MARILYN Monroe’s last interview before her death – her most personal conversation ever recorded – has been published for the first time and strips away the Hollywood glamor.
The iconic actress spoke candidly about the lingering embarrassment of her infamous nude calendar shoot, the quiet ache of a life without a family, and how she struggled with fame.
Marilyn was only 36 when she died of an overdose on August 5, 1962, but her story of fame and tragedy still haunts the public imagination.
She gave her final interview three weeks earlier to Life magazine editor, Richard Meryman, published in full in a new book, Marilyn: The Lost Photographs, The Last Interview, which hit shelves on Tuesday.
The movie star sat down for the conversation at her new house in Brentwood, Los Angeles, and posed for intimate photographs which saw her dressed casually in a V-neck sweater and slacks with heels.
Less than a month after the profound chat, she was found dead, face-down in her bed at the home, which had become her private sanctuary and was tucked away at the end of a cul-de-sac.
Her death was ruled a “probable suicide” caused by acute barbiturate poisoning, with empty pill bottles scattered around her room, which some still believe was a cover-up after she was murdered.
Marilyn’s fame soared after her death, transforming her from a top-billed actress and Hollywood sex symbol into an enduring, mythical cultural icon.
Here are the biggest takeaways from her final interview, in which she bared her soul.
Nude calendar scandal
Marilyn famously posed nude for Los Angeles photographer Tom Kelley in May 1949, when she was a 22-year-old unemployed model-actress trying to make ends meet.
Hugh Hefner, who was obsessed with Marilyn, paid $500 for the rights to the photos and used them for the cover and centerfold of the first edition of Playboy Magazine – which now sells for thousands of dollars.
In the interview, she talked about the photographs coming out, saying she was already established at 20th Century Fox at the time and under contract.
“I regretted the studio finding out about it,” she admitted. “I was a little embarrassed because, I thought, my god, there I am with my bare tuchus out.”
She explained she was four weeks behind on rent while living at the Hollywood Studio Club.
“When I got there, he said, ‘Everything off.’ I said, ‘Oh my god.”
She explained they didn’t put makeup on her face or body, recalling, “He stretched me out on this red velvet. I was a little draughty, but he and his wife were very nice.”
Marilyn said she dreamt of red velvet as a child, but admitted, “I never thought I was going to end up nude on red velvet. I got paid fifty dollars.”
The star later explained she was upset when another actress told her she posed nude to “get famous” the way she did.
Marilyn claimed the girl drove a Cadillac and lived in a fancy hotel, and she told her, “You’ve got the wrong idea.”
Family pain
Marilyn was born Norma Jeane Mortenson, later baptized as Norma Jean Baker, on June 1, 1926, in Los Angeles.
Her mother, Gladys Baker, was diagnosed with schizophrenia and institutionalized, leading her to spend years in 11 different foster homes and an orphanage.
In the interview, the star described her childhood as being “grim” and how her foster parents would often send her to the movies to get her out of the house.
Marilyn’s three marriages – to Jim Dougherty, Joe DiMaggio, and Arthur Miller – all ended in divorce before her death in 1962.
She looked back at her first marriage as a mere child, remarking, “When I was sixteen, a kid, I was a housewife, but I was sort of much more than a housewife.”
Marilyn then added, “Happiness wasn’t anything I ever took for granted. I think I found it in marriage – in my marriages. Not the first one. But, you know, live and learn. “
She suffered at least three documented pregnancy losses during her marriage to Miller and was always open about wanting to become a mother.
“Sometimes I think all I’ve ever wanted in the world is to settle for being a happily married woman with a wonderful family, but I don’t think I would trade that for what I’ve learned,” she said.
Hating SAG (Screen Actors Guild)
Marilyn spoke in-depth about her frustrations with the industry, specifically the Screen Actors Guild.
“I believe all the unions are better than no unions, but a union protecting talent is a sad thing,” she said.
“They call it SAG. SAD is what they should call it.
“I mean, the only benefits you can ever get is that they’ll bury you, or, if you’re nearly dead, they’ll put you in some old folks’ home. This is the truth.
“It’s appalling and it’s shocking and why shouldn’t people know about this?”
She further talked about being paid $500-a-week for the 1953 movie, Gentleman Prefer Blondes, while her brunette co-star, Jayne Mansfield, banked $200,000 for her role in the musical comedy.
But she was still determined to work, saying, “I want to be an artist, an actress with integrity. That includes playing all kinds of parts.”
She added, “When I’m older. I’ll play other kinds of parts.”
Mobbed by fans
Marilyn also discussed extensively how she was mobbed in the streets and had to deal with the intense pressure of being in the spotlight.
During one distressing moment, she ended up needing medical attention.
She explained, “The time I came out of the hospital in New York, that was a little rough because I had just had a gall bladder operation and the crowds were pushing and my side opened up.”
Marilyn claimed she had to see a doctor who used clamps and tape on her after she returned home but it didn’t really help.
Recalling the uncomfortable moment, she added, “I think they [fans] should be aware that you are real and that you’re human.”
Elsewhere in the book, she spoke of her shock at how famous she became and thought it was a joke when she first saw her name in lights.
Erotic scene
The actress calls being a sex symbol a “special burden” in the interview, saying she once read a list of “all of our sex symbols of the day” and was insulted she was included.
“Personally, it’s kind of a meaningless thing. All of a sudden, anybody can be a sex symbol,” she said.
“If I’m going to be a symbol of something, I’d rather have it be sex than some of the other things they’ve got symbols for.”
Marilyn further explained that she wanted to get even more intimate on screen.
She said, “First of all, if you check over my movies, I’ve never had an erotic scene. I’ve always wanted to test it out and see if I could do it.
“I think if you can act one thing, you can act everything, so I think that’s in the realm of possibility.
“It’s just that I’ve never had really a scene like that to do ever.”
