MARILYN MONROE FAVORITES
A curated portrait of Marilyn Monroe through the things she loved, admired, and remembered.
Marilyn Monroe’s public image is endlessly familiar, yet her private world was shaped by deeply personal interests, cultural passions, and artistic influences that reveal a far more complex individual. From the writers and poets she read, to the music she admired, the films and performers she celebrated, and the everyday comforts she relied upon, these favorites offer a rare window into Marilyn’s inner life.
The selections below reflect the tastes, inspirations, and personal touchstones associated with Marilyn, ranging from great works of literature and classical art to beloved entertainers, signature beauty products, and meaningful memories. Together, they form a more intimate portrait of a woman whose curiosity and appreciation for beauty extended far beyond the screen.
- Beverage: Dom Perignon 1953
- Female Singer: Ella Fitzgerald
- Film Performances: The Asphalt
- Jungle and Don’t Bother to Knock
- Playwrights: Arthur Miller and
- Tennessee Williams
- Restaurant: Romanoff’s (in Hollywood)
- Perfume: Chanel No. 5
- Beauty Product: Nivea Moisturizer
- Color: Green
- Artists: Goya, Picasso, El Greco, Michelangelo and Botticelli
- Book: How Stanislavsky Directs by Michael Gorchakov
- Male Singer: Frank Sinatra
- Photograph: Cecil Beaton’s photo of Marilyn in her white dress
- Plays: A Streetcar Named Desire and Death of a Salesman
- Poets: John Keats and Walt Whitman
- Store: Bloomingdale’s
- Writers: Fyodor Dostoyevsky, J.D. Salinger, George Bernard Shaw and Thomas Wolfe
- Musicians: Louis Armstrong, Earl Bostick, Ludwig Van Beethoven and Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
- Actresses: Greta Garbo, Jean Harlow, Ginger Rogers, Marie Dressler and Olivia DeHavilland
- Actors: Clark Gable, Charlie Chaplin, Charles Laughton, Will
- Rogers, Cary Grant, John Barrymore, Tyrone Power and Richard Widmark
- Personal Remembrance: Korea
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