She was a natural blonde Monroe, who joined her first modeling agency as a curly haired brunette, was dedicated to doing whatever it took to get noticed. She started lightening her hair in the mid-1940s and was instantly hooked.
In 1950, Norma purchased herself a bottle of peroxide dye before heading to a screen test. Entering her bathroom a natural curly-haired redhead, Norma emerged as the most iconic blonde of all time: Marilyn Monroe. Yep, you read right, Marilyn Monroe's natural hair colour is red.
Marilyn Monroe who was born Norma Jeane Mortenson was an American model and actress. Although she was famous for playing “blonde bombshell” characters she was naturally a redhead.
Sitting somewhere between 'Old Hollywood Blonde' and 'Atomic Blonde', Marilyn Blonde is platinum, bright but a little bit ashy – just like Marilyn Monroe's iconic colour.
According to the author Pamela Keogh, Monroe had her hair bleached every three weeks with a roster of hairstylists including Pearl Porterfield (who also tended to Jean Harlow's pale blonde hair) and Kenneth Battelle.
Monroe's natural eye color was most likely to be blue, as recorded in her sister's autobiography (48) – “but our eyes were different … Norma Jeane's were blue like our mother's” – and on her autopsy report (49), in addition to Capote's description of her “blue-grey eyes” while wearing glasses (46).
To get her signature on-camera glow, Monroe would apply thick layers of Vaseline or white Nivea Creme under her makeup, while dermatologist Erno Laszlo kept her well stocked in his Phormula 3-9—a reparative botanical balm, specially created to heal a scar of hers—and Active Phelityl Cream, an all-purpose moisturizer.
Monroe's intelligence carried over to her beauty regimen. When it comes to wellness, Monroe was often ahead of her time. She favored dry shampoo—baby powder on her roots every two days—and often spoke of her disdain for excessive sun-bathing, citing skin damage.
Marilyn Monroe was born Norma Jeane Mortenson on June 1, 1926, at the Los Angeles General Hospital in Los Angeles, California. Her mother, Gladys Pearl Baker (née Monroe; 1902–1984), was born in Piedras Negras, Coahuila, Mexico to a poor Midwestern family who migrated to California at the turn of the century.
Marilyn may have had a milky complexion, but every skin tone can benefit from avoiding the sun's harmful rays. “I'm personally opposed to a deep tan because I like to feel blonde all over,” Monroe reportedly once said.
Her favourite shade of blonde
According to Vogue, the author Pamela Keogh noted that Monroe had her hair bleached every three weeks and swore by dry shampoo— baby powder on her roots.
She reportedly began lightening her hair in the early 1940s to get noticed, especially after her modeling career began to take off at the age of twenty-one. "For Marilyn, going blonde, it was like the Hollywood star-building machine,” said photographer Nancy Lee Andrews to Yahoo!, “she saw what it could do for her."
Less than 2% of the world's population are natural redheads. But in addition to being relatively rare, people with red hair have unique medical concerns. Here's what you should know about how DNA associated with red hair may increase your risk for certain health conditions and provide protection against others.
She was a natural blonde
Monroe, who joined her first modeling agency as a curly haired brunette, was dedicated to doing whatever it took to get noticed. She started lightening her hair in the mid-1940s and was instantly hooked.
Naturally-occurring blond hair is primarily found in people living in or descended from people who lived in the northern half of Europe, and may have evolved alongside the development of light skin that enables more efficient synthesis of vitamin D, due to northern Europe's lower levels of sunlight.
Marilyn was buried in the green Pucci dress, which she had worn to a press conference in Mexico earlier on in the year. Agnes Flanagan arranged her hair and had to use a wig due to the damage caused by the autopsy.
Steak. Ms. Monroe had a protein-rich diet that included lots of steak and other red meats. To truly mimic Marilyn, munch on a handful of raw carrots, her preferred vegetable side.
She endured terrible pain during menstruation because she had endometriosis.” Continuing to list the various health problems and hidden ailments that Monroe faced during her short life, Banner adds: “She broke out in rashes and hives and eventually came down with chronic colitis, enduring abdominal pain and nausea.
Get the Monroe glow
She was also a fan of cold cream, like Pond's, and other iconic products we still use today, including Elizabeth Arden's Eight Hour Cream and Nivea Creme, and even olive oil, which she also reportedly applied to her skin to offset dryness.
Marilyn Monroe's signature red lips were famously achieved with five coats of Guerlain's Rouge Diabolique lipstick. Although the original lipstick is no longer sold, many people report this red beauty from Besame to be a pretty close dupe. You'll find it to be a flattering shade of red for you too.
Did you know, Marilyn Monroe and John F. Kennedy were type AB's?
Monroe's famous sleepy bedroom eyes are actually a makeup trick, using eye shadow and white eyeliner to elongate the lower lash line to help eyes appear bigger and brighter.