The Girl: Marilyn Monroe, The Seven Year Itch, and the Birth of an Unlikely Feminist

by Michelle Morgan

Overview

With an in-depth look at the two most empowering years in the life of Marilyn Monroe, The Girl details how The Seven Year Itch created an icon and sent the star on an adventure of self-discovery and transformation from a controlled wife and contract player into a businesswoman and unlikely feminist whose power is still felt today.

When Marilyn Monroe stepped over a subway grating as The Girl in The Seven Year Itch and let a gust of wind catch the skirt of her pleated white dress, an icon was born. Before that, the actress was mainly known for a nude calendar and one-dimensional, albeit memorable, characters on the screen. Though she again played a "dumb blonde" in this film and was making headlines by revealing her enviable anatomy, the star was now every bit in control of her image, and ready for a personal revolution.

Emboldened by her winning fight to land the role of The Girl, the making of The Seven Year Itch and the eighteen months that followed was the period of greatest confidence, liberation, and career success that Monroe lived in her tumultuous life. It was a time in which, among other things, she:

• Ended her marriage to Joe DiMaggio and later began a relationship with Arthur Miller;
• Legally changed her name to Marilyn Monroe, divorcing herself from the troubled past of Norma Jeane;
• Started her own production company;
• Studied in private lessons with Lee and Paula Strasberg of the Actors Studio and became a part of the acting revolution of the day

The ripple effects her personal rebellion had on Hollywood, and in trailblazing the way for women that followed, will both surprise and inspire readers to see the Marilyn Monroe in an entirely new light.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780762490592
Publisher:	Running Press Book Publishers
Publication date:	05/08/2018
Pages:	320
Product dimensions:	5.60(w) x 7.90(h) x 0.90(d)

About the Author

Michelle Morgan is the author of many Hollywood-related books, including The Mammoth Book of Madonna and The Girl: Marilyn Monroe, The Seven Year Itch, and the Birth of an Unlikely Feminist. She lives in Northamptonshire, England.

Table of Contents

Introduction 9

Preface: Rebellious Starlet 13

Chapter 1 The Girl 27

Chapter 2 No Dumb Blonde 51

Chapter 3 Behind the Tinsel 77

Chapter 4 A Serious Actress 93

Chapter 5 The Unlikely Feminist 123

Chapter 6 Inspirational Woman 147

Chapter 7 Performance of a Lifetime 171

Chapter 8 The Woman Who Impacted the World 193

Chapter 9 The Power Struggle 209

Chapter 10 The Human Being 225

Epilogue: Passing the Torch 243

Appendix: A Woman of Culture 247

Selected Bibliography 251

Source Notes 255

Acknowledgments 301