Myth: Marilyn Monroe was a size 12-16.
From Roseanne Barr stating, “I’m more sexy than Pamela Lee or whoever else they’ve got out there these days. Marilyn Monroe was a size 16. That says it all”, to Elizabeth Hurley stating, “I’ve always thought Marilyn Monroe looked fabulous, but I’d kill myself if I was that fat…I went to see her clothes in the exhibition, and I wanted to take a tape measure and measure what her hips were. She was very big”, you’ll often hear people saying Marilyn Monroe was around the same size as the average American woman today (12-16). In fact, nothing could be further from the truth, at least by today’s sizing systems.
How this myth got started isn’t exactly known. One possible contributing factor to this myth was Marilyn Monroe’s atypical extreme hour glass shape. More directly, it probably partially stems from the fact that women’s sizes today are not at all equivalent to women’s sizes in the 1950s. In the 1980s, in order to accommodate people’s vanity and ever expanding girth, the U.S. Department of Commerce got rid of the uniform sizing system and instead allowed for more ego stroking sizes. As a result of this, today, a size 8 would have been roughly equivalent to a size 16-18 in the 1950s, obviously though this varies a shocking amount from brand to brand.
So what size was Marilyn Monroe actually? Luckily, many of her dresses, carefully preserved, are still around to measure off of. Further, one of her dress makers also chimed in with exact measurements he took. Those measurements were 5 ft. 5.5 inches tall; 35 inch bust; 22 inch waist (approximately 2-3 inches less than the average American woman in the 1950s and 12 inches less than average today); and 35 inch hips, with a bra size of 36D. Her weight fluctuated a bit through her career, usually rising in times of depression and falling back to her normal thereafter, but her dressmaker listed her as 118 pounds and the Hollywood studios tended to list her between 115-120 lbs.
As to what size Marilyn Monroe would be in women’s sizes today, that’s not an easy thing to answer due to the differing sizes from brand to brand, country to country, and the fact that her extreme hour glass shape would have made it difficult for her to find the perfect size while clothes shopping. Lucky for her, she could afford to have her clothing custom made, which she usually did.
As a direct example of her size, the white dress she wore in The Seven Year Itch was recently auctioned off and was put on a mannequin that was a size 2, but they were still unable to zip up the dress as the mannequin was too big. Many of her other dresses that exist from throughout her career match up to about the same, give or take an inch or two. That being said, Marilyn Monroe at times would have her dresses so tight they’d have to be sown onto her, so something more comfortable in a size 4-ish (American) and something like an 8 in the U.K. is probably more accurate with most brands, though it should be noted that a 22 inch waist in many popular American jean sizes today would be below a 0. So, again, the exact size is difficult to nail down thanks to the non-standardized sizing system we have today.
If you’re curious as to how that compares to modern contemporary fashion models, according to BluFire Model Registry, models are generally in the vicinity of a 34 bust; 24 waist; and 34 hips, which is very close to Monroe’s measurements of 35-22-35. They list the average model today at 5 ft. 8 inches, to Monroe’s 5 ft 5.5 inches. Elizabeth Hurley, who in the above quote called Marilyn Monroe “fat”, actually has around the same dimensions: 34-24-34, though is about 5 inches taller than Monroe was.
So while it’s often lamented (rightly so) that female models and actresses today set a standard that no normal woman can realistically live up to, the same was true in the Marilyn Monroe era, minus Photoshop, even though she’s often used today as an example of how things were different “back in the day”. Probably the perception of the difference between then and now lies more in the fact that the average American is a lot bigger today. To this point, the average American woman in the 1950s had a 25 inch waist compared to Monroe’s 22 inches. Whereas today, the average American woman has a waist size of 34 inches, so the gap between the models and “average” was much less pronounced then. And, of course, today we have more advanced means of photo and video editing to make the gap seem even larger, with the edited results being truly unattainable. At least a 22-24 inch waist is do-able for some with a significant amount of work via a great fitness routine and healthy diet. A 22 inch waist that is then Photoshopped to look smaller, on the other hand, just isn’t healthily attainable, not to mention that any blemishes are also removed from pictures and film quite easily today via these modern editing techniques.
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Bonus Facts:
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Marilyn Monroe in 1945 Posing For YANK Magazine
Another Marilyn Monroe myth was that she was a blonde. In fact, the actress famed for her platinum blond curls actually was a dark haired brunette. She first dyed her hair blonde after being told that models with lighter colored hair were preferable, so bleached it to golden blonde and later adjusted this a total of nine times until she settled on platinum blonde. As Monroe later stated, “There’s only one sort of natural blonde on earth – albinos.”
- The words “blond” and “blonde” are not wholly synonymous. Find out the difference here: The Difference Between Blond and Blonde
- Monroe reportedly kept a small library of around 400 books, largely non-fiction. Her third husband, Arthur Miller, commented though that she rarely finished any of them. She tended to skim them until she picked up the basic idea and then felt it was pointless to read in more detail later.
- Veronica Hamel and her husband purchased Monroe’s Brentwood home in 1972 and attempted to have the roof replaced. What the contractor found in the roof was an eavesdropping and telephone tapping system. At the time of Monroe’s death in 1962, this type of system was “standard issue” for the FBI. This, and other evidence, further inflamed conspiracy theorists who maintain Monroe was murdered due to her alleged relationship with JFK and Robert Kennedy. However, in 1982, whether she committed suicide or was murdered was reviewed by an official inquest and they determined the original investigation got it right, that she committed suicide by ingesting large amounts of Nembutal, enough to raise the level in her bloodstream to 4.5 milligrams per 100, meaning she must have ingested about 40-50 capsules.
- Monroe, originally Norma Jeane Mortenson, and then shortly thereafter Norma Jeane Baker (Baker being the last name of her mother’s husband before Martin Mortensen, Monroe’s father), was born all the way back in 1926 and spent most of her early years in foster care and some time in an orphanage. Her father ran off before she was born and her mother had severe mental problems, including ultimately being placed in a mental institution. When she was 16 years old, her foster parents moved and could no longer afford to keep her. In order to avoid having to go back to an orphanage, she married her first husband, 21 year old Jimmy Dougherty in June of 1942; apparently not entirely by choice, though this point has been disputed. Monroe herself stated about it, “Grace McKee arranged the marriage for me, I never had a choice. There’s not much to say about it. They couldn’t support me, and they had to work out something. And so I got married.”
- Doughtery soon went off to fight in WWII, leaving Monroe at home. Before he left, she tried to convince him to get her pregnant, as she was afraid he’d die, but he refused because he thought she was too young to be pregnant. This worked out for her, though, in some respects, as she found herself working in a Radioplane plant where she was discovered by a photographer. Before her husband returned from the war, she already had a successful career in modeling and would very soon launch her movie career. Shortly after he returned, they got a divorce partially due to the fact that he did not approve of her new career and how scantily clad she was in many of the photos. According to Monroe, though, they just didn’t have a good relationship, with the two almost never talking, not because they were fighting or angry at one another, but just because they had nothing to say.
- Doughtery wasn’t the only husband she lost due to her career, another was Joltin Joe DiMaggio. When she met him she was “surprised to be so crazy about Joe. I expected a flashy New York sports type, and instead I met this reserved guy who didn’t make a pass at me right away! He treated me like something special. Joe is a very decent man, and he makes other people feel decent, too.” However, less than a year after getting married, the two divorced. According to Monroe, “I didn’t want to give up my career, and that’s what Joe wanted me to do most of all. I want to be a big star more than anything. It’s something precious.” That being said, DiMaggio and she remained close and when she was in the Whitney Psychiatric Clinic in 1961, he helped her get out. She then spent time with him in Florida where he was working as a batting coach for the Yankees. Concerned with her mental state and the people she had surrounded herself with, he tried to get her to marry him again so he could look out for her directly, but she refused. DiMaggio was the one who a year later arranged her funeral.
- For 20 years after her death, DiMaggio had fresh roses placed in the vase next to Monroe’s crypt three times per week.
- Marilyn Monroe was on the cover of the first ever Playboy magazine in 1953. The nude centerfold photo inside was taken by Tom Kelley and was originally for a calendar called “Miss Golden Dreams”. After she became famous, it was discovered that the nude photo in the calendar was Monroe. Rather than payoff a blackmailer at the time, she instead came out and admitted the photo was her stating, “My sin has been no more than I have written, posing for the nude because I desperately needed 50 dollars to get my car out of hock.” Hefner shortly thereafter purchased the right to use the photo in the first edition of Playboy for $500. Besides the initial amount she was paid when the photo was taken, she never saw a dime for it after, even though it made Hefner millions thanks to it instantly propelling his magazine into wide circulation, selling around 54,000 issues within week of that first issue being published.
- Hugh Hefner purchased the burial vault next to Marilyn Monroe as his future place of final rest.
- Playboy was founded thanks to $1000 Hugh Hefner’s mother gave him to start the magazine, along with another $7000 he raised from other sources, such as his brother.
- When Monroe died at the age of 36 in 1962, her estate value was estimated at around $1.6 million (about $11.4 million today). Four months shy of 50 years later, her estate still earns around $2 million per year licensing her name and likeness. Her films grossed around $200 million in her lifetime (about $1.7 billion today). She earned so little through most of her career largely thanks to being under contract in the old studio system, making a certain amount per week. In her early years, this was often less than the makeup artists and the like made, despite her being the star of the picture. At the time of her death, she was making considerably more and even had an offer for a four movie stint for $10 million ($72 million today), among many other offers.
- Monroe was almost propositioned by the Prince of Monaco, Prince Rainier, being one of the women he was considering for his future wife. However, he instead chose to marry actress Grace Kelly, at which point she quit acting.
- Monroe attempted to have kids a couple different times with famed playwright Arthur Miller, resulting in two miscarriages. She had a condition, endometriosis, where tissue of her uterus lining would attach itself to other areas of her body and grow, which can be extremely painful and cause bleeding and difficulty getting and staying pregnant.
- Marilyn Monroe started going by that name in 1946 around the same time she dyed her hair blonde and divorced her husband. However, she didn’t legally change it to Marilyn Monroe until 1953, seven years later. Funny enough, she stated, “I’ve never liked the name Marilyn. I’ve often wished that I had held out that day for Jean Monroe. But I guess it’s too late to do anything about it now.” She changed her name initially at the behest of Ben Lyon of 20th Century-Fox. He chose the name “Carol Lind” for her, but she hated it. She then chose Monroe, after her mother’s maiden name, and Lyon chose the Marilyn part, which he liked better than her first choice of Jeane Monroe.
- Marilyn Monroe suffered from severe stage fright, even late in her career. Producer Henry Weinstein remarked that he saw her on many occasions near physically ill from stage fright while preparing to film her scenes. He further stated of her stage fright, “Very few people experience terror. We all experience anxiety, unhappiness, heartbreaks, but that was sheer primal terror.”
Marilyn Monroe Quotes:
- “In Hollywood a girl’s virtue is much less important than her hair-do. You’re judged by how you look, not by what you are. Hollywood’s a place where they’ll pay you a thousand dollars for a kiss, and fifty cents for your soul. I know, because I turned down the first offer often enough and held out for the fifty cents.”
- “Wanting to be someone else is a waste of the person you are.”
- “I used to think as I looked at the Hollywood night, ‘There must be thousands of girls sitting alone like me, dreaming of becoming a movie star. But I’m not going to worry about them. I’m dreaming the hardest.’”
- (on her time in orphanages was a child) “The world around me then was kind of grim. I had to learn to pretend in order to – I don’t know – block the grimness. The whole world seemed sort of closed to me . . . I felt on the outside of everything, and all I could do was to dream up any kind of pretend game.”
- “Do I look happy? I should — for I was a child nobody wanted. A lonely girl with a dream — who awakened to find that dream come true. I am Marilyn Monroe.”
- “No one ever told me I was pretty when I was a little girl. All little girls should be told they’re pretty, even if they aren’t.”
- “If you can make a girl laugh, you can make her do anything.”
- “If you’re gonna be two-faced at least make one of them pretty.”
- “We are all born sexual creatures, thank God, but it’s a pity so many people despise and crush this natural gift.”
- “Dreaming about being an actress, is more exciting than being one.”
- “How wrong it is for a woman to expect the man to build the world she wants, rather than to create it herself.”
- “I’ve often stood silent at a party for hours listening to my movie idols turn into dull and little people. ”
- “Boys think girls are like books. If the cover doesn’t catch their eye they won’t bother to read what’s inside”.”
- “Your clothes should be tight enough to show you’re a woman but loose enough to show you’re a lady.”
- “People had a habit of looking at me as if I were some kind of mirror instead of a person. They didn’t see me, they saw their own lewd thoughts, then they white-masked themselves by calling me the lewd one.”
- “I don’t mind living in a man’s world as long as I can be a woman in it.”
- “My illusions didn’t have anything to do with being a fine actress. I knew how third rate I was. I could actually feel my lack of talent, as if it were cheap clothes I was wearing inside. But my God, how I wanted to learn, to change, to improve!”
- “I’m a failure as a woman. My men expect so much of me, because of the image they’ve made of me and that I’ve made of myself, as a sex symbol. Men expect so much, and I can’t live up to it.”
- “Sometimes I think it would be easier to avoid old age, to die, young, but then you’d never complete your life, would you? You’d never wholly know yourself…”
Expand for References
- Marilyn: Her Life in Her Own Words, by George Barris
- Marilyn Monroe Biography
- Marilyn Monroe Quotes
- Just What Is an Average Woman
- Grace Kelly
- Marilyn Monroe Biography
- Marilyn Monroe
- Marilyn Monroe Quotes
- Playboy History
- Hollywood Auction Ends Marilyn Monroe Waist Size Myth
- For the Last Time, What Size was Marilyn Monroe
- Marilyn Monroe’s Body Size
- Elizabeth Hurley Sizes
- Marilyn Monroe’s IQ
- American Clothing Sizes
- Image Source
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Might want to replace all appropriate instances of “waste” with “waist” in this article.
@Scott: Ha! My fingers kept doing that for some reason while typing this article. I thought I noticed all of them, but looks like I missed two. Thanks for catching it.
Thanks for this article. I was always under the mistaken impression that she was around a size 12.
Her death, according to the coroner after the fact, was not suicide, as reported. He claimed he was pressured to declare it suicide, but the Nembutal she supposedly swallowed would’ve left trails down in throat, which weren’t present at the autopsy.
Nice article, nice info.
You forgot to mention that Roseanne Barr is an idiot…or maybe she was trying to be a funny fat person.
While the size thing is true, most of the quotes weren’t said by her.
@Art: Many of these were pulled directly from things penned by her own hand, such as in “My Story” and “Fragments: Poems, Intimate Notes, Letters”, so which ones specifically weren’t from her, so I can remove them?
“Your clothes should be tight enough to show you’re a woman but loose enough to show you’re a lady.” – is by Edith Head
“If you’re gonna be two-faced at least make one of them pretty.” – there is no reliable source to confirm that she ever said this
Other than that: Awesome article, even though I really wonder who could’ve EVER thought she was a big woman after seeing even one of her movies. True, her weight fluctuated throughout her career, but size 16? Liz Hurley is an idiot. Marilyn Monroe was clearly a petite woman.
I’m sure they didn’t put her dress on a manikin (which is used in education), but rather on a mannequin. Love the site, but the grammatical errors and typos (waste/waist) make it hard to take the site serious.
@Grammar Nazi: “…grammatical errors and typos (waste/waist) make it hard to take the site serious.” I would think this would be the case only if you assume the errors are due to ignorance of grammar and not simply typos generally due to blearily editing many of the articles at around 3:00am.
In case you’re curious, I did for a brief time employ a professional proofreader. After about three weeks, he informed me that I didn’t need him as I’d already mastered English grammar and all he was doing was catching the occasional typo here or there. In fact, he told me it would probably improve my writing, in terms of readability, to take more liberties with my grammar, rather than sticking to the hard fast rules so rigidly. He thought this would particularly help when doing science articles, which can at times come across a little dry and heavy.
That being said, I do thank you for catching my typos. Believe me, it’s harder than most people think to catch typos when writing lengthy articles in the wee hours of the morning after a long day’s work. Without you Grammar Nazis, they would remain in my work forever.
Incidentally, I’ll return the favor and say that you meant “seriously” not “serious” in your comment… typos everywhere!!! “Seriously” is an adverb, whereas “serious” is an adjective and since the word describes “take” using an adverb is correct in this case.
“Typos are very important to all written form. It gives the reader something to look for so they aren’t distracted by the total lack of content in your writing.” Randy K. Milholland
BOOM!!!! You OWNED that commenter!
damn, baby!! You got PWNED!! HAHAHAHAHAHAHA. XD
How could she be a 36D if her bust measurement is only 35 inches? That doesn’t make any sense–and I would know (I worked at a lingerie store in college). My guess is that she is actually a 32D or even a 30DD. A 36D would have a bust measurement of 39+ inches. Just saying!
(Kudos for the rest of the article, though–she has never looked like a size 12-16 in any pictures I’ve seen her in. I get so annoyed when people say that!).
Indeed. I’m a 32D at a 35″ bust. The shape looks right enough, so Marilyn would surely be a 30D in today’s sizes.
Bra manufacturers didn’t always offer the range of sizes that they do today, and bra sizes have changed (with less difference between cup sizes, if I’ve understood properly). That said, this article did aim to debunk the myth that Marilyn was a size 12 by today’s standards, so the same should go for bra size.
I love Marilyn Monroe just as much as I love reading every article in this site day by day.
Her weight fluctuated. In some movies, she was slimmer than in others. Ex: Gentlemen Prefer Blonds. But even when she was a bit plump, she was still more beautiful than Elizabeth Hurley.
The article says, “Her IQ came out at a full 33 points above the national average at the time when she was tested (at 163).” I highly doubt the national average IQ was 130 at any point. The way the Stanford Binet IQ test works is that 100 is the “average” score. If Marilyn indeed had an IQ of 163, she was a whopping 63 points above the average, approximately 4 standard deviations above average. For perspective, .004% of the population has an IQ that high. However, I believe all of this is anecdotal, and that Marilyn never actually took a Stanford Binet IQ test. Thus, I would say all reports of her IQ are hearsay.
Regarding Seven’s comments, the number portion of a bra size does relate directly to the bust size (that’s where the numbers come from). I wear a 34C and my current bust measurement is 34 inches. I have to wear them on the last of the three clasps (furthest out). When I was in my teens, I wore a 36B. My bust measurement was 35 inches and I had to wear my bras on the first of the three clasps (nearest in).
If Monroe were alive today with a 35 inch bust, she would wear a 36 bra and need to clasp it on the first or second one for a comfortable fit. Anything smaller would squeeze her (and give off the appearance that her breasts are falling out of her bra) and anything larger would aggravate her skin from too much movement of the fabric (on top of giving the appearance that her breasts are smaller than they are).
The only way this could be confusing to anyone is a result of a lack of education and training in proper bra fitting. (Many women today do not know how to properly do so, which is why there are women specifically trained in this area to help women with picking out the appropriate bra sizes.)
Evy, my bust measurement is now 34 inches (87cm) and band measurement 27 inches (70cm). I wear 65E in Europe sizes (used to wear a 75C, which was helplessly off) and it’s been measured at a professional. The number is the band measurement, the letter is the breast measurement. The bust measurement alone doesn’t tell us anything about the real bra size, because the two are connected. You can have a bust measurement of 40 inches, but if your band measurement is 39 inches, you’d be wearing something like 44AA. If the bust measurement is 40 inches and band measurement is 30 inches, it’s 34E. Pretty simple, isn’t it?
And 34C and 36B both are the same size, only the band is different. The cup size is the same.
The band is supposed to be tight. If the band isn’t tight enough, the breasts won’t get any support. Most of the support comes from the band. If the breasts bulge, then you need a bigger cup. Most women use bras that have too big band and too small cup, and that causes the bulging, the band riding up in the back and all the other problems.
I’m guessing that her underbust measurement was around 26 inches. Then, she would be wearing something like 30DD, or 28E.
This was an interesting and revealing article about Marilyn. I had always wondered about her true size because they bring it up so much, and it is interesting to see how urban legends distorted this. I always thought Marilyn look skinny but curvy in many photos and movies, and the one above confirms this.
Seven the bra size probably were different back then too. Just my guess.
Isa, b and c are not the same cup size, no matter what band size i use my breasts will not fit into a b cup and they bludge making it look like they are falling out the top of my bra giving that look of having four breasts. to measure for a bra you measure under the bust then add 5 inches.. thats your band size. then you measure around the breast , for each inch more than your band size its one cup size.1 inch a, 2 inches b, 3 inches c and so on. there is a difference in the size of each cup as you go up.
Its been proven that adding inches to a womans band measurement renders a bra useless and is ill fitting for the majoirty of women. Using the old ways of measuring a bra I should be a 32 DD or a 34 D in reality I am a UK 30 FF or 28 G. I would say Marilyn would probably be a 28 E/F at her smaller stages and possibly 30 F/FF when she was plumper I say plumper she wasnt that big. The reasons in the 50s bra sizing was different was because there was hardly any elasticity and didnt move like modern bras.
Also most models lie about there meausrments most models are rectangles or straight up and down while they have hourglass measurments.
Enjoyed reading this. Impossible for me to be sure on any of the alleged Monroe vital statistics in modern-day terms, particularly the bra sizes. I’m a UK 30 (DD) and have a conspicuously small and to my eyes, too small, upper torso/rib cage. Monroe looked more in proportion than I feel I look, so I can’t imagine her fitting the 28E and 30DD bras that I wear. And as Faith said, I also simply cannot believe that modern day fashion models actually possess those rather hourglass measurements as cited. They do generally look indeed, very far from hourglass shapes. Most fashion models I see have far more slight and decidedly un-curvaceous figures, and nothing like the female aesthetic ideal of the 50s.
it’s kind of hilarious how ill-informed some of these women are about bra sizes. the number on the the bra size refers to the measurement UNDER your bust— it IS NOT the measurement at the apex of the bust. the a-b-c-d-dd refers to how big the breast is.
i would recommend EVY go get a bra fitting because she so clearly has no clue what size she should be wearing.
@tay: Apparently I should do a post on how to properly measure for a bra and what bra sizes refer to.
I need help, could come around, Hiskey and help me fit these C-cups into my Ds? Or I think they are Ds struggling into my Cs
Wonderful story. I came of age in the fifties. Marilyn Monroe certainly was not fat. She had a tiny figure with lots of curves. And I believe she succeeded when no one was there for her, because she became her own mother–her own advocate. She loved and protected herself and took herself wherever she wanted to go. And she got there.
This would be a decent article, except for the fact that at least 5 of the quotes you listed are not actually Marilyn Quotes.
She also never actually took an IQ test, though she was very intelligent and well read.
@Lauren: Which quotes are not accurate? (I take the accuracy of things on my site very seriously, so if you know of inaccuracies please be specific and, if you happen to know credible references backing up your claim, it would save me some digging to verify what you say.
)
At *least* 8 of these quotes are commonly attributed to Norma Jeane/Marilyn Monroe but in fact, actually have never been proven to be from her lips. You say you have read My Story and Fragments (the only written works from Marilyn herself). The quotes I have listed at the bottom are nowhere to be found in either of those or any other credible biographical work on Marilyn. It’s an easy mistake to make since so many “credible” websites claim these quotes are in fact Marilyn’s true words (I would know. I was a journalist before a career change and know the pains of researching credible sources nowadays!) In the 5+ years I have researched Marilyn reading over 20 biographies based on her life, watching several notable documentaries and interviews, reading My Story and Fragments, and communicating with other Marilyn experts, I have never once seen these quotes proven legitimate.
Also for the record, Marilyn suffered from endometriosis, gall bladder issues, and other stomach conditions. She would take enemas to relieve her constipation and other stomach conditions, as they were accepted as a fad prescription from doctors in the day. Not to mention, Marilyn suffered her whole life from fluctuating weight gain and loss, especially in her married days when she became pregnant and settled into domestic life. To say she was so-and-so measurements for her ENTIRE life is far from accurate. For example, we see progressive, albeit light, weight gain from 1954-1960 and then a sudden weight loss from 1961 until her death in 1962. Furthermore in the 1950s, studios and other “credible” sources would often fabricate/alter a woman’s so-called true measurements to create an image, especially with Marilyn, who was already rocketing to stardom. This, combined with Marilyn’s intimate knowledge of how to pose her body, apply make-up, and wear the right clothing to look thinner and more lean, shows us that we are all wrong to say we “know” what Marilyn’s true size was, whether than be a 4 or a 16.
I would safely say that the only people who know Marilyn’s true measurements are the ones who knew her intimately, her dressmakers (the ones not influenced by the studios in reporting her measurements), and Marilyn herself. Marilyn suffered from weight gains and losses attributed to domestic life/pregnancy, health issues, prescription drug dependencies, and life/aging in general, as many women do. Let’s allow this wonderful woman to rest peacefully and remember her for her on-screen talents, compassion, and spirit without doing her the dishonor and injustice of bickering about her damn body size.
Here are the 8 quotes I know from research to be falsely attributed to Marilyn:
“This life is what you make it. Not matter what, you’re going to mess up sometimes, it’s a universal truth. But the good part is you get to decide how you’re going to mess it up. Girls will be your friends – they’ll act like it anyway. But just remember, some come, some go. The ones that stay with you through everything – they’re your true best friends. Don’t let go of them. Also remember, sisters make the best friends in the world. As for lovers, well, they’ll come and go too. And babe, I hate to say it, most of them – actually pretty much all of them are going to break your heart, but you can’t give up because if you give up, you’ll never find your soul mate. You’ll never find that half who makes you whole and that goes for everything. Just because you fail once, doesn’t mean you’re gonna fail at everything. Keep trying, hold on, and always, always, always believe in yourself, because if you don’t, then who will, sweetie? So keep your head high, keep your chin up, and most importantly, keep smiling, because life’s a beautiful thing and there’s so much to smile about.”
“Give a girl the right shoes, and she can conquer the world.”
“Keep smiling, because life is a beautiful thing and there’s so much to smile about.”
“Imperfection is beauty, madness is genius and it’s better to be absolutely ridiculous than absolutely boring.”
“A wise girl kisses but doesn’t love, listens but doesn’t believe, and leaves before she is left.”
“I’m selfish, impatient and a little insecure. I make mistakes, I am out of control and at times hard to handle. But if you can’t handle me at my worst, then you sure as hell don’t deserve me at my best.”
“I believe that everything happens for a reason. People change so that you can learn to let go, things go wrong so that you appreciate them when they’re right, you believe lies so you eventually learn to trust no one but yourself, and sometimes good things fall apart so better things can fall together.”
“I am good, but not an angel. I do sin, but I am not the devil. I am just a small girl in a big world trying to find someone to love.”
Furthermore, the following is a very detailed and accurate collection of Marilyn information (specifically quotes with this link from dedicated fans and researchers:
http://www.immortalmarilyn.com/MarijanestakeonMM.html
@Zelda Zonk: Thanks for the detailed analysis. I edited the Marilyn Monroe quotes appropriately given your recommendations.
@tay – not necessary – A 30E (which is what I’d estimate Monroe to be more like) has a smaller chest measurement/breast size than a 36E. I’m still not convinced with the dress sizes – the photo used at the top in the article looks very similar to my dress size (a UK 8-10 / US 4-6). I guess actual ‘dress’ measurements can vary based on 1950′s styles. I have a small 24″ waist by my hips (about 36″) means I struggle to get into trousers that are a size 8 (US 4) I suspect the same would have applied to Monroe. I think in a way it is dangerous to peddle Monroe as a size 0, as she has been a pin up for a more natural female form than a lot of what we see today.
Marilyn and I have so much in common it’s scary. Our birthdays are even the same, how ’bout that?
I think you do need a post about bra sizes…sigh. Sizes beyond D didn’t really exist in the 1950s so I guess unless she got something custom made marilyn would have had to wear something like a 36D. If she lived now I would estimate she would fit a 28FF or or maybe 28G, ideally she could even be a 26G-26GG or something – but there is only one brand that makes 26 bras so yeah bit of a problem for small framed ladies. You don’t add 4 inches to the band or you get a way too big bra! Though lots of people still do it – that is the reason everyone (like Evy I bet) wears the wrong size! There is no way someone with a 22 waist would fit a 36, here underbust could not be more than 28! To truly be a 36 you would have to be overweight and she sure wasn’t she was tiny! Even if you added the 4 inches you would get a 32 size for someone like her – no where NEAR a 36! Go get bra-ducated people
I’m a 22 inch waist and its all natural. I was scouted as a professional model for this reason when I was younger. I’ve been the same size most of my young adult and adult life.
My own mother is 5’10, has had 3 children and is barely a size 4. Its metabolism as much as it is genetics and bodyshape.
I also have unusual 34 inch hip, 34 bust, for such a small waist line. That’s genetics!
Please don’t say something a size 22 isn’t “healthily attainable”. I’m perfectly healthy and saying individuals can’t be otherwise is promoting anti-intellectualism of the body and is also promoting as much of a myth as saying Marilyn Monroe is a size 12-16.
Individuals need to pay attention to their own body needs and health needs. Not everyone is built (literally) to have a size 22 inch waist line. We are all different shapes, statures– and we all have different needs! However, saying that a 22 inch isn’t “healthily attainable” is as unscientific as saying a 40 inch is unhealthy. It all depends on the build, metabolism, needs, genetics AND the person’s individual health!
When one is using needle and thread on a garment, it is sewn. When one is spreading seed in a field, it is sown.
Probably a typo, as you say.
Size in inches is not the only thing that matters. Marilyn Monroe’s percentage of body fat IS higher than what is accepted in the modeling industry today, although no higher than someone like Jennifer Lawrence or Salma Hayek. In beach photos towared the end of her life she has visible cellulite, thighs that touch, and ripples on the sides of her waist. She also had a handful of extra fat on her lower stomach. In short, she had a womanly body… something women’s magazines do not approve.
In general I appreciate this article, and Monroe was certainly far from plus-sized or even average-sized compared to modern women.
i dont see how any one could look at a picture of her and think she was in the double digits of clothes size. have you seen a person thats a size 16? marilyn did not much extra weight on her. shw was thin.
At least one of those measurements given is way off. If Marilyn’s bra size was a 36D, then your bust measurement of 35 is way off. 36 inches would be her under-bust, and then being a D cup, she would be four inches bigger than her band size at her bust measurement. So, she was really either a 40 inch bust, or she was only a 32C. Not a bra or body image expert, but if she’s a 36 anything then she’s not a 35 inch bust measurement. Can’t say I trust this article anymore for de-bunking a Marilyn myth :/
Sorry, but I have NEVER, EVER seen a photo of Marilyn Monroe in which she appeared to have a 22 inch waist! I believe this to be as much of a myth as her being today’s equivalent to a size 16. She was well proportioned, but did not have the wasp waist that 22 inches would have given her. The only time her waist looked small was when she was corseted. It’s possible that when corseted, her was was 22″, but NO WAY was that her natural waist measurement. With 35 inch hips, I’d guess her waist to be around “25, maybe 24. Look at photos of Audrey Hepburn (who I’m sure was also cinched and padded in some of her roles). Her waist was reported to be 21″. Even at her thinnest, Marilyn’s waist was always considerably wider than Audrey’s.
Okey, perhaps I can help a bit. I agree with Jasmin, I do not believe Marilyn Monroe waist was only 22 inches (in cms 55.9) that is simply not true. Why? I am a very naturally slim person and my shape is also hourglass (but not like Marilyn, smaller.Here, in Australia , I am size 6-8 (a smalll 8) which in America would be sizes 2-4 (I am 4 in Diane Von Furstenberg, to give an example but I was 2 in other brands). I can change sizes according to the brand but I am never more than a 4 American or 8 Australian. My waist is or 60 or 62cms (if I am ovulating) and my heaps are 90cms and my bust oscillates between 90-92cms (35.4 inches), so I wear bras that are 34D UK, Europe 75D and France 90D.I know the different brands may change but I am like that in Aubade, La Perla, Chantelle, Lise Charmel, and Simon Perele, to mention some) and that is for sure, they fit super well, I am not left with anything on the sides, I mean they fit marvellously, and I got told that all the time; nonetheless, with a smaller band I don’t feel that comfortable (in those brands with a smaller band I would be 32DD or 32E), because of my back of course. At first sight my bust may look smaller, that is why I do not trust all the girls who work in shops and apparently can help you with your fitting, they may be trained but they lack criteria, for they always think I am a B or C and a 32! perhaps they get confused because what I wear does not show my breast together, and because I am petite; yet when I try what they give me and doesn’t fit, they get surprised and only then is when they start trusting me and giving me bigger sizes, obviously they end up agreeing with me. One of the reasons why I am D is because my breast are not as close as other, and they always stay up (gravity and pregnancy never affected them, thank God). But hey, my breast can be C sometimes if I wear some Australian brand, but still not the same; the European brands are the ones that fit me better, maybe the cut, or because my figure is more European,I don’t know. So for what I have exposed, I believe that objectively, Marilyn Monroe could have been 36D, but I am sure she didn’t have a smaller waist than mine…not at all, it is soooo evident, if you see me that I am slimmer there than her. Don’t forget that oftenn movie starts lie about their measurements. I think they mostly do with their waist, because of the mytch! Also, I am very petite (1.59 cms) with long legs, so if you see me, you would totally agree with me.I don’t look skinny but I am slimmer than Marilyn.
Perhaps I can help now about how having the right bust measurement. There is a lot of confusion because until a few years ago the bust were wrongly measured and many still do it now, and believe the old stuff, but now it has change, and yeah, the band is your underbust measurement, and then you have to find the size. If you can’t find the perfect one Lets say if you are UK34D, is better if you don’t buy a UK32DD or 32E, why because it is not quite the same, although sometimes it works. You know what is the beauty of those brands I am using? that once you try them you can even get them send to you from France and they will always, always fit, soooooo well!
Hope I was of help 
Those measurements would make her a size 0 or even 00 in today’s standards, that cant be right, right ?!
Interesting article. I thought it was common knowledge that sizes changed over the years due to the ever-expanding girth of people.
One issue is the claims about modern models. While the stats are no doubt from their agents and presented as ‘facts’, they are simply incorrect. Modern models are not remotely curvy and are, in fact, ‘boyish’ in appearance.
Marilyn would really stand out on a runway now.
thank you for this article I always knew there was no way she was that large! also thank you for not having that “I’m a little insecure…” quote!!! I had a feeling she didn’t say that either!
I do not believe that Marilyn ever came close to a size 16. She had a beautiful figure and my guess has always been that she was about the size of my younger sister who was a size 4-6. I am built exactly like Marilyn but taller and I was a size 10-12 in my younger years. Today in my 60′s I am a size 16 and trust me that is way bigger than Marilyn ever came close to even on her most bloated day (two Marilyns could fit in my pants now! it’s disgusting). Honestly all the bra talk, who really cares? She probably looked best without one and I suspect that she doffed the bra on many occasions.
She was a vintage size 12-16, which is more like a 2-6 nowadays. Vintage sizes are way different and usually run very small with a small waist.