Marilyn Monroe photographed in February 1947 when she was still a young starlet. At this time she was still called Norma Jeane, and hadn’t yet undergone her Hollywood makeover. In 1950 she had rhinoplasty (a nose-job) and a chin implant on the advice of her agent who paid for the surgery. She only changed her(…)
We all know that the Studio System of 30s, 40s and 50s Hollywood remade and remoulded their actors and actresses, but what did they look like before they were styled by the star factory? Here are some of my favourite Classic Hollywood actresses before they were famous. Who do you think had the biggest transformation?(…)
Marilyn Monroe was married three times, once as a sixteen-year-old brunette in the 1940s, and twice more at the height of her stardom. You don’t hear much about her wedding outfits, and I think that’s because she never chose to wear a classic wedding dress. Actually she did wear a traditional white wedding gown for(…)
I’ve just read that Max Factor have announced Marilyn Monroe as their new ‘global glamour ambassador’. They’ve done this based on the fact that Marilyn was a client of Max Factor back when they ran a beauty salon in the 1940s and they claim to have been responsible for her trademark starlet makeover. I’m not(…)
At this time of year it’s only natural my mind should turn to sparkly jewellery and classic movies (the perfect Christmas combination!). So here are some of the famous items jewellery from my favourite movies. Have I missed any good ones? Marilyn’s Diamonds from Gentlemen Prefer Blondes When Marilyn sang that ‘Diamonds are a girls(…)
Until recently ‘ghost singing’ in movies was the best kept secret in Hollywood. It might have been that the actor or actress simply couldn’t sing in tune, or that their voice just didn’t have the strength or range required, but one thing is for sure: dubbing was a widespread phenomenon. Actresses like Cyd Charisse, Joan(…)
I came across this photo of Marilyn doing her lipstick from 1948 while I was looking for a photo of her to use in my Paper Doll post yesterday, and I thought it was just charming! I love all the little drawings of lip shapes on the wall behind her too! The caption that goes(…)
Following on from my ‘dressing Grace Kelly challenge‘ last week I thought it would be fun to ask the vintage stores I know to dress Marilyn Monroe this week, what do you think of their choices? Some of them are absolutely perfect, some less so. I’d love to know which you think are the best(…)
Stars were having nips, tucks and predominantly nose-jobs from as early as the 1930s. It’s not well-documented as the stars who had succesful surgery rarely owned up to it, and those who had less successful surgery (like Mary Pickford who was rumoured to have damaged facial muscles after an early facelift) just faded from public(…)
Looking for some hair-style inspiration? I’ve collected some of the most iconic hairstyles here from the 1920s to the 1970s, which one do you fancy trying? I’m taking style inspiration from Faye Dunaway from Bonnie and Clyde today… 1. Veronica Lake: The Peekaboo Fringe 1940s movie star Veronica Lake was famous for her long finger(…)
The internet can be a pretty unforgiving place, but when the top search for Marilyn Monroe is ‘Marilyn Monroe is a hoe‘ I really have to wonder who is Googling this stuff?! I frequently search for the height of various celebrities, which admittedly is a bit of an obsession of mine (so much so that(…)
I think the tragic disappearance of Flight MH370 is probably pre-occupying all of us at the moment and it goes without saying that all of our thoughts and prayers go out to those missing and the families of all involved. The seemingly impossibly long wait for news got me thinking about some past mysteries and(…)
I turn 40 next week and this milestone got me thinking about all the Hollywood stars who died tragically young and didn’t even make it this far. Their deaths ranged from suicide, to murder, car and plane crashes and even an allergic reaction to a headache tablet. Did I miss anyone out of this list(…)
In February 1954 Marilyn Monroe travelled to South Korea to entertain the troops. She performed a quickly thrown-together show titled ‘Anything Goes’ to audiences which totalled over 100,000 troops over 4 days. She flew to Korea during her honeymoon in Japan with husband Joe DiMaggio. The baseball star was said to be annoyed by the(…)
Some time ago the AFI (that’s the American Film Institute) released a list of the top 50 greatest screen legends from the Classic Hollywood era: 25 male and 25 female stars. I’m not sure exactly what their criteria were for reaching the top spot, but they classified a screen legend as an actor or actress:(…)
Quite a lot if we believe the Hollywood Studios of the 30s and 40s! There were only a handful of Classic Hollywood stars who kept their own names, including Jane Russell, Ava Gardner, Elizabeth Taylor, Katharine Hepburn and Grace Kelly. The majority of actors and actresses had their identities completely re-written. How many of these 20(…)
Marilyn Monroe and Groucho (I think?) Marx in 1949. The young Marilyn (and her wiggle) made a lasting impression on Marx during her first screen test for the movie Love Happy. Apparently it was all because of her walk! Love Happy is regarded as the worst Marx Brothers movie, but we’re still grateful that it(…)
The height of Hollywood stars is something which has always fascinated me. I’m not sure why, but actresses always seem taller than they actually are (perhaps because they’re projected onto an enormous screen!). I had no idea that I was the same height as Marilyn Monroe, or that Veronica Lake was a diminutive 4’11”. Veronica(…)