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They All Want To Be Marilyn: 15 Monroe Imitators That Should Stuff It

By Agent Bedhead | Posted Under Seriously Random Lists | Comments (34)



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These days, it’s hard to believe that actresses and singers so proudly wear their Marilyn Monroe fixations on their shoulders (and in one case, their forearm). If I were a starlet (which, of course, I am not), I would probably deviate from the course and try to be anything but Marilyn. Nothing against the icon, but when everyone tries to be one person, it detracts from the original. Better to be different, which is far more daring than the Xerox versions that run amuck throughout Hollywood.

In that vein of thought, here’s a quick rundown of the 15 most visible Marilyn Monroe imitators of recent years. Let’s do this:

Michelle Williams: Perhaps this one shouldn’t count as an “imitator” since Prisco dug the hell out her My Week With Marilyn performance. For this Monroe-in-drag Vogue spread, however, she looks like a poorly-styled copycat.

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Katy Perry: News just arrived that Harvey Weinstein wants Perry to play Marilyn in the Broadway version of My Week With Marilyn. At the risk of sounding sexist, it sounds like Harvey just wants another notch on his belt. Watch out, Russell Brand?

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Madonna: Perhaps Madge should get a little credit for being so bloody persistent in her everlasting homage to Marilyn. She’s done so on a very frequent basis and most notoriously in her “Material Girl” video. Hilariously, Lady Gaga now copies Madge copying Marilyn.

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Megan Fox: While Fox hasn’t gone so far as to (publicly) dress in manner of Marilyn, I think that her dreadfully ugly Monroe tattoo does even further. Fortunately, a telltale tattoo fading led to Fox’s admission that she was “over it” and was indeed removing the tattoo because Monroe was bipolar, and Megan didn’t want that negative energy on her or some shit. Good for her.

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Peaches Geldof: Bitch, please.

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Lindsay Lohan: For whatever reason, Lohan was chosen to recreate “The Last Sitting” for New York Magazine. She also wrote scribbled a fawning essay that made it into a Marilyn biography. Soon, she’ll appear in a Monroe-themed Playboy shoot. Where will it end? The grave.

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Christina Aguilera: This GQ photo was part of X-tina’s promotional campaign for Back to Basics, so it sort of makes sense that she’d try to pull a Marilyn here. Also, she may very well have bathed in the process, which is always a plus.

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Paris Hilton: Honestly, I don’t even know where to begin here but to assume that perhaps Paris knew how ridiculous she and her rack appeared on the red carpet? It’s like a cliché upon a cliché or, at the very least, two of them smooshed into the same push-up bra.

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Scarlett Johansson: This image comes from a Dolce & Gabbana advertising campaign where ScarJo “channels” Marilyn. She looks good and, fortunately, never had to open her mouth past the vacant stare.

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Charlize Theron: Perhaps Charlize was going for the “Most Boring Marilyn” ever. As in most of her other endeavors, she succeeds mightily here.

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Anna Nicole Smith: This one was actually slightly successful at evoking a jokingly pin-up version of the quintessential blonde bombshell.

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Hayden Panettiere: This photo was taken from a Vanity Fair spread, so it’s fair to say that Hayden didn’t intentionally beg to be styled this way, but who are we really kidding here?

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AnnaLynne McCord: You do know who she is, right? Oh, never mind.

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Britney Spears: Britney’s been attempting to evoke a down home, Cheetos-loving Marilyn for quite some time now.

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And she’s still doing it as revealed from this stage shot of Brit’s Femme Fatale tour.

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Agent Bedhead lives in Tulsa, Oklahoma. She and her little black heart can be found at Celebitchy.









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Comments

It's all so embarrassing.

Posted by: klingonfree at November 30, 2011 2:05 PM

Aguilera looks the most like Marilyn - actually, she looks like Norma Jean in the dirty photos that came out after Marilyn got famous.

Posted by: Three-nineteen at November 30, 2011 2:06 PM

When I was in junior high, I thought the Madonna "Material Girl" video was the hottest shit ever. Damn, I loved that.

That's all I got.

Posted by: MM at November 30, 2011 2:17 PM

I think Britney has always been the closest in imitating Marilyn, willfully or not, in terms of her looks (same clipped nose), her It factor, and the fact that she's as crazy as a shit-house rat.

Posted by: Ash at November 30, 2011 2:22 PM

Screw everyone (especially the people who wrote the article you linked to), Michelle Williams is amazing.

Posted by: ChristianH at November 30, 2011 2:32 PM

I hate Celebitchy ^(The people who wrote the article that ChristianH hates) almost as much as they hate themselves. I don't like any celebrity blogs, but they are a special brand of twats. Why Pajiba links to them is beyond me.

Posted by: Freller at November 30, 2011 2:44 PM

The hottest version of Madonna was the "Like a Virgin" era. The cover of that album was the focus of a lot of private moments of contemplation from my 11 year old self. I wasn't sure why the woman on the cover was dressed like that, but I knew I liked it.

Ironically the torn fishnets and trashy slut look that she had early on beat all the other stylized looks that came after as she tried so hard to regain her original icon status.

Posted by: TylerDFC at November 30, 2011 2:48 PM

Marilyn Monroe? I thought Katy Perry was dressed up as a Slutty Judy Jetson for Halloween.

Posted by: bleujayone at November 30, 2011 2:56 PM

Doesn't Celebitchy post stuff by all sources, including such bottom feeders as the Daily Mail, and the US tabloids as fact and then discuss it?

Marilyn Monroe was born in 1926. It is not unreasonable that she could still be alive today. I always feel that the people emulating Marilyn haven't done much research. Her personal history was heartbreaking and I swear you can often see a sad, vulnerable broken child in her eyes.

Posted by: Mrs. Julien at November 30, 2011 2:59 PM

I have to say, out of all the ugly tattoos people can get, getting a tattoo of another person is always the worst. Even tattooing butterfly wings to your back usually looks less hideous than a tattoo of someone's face.

Posted by: Devil Child at November 30, 2011 3:01 PM

Say it louder Freller! I used to read Celebitchy but now it's just awful. According to them every actress is a 'smug bitch' and every actor is 'trolling for strange'. If you really want to lose any hope for humanity, read the comments section.

Posted by: wildflower at November 30, 2011 3:10 PM

Jumping on the bandwagon, one of the things that I've come to hate on celebitchy is the idea that every successful actor who hasn't been seen with a woman on his arm HAS GOT to be gay. Because clearly, if you're not in a relationship, there's something wrong with you. If you're a woman, you're a crazy bitch; if you're a guy, you're gay.

Posted by: Holly at November 30, 2011 3:16 PM

I can't argue with Celebitchy's logic there, Holly.

Posted by: Mrs. Julien at November 30, 2011 3:26 PM

I've heard her name before, and now I even know what she looks like, but I still don't know who the fuck Peaches Geldof is.

Posted by: Craigilicious at November 30, 2011 4:00 PM

@Mrs. Julien I'm not saying a lot (most) gay actors are not advised to stay in the closet, but I always thought being single was something perfectly normal.

Posted by: Holly at November 30, 2011 4:10 PM

Peaches is the daughter of Bob Geldof of the Boomtown Rats and the creator of Live Aid and Band Aid, the charitable concert and song for the Etiopian famine back in the 80's. Her mother was Paula Yates who was married to or living with Michael Hutchence of INXS.

How do I know all this crap? At least it's Rock N Roll and not Hollywood.

Posted by: kirbyjay at November 30, 2011 4:49 PM

It's actually Ethiopian.

Posted by: kirbyjay at November 30, 2011 4:50 PM

This is why I turn to The Superficial for all my celebrity gossip needs. Fish at Superficial is a horrible lefty commie like me, and quite often hilarious.

Posted by: Craig at November 30, 2011 4:56 PM

I always thought of Anna Nicole as more of a Jayne Mansfield.

Posted by: Alexis at November 30, 2011 5:17 PM

Celebitchy is not serious. Their posts are just for fun, and are snarky. This is Pajiba. The tag line here used to be about being bitchy.

Posted by: BWeaves at November 30, 2011 5:39 PM

Done

to

death

Posted by: Protoguy at November 30, 2011 6:35 PM

Agent Bedhead writes at Celebitchy, and presumably other Pajiba staff are fans of her work. Ergo, linkage.

Posted by: Amanda6 at November 30, 2011 6:41 PM

Guys, am I the only one who is really NOT digging Michelle Williams as Monroe? I feel like she looks like Michelle Williams in costume. I can't get into it. I haven't seen the movie yet so maybe she channels The Marilyn when she's live, but the still shots are so off-putting to me. I kind of hate it.

Posted by: katyv at November 30, 2011 10:23 PM

I'd like to boil this down a bit, actually. I like Marylin Monroe well enough. Some Like It Hot is a favorite and so is How To Marry A Millionaire (the clothes!). But I don't see AT ALL how she is so imitation-worthy. AT. ALL. I don't know a lot of men who think so either. So, all these imitators...why her? Why would any actress (many many many of whom are attention uh addicts) want to copy someone? Isn't the idea to stand out from the crowd?

Anyhoo.

Marylin always looked a little bit like she needed to get some exercise and fresh air and sunshine.

Posted by: klingonfree at November 30, 2011 10:35 PM

To be fair there are a lot of blonde bombshells that were unique in their own way, that people think of as Marilyn-ish because they have blonde hair, red lipstick and black eyeliner. But they all had their own talents.

Several of those looks could be considered homages to Jean Harlow, Mae West, Carole Lombard, Veronica Lake and Jayne Mansfield.

While some of these images are obviously Monroe, in the fashion shoots the decisions are made by stylists who would be familiar with all these actresses and their styles.

Posted by: Haystacks at November 30, 2011 10:56 PM

Yeah, I'm think that as far as magazine shoots go, we should take issue with the people running the shoot first.

Posted by: Sara H at November 30, 2011 11:50 PM

She was so dead-eyed with this very fragile/soft kind of fire brimming beneath the surface. She sort of exemplifies the girl who could have the world on a string and find herself sadder than ever. Wanting to be that girl is an adolescent fantasy, an emo pretty pretty princess variety. I think her saddest reality was convincing her lovers they loved norma jean. Or convincing herself. These hollywood girls who emulate her, frankly, don't seem like the brightest bunch. Probably a projection about how they're not taken seriously, wilfully take on the role of living as an object, and get love for their lphysical appearance while convincing themselves they're real because they like video games (they probably don't really know if they like them or not). Monroe was someone who was simultaneously taken seriously while written off as a tart/floozy/bimbo. Hence the projection. I find her intriguing in picture with an indeliable factor. Pictures of her are art to some. Spare me mila kunis's comment on that.

Posted by: togo at December 1, 2011 3:30 AM

I am a total loser with an obsessive internet hater who follows me. I am sick of modern celeb interviews. They come across as self aware soundbites. The actress stereotype is vapid. They're selling themselves. As for vile human behavior, low self esteem is a bitch.

Posted by: togo at December 1, 2011 4:20 AM

Will stay out of your playground. Take everything.

Posted by: togo at December 1, 2011 4:25 AM

, I don't care for celebrities who act like high school girls and pander to online commentors..after the last mila kunis interview I read in which she said acting isn't art, I am keeping my distance from the machine. I came here for the reviews in 2006. I prefer the serious ones.

Posted by: togo at December 1, 2011 4:39 AM

I am an apologetic celebrity news whore. I'm completely obsessed with celebrity news and all that bullshit. I hate myself for it but I try not to take it too seriously or give any of the "sources" too much credit. It's just fun. I understand where the Celebitchy hate is coming from, but if you guys think that's bad, don't ever visit Idontlikeyouinthatway.com or Yeeeah.com. Those sites can be hilarious but are generally downright nasty. Racist, misogynistic, just plain ugly. Celebitchy is tame and kind in comparison. Michael K at Dlisted is the most amusing and remains my fave.

Posted by: Iheartlasagne at December 1, 2011 5:02 AM

I didn't know it we could say here for everyone to know that we all think that Charlize Theron is extremely boring. Cute - but boring.

Posted by: James at December 3, 2011 11:29 PM

Marilyn is such an inspiration to us all. So beautiful, passion and smart.

Posted by: Jasmin Lopez at January 10, 2012 4:03 PM

Good points, however not sure that I completely agree.

Posted by: Esther Pimentel at January 20, 2012 11:23 AM