, another blonde bombshell became known for her curvaceous good looks and winning ways. Like Marilyn, she was popular with the men – even older men. Like Marilyn, she posed in Playboy. Like Marilyn, she had trouble getting what she called "serious" acting roles. And like Marilyn, Anna Nicole Smith tragically died before she ever got the chance to celebrate her fortieth birthday.
On February 8, 2007, Anna Nicole Smith was found unresponsive in her hotel room. From that moment forward, a media circus ensued. The winds have still not died down from the tragedy that her untimely death caused. It was questioned, and questionable, from the start. What killed Anna? Police were careful to say that illegal drugs were not found in the room, but autopsy information was slow in coming. Now, allegations are flying that Anna Nicole was given pills by her lover. Was she killed on purpose? Will the world ever know?
The myths surrounding their deaths have overshadowed their entire lives. If Marilyn had lived in the same time as Anna Nicole, would they have been a lot more alike? Both were products of their times, both pushed their sexuality to the very limit, and both were said to enjoy life and contain sweet, personable natures. Now, both are gone, and the myths of their deaths are all that remain. Some legends are meant to remain mysterious.
