How does Marilyn Monroe compare? If she were alive today and the way she was, when young, could she compete?

Question

I mean is there anyone out there today who's more charismatic, has more star quality, or in the other direction, would MM's way of being seem silly and fake in today's world?

Thank you all for answering with some really good insights.

erin b, Cranky Pants, escape
Your mention of weight is interesting.
It certainly didn't stop JLo, Aguilera, Beyonce from becoming big stars, and Madonna was no anorectic when she started out....

Sassette
You have a point; the field is much more crowded today. The studios kept it down to protect their stars in MM's day.

wooley booley
I'm afraid you're on the money--pun intended!

Eric M
Your answer is unique. Thank you for giving it thorough thought. I have to disagree, though, because who could beat being married to the biggest athlete of the day, and then the biggest intellectual and world-class playwright? Who, today, could beat singing at a packed house for her lover, the President of the U.S., and still stay out of jail!!!!??? She chose her scandals, and they weren't the ones that turned the public off celebrity altogether. As for what you have? Besides Hilton, most of the celebs today.....

still don't come from wealth. More do, it's true, but Lohan? Spears? Aniston?
and on....

Lemon Cakes, next attempt
Spoken like true fans! And why not?
MM was so brilliantly aware of what the times wanted from a woman, who thinks, for a second, she'd not have figured out how to turn her charisma into what fits today's market and still keep her essence?

potatomuncher
If today she were to be as she was--and that is the question, it just might not have worked--who knows? Today's women are much tougher. Toughness wasn't her thing, for sure.

candlelite
Interesting insights, but Anna Nicole Smith??? Who'd she have imitated (lol)? And she wasn't an actress....

TD
The mention of her before the makeover is brilliant. She was closer to today's image at that point, and perhaps would have used that part of herself, instead of the made-up one. Good point. As for sex for jobs--we learned that late; what do we know goes on today?

Sallie
I think your answer was terrific; you put a lot of thought into it, and you made some good points, but you missed on some--Certainly your question of when was she ever old, misses the point that IF she were here today at the age she was then, not at 81 or so---and certainly comparing her to Jayne Mansfield is not to have known the times, because Mansfield was always considered a poor imitation.
Yet, I commend you on much of what you had to say. Thank you.

Answer 1

Strange question. Would Sigourney Weaver make it in the 1950s with M.M.. Not bloody likely because she wouldn't fit in the 50s sexist context. On the other hand, they both do great in nude shots and today voyeurism cuts it many modes for fashion.

Answer 2

"when young?", when did Marilyn was ever old?

erin b is wrong.

Marilyn was not a size 16.

She was not skinny but she was not fat either. Just look at her in her movies...she was just a beautiful woman, very much in shape (she did a lot of weight training) and with no cellulite.

Her weight fluctuated between 118lbs and 140lbs (when she was pregnant). She was an average of 120lbs, which is not fat with a height of more than 5"5'.

The size "large" in the 50s has now been relabeled "medium" nowadays because clothes manufacturers have adapted to American women becoming fatter over the years and not wanting to wear the "large" size.

I think no one out there is more charismatic than Marilyn and this is why she will endure because of her innocence and the dramas of her life.

And yes, it took about two hours of make up for Marilyn to become Marilyn with all the fake silliness but then sometimes, she was aching to be taken seriously and to be thought as a good actress.

She was like Jane Mansfield, going from smart brunette, unemployed actress to stupid blonde with a movie contract.
(do you even believe the Paris Hilton stupid act?).

They were just smart women exploiting the system until the system was too much to bear.

Answer 3

The world of acting and modeling is different today than 60 years ago. You don't gain popularity for having a pretty face, more people judge you on how much you have, who you've dated, etc. She definitely wouldn't be as popular in today's world as long as Paris Hilton or Lindsay Lohan had something to say about it.

Answer 4

I think she may struggle a little bit with how everything changes and quite often older celebrities arent as wanted as the younger ones.If she remain a great performer and kept herself up she would probably do just as well as actress Pam Grier.

Also she probably would have had to compete a little with the late Anna Nicole Smith who idolized her and tried to be her.They may would been a "Spotlight" battle there.

But other than that I do not see competition being that difficult.

Answer 5

Paris Hilton comes to mind.

But MM was indeed charismatic - probably more than anyone to grace our screens. And yes, her demeanour today would perhaps come across as artificial - hence the Hilton analogy.

Answer 6

The pictures of her when she was an 18 year old factory worker show that she could have.

Hollywood made up that thing she became.

Also, she was the one giving up the boodie, so she got all the good jobs.

Her spread in the first Playboy Mag didn't hurt either.

**

Answer 7

I think she would be a great model, you do not have to be size 2 to be a great model. She was a good role model to to show teens now a days you do not need to look skinny like paris hilton to be famous. M.M. was original & we need someone like her nowadays as a role model. Great question!

Answer 8

not at a size 16, she'd be on the nicole richie diet to keep up with paris and britney

Answer 9

There is no substitute for Marilyn. God, she is still beautiful.

And to whoever said that, just because you can't see a girl's ribs doesn't mean she's beautiful.

Answer 10

1