Marilyn Monroe Quotes – Words of Wisdom from the Quintessential Hollywood Blonde
The Marilyn Monroe quotes on this list were uttered by one of the most iconic actresses to ever perform on the big screen. I’m talking about Norma Jeane Baker, a brunette beauty who grew up in various foster homes, became a model, and later ascended to the top of Hollywood. Along the way, she captured the hearts of men like Joe DiMaggio and playwright Arthur Miller, and her death–and rumored affairs with one or both of the Kennedy brothers–continue to fuel conspiracy theories about her demise at the age of 36 from an apparent drug overdose.
Whether you’re a long-time fan of Monroe or simply curious, you’ll find this list comprises everything from sad musings on life and love to surprisingly clever witticisms. It’s become clear over the years that Monroe was much smarter than her on-screen persona, and one has to wonder how her career would’ve been viewed if given another two decades to perform.
I’ll begin by providing quotes from Marilyn Monroe movies, including Some Like It Hot, Gentlemen Prefer Blondes, and The Seven Year Itch. Afterwards, we’ll move on to quotes provided by the icon herself. Finally, we’ll close out the article with 10 quotes about Marilyn Monroe provided by everyone from Paris Hilton to Sharon Stone.
6 Marilyn Monroe Quotes from Some Like It Hot
In the comedy classic Some Like It Hot, Monroe plays “Sugar” Kane Kowalczyk, a sultry singer who captures the attention of two struggling musicians (Jack Lemmon and Tony Curtis) on the run from a mobster. Voted as the greatest American comedy by the AFI, the film is notable for the male leads dressing up in drag. Here are some of Marilyn Monroe’s best lines from Some Like It Hot:
1. “It’s not how long it takes, it’s who’s taking you.”
2. “Story of my life. I always get the fuzzy end of the lollipop.”
3. “I don’t care how rich he is, as long as he has a yacht, his own private railroad car, and his own toothpaste.”
4. “A herring? Isn’t it amazing how they get those big fish into those little glass jars?”
5. “It’s me, Sugar!”
6. “If my mother could only see me now.”
Gentlemen Prefer Blondes – Marilyn Monroe Quotes
Marilyn Monroe and Jane Russell show off their curves as showgirls in this Howard Hawks comedy from 1953. Monroe plays Lorelei Lee, a lovable golddigger with a talent for wrapping men around her little finger. Her famous pink dress has been worn by everyone from Anna Nicole Smith to Madonna, and her rendition of “Diamonds Are a Girl’s Best Friend” remains a high point of classic cinema. Here are some of Marilyn Monroe’s best lines from Gentlemen Prefer Blondes:
1. (To the father of a prospective beau) “I want to marry him for YOUR money.”
2. “Don’t you know that a man being rich is like a girl being pretty? You wouldn’t marry a girl just because she’s pretty, but my goodness, doesn’t it help?”
3. “I always say a kiss on the hand might feel very good, but a diamond tiara lasts forever.”
4. “Dorothy, please, a lady never admits her feet hurt.”
5. “I can be smart when it’s important.”
6. (Talking about a tiara) “You DO wear it on your head. I just LOVE finding new places to wear diamonds.”
7. “Excuse me, but what is the way to Europe, France?”
8. “I want you to find happiness and stop having fun.”
9. “There was an old man named Sidney…Who drank till he ruined a kidney. It shriveled and shrank, but he drank and he drank…He had his fun doing it, didn’t he?”
7 Quotes from The Seven Year Itch by Marilyn Monroe
Marilyn Monroe was the object of affection for men all across the globe, and this 1955 Billy Wilder comedy makes good use of that fact. She co-stars as The Girl, a model who moves into the apartment above a married executive (Tom Ewell) and continually makes him doubt his commitment to his wife. The scene where The Girl’s dress is blown up by a passing subway train remains one of the most lasting images in American cinema. In case you missed it, here are some of Marilyn Monroe’s best lines from The Seven Year Itch:
1. “Rachmaninoff…It isn’t fair…Every time I hear it, I go to pieces…It shakes me, it quakes me. It makes me feel goose-pimply all over. I don’t know where I am or who I am or what I’m doing. Don’t stop. Don’t stop. Don’t ever stop!”
2. “When it gets hot like this, you know what I do? I keep my undies in the icebox!”
3. “I think it’s just elegant to have an imagination. I just have no imagination at all. I have lots of other things, but I have no imagination.”
4. “Hey, did you ever try dunking a potato chip in champagne? It’s real crazy!”
5. “A stairway to nowhere! I think that’s just elegant.”
6. “You sure have strong thumbs!”
7. “Hi. It’s me, don’t you remember? The tomato from upstairs.”
22 Real Life Quotes from Marilyn Monroe
Now that we’ve looked at some of the best movies lines from Marilyn Monroe, let’s take a look at some of her more memorable real-life quotes. As you’ll quickly learn, there was a lot more to the actress than her good looks and little girl voice.
1. “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.”
2. “If you’re gonna be two-faced at least make one of them pretty.”
3. “I have feelings too. I am still human. All I want is to be loved, for myself and for my talent. ”
4. “Dogs never bite me. Just humans.”
5. “It takes a smart brunette to play a dumb blonde.”
6. “All little girls should be told they are pretty, even if they aren’t.”
7. “An actress is not a machine, but they treat you like a machine. A money machine.”
8. “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.”
9. “A career is wonderful, but you can’t curl up with it on a cold night.”
10. “Arthur Miller wouldn’t have married me if I had been nothing but a dumb blonde.”
11. “There’s only one sort of natural blonde on earth – albinos.”
12. “The body is meant to be seen, not all covered up.”
13. “Hollywood is 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.”
14. “Women who seek to be equal with men lack ambition.”
15. “Sometimes I’ve been to a party where no one spoke to me for a whole evening. The men, frightened by their wives or sweeties…the ladies would gang up in a corner and discuss my dangerous character.”
16. “If you can make a girl laugh, you can make her do anything.”
17. “A wise girl kisses but doesn’t love, listens but doesn’t believe, and leaves before she is left.”
18. “I learned to walk as a baby and I haven’t had a lesson since.”
19. “It’s better to be unhappy alone than unhappy with someone.”
20. “I don’t know who invented high heels, but all women owe him a lot”
21. “The nicest thing for me is sleep, then at least I can dream.”
22. “It’s not true that I had nothing on. I had the radio on.”
10 Quotes about Marilyn Monroe
Finally, let’s look at a few quotes about Marilyn Monroe from other individuals. As you’ll notice, the blonde superstar was a polarizing figure, so expect complimentary quotes as well as some that are downright nasty. Fifty years after her death, people are still talking about her.
1. “You can take Elvis. You can take Marilyn Monroe. Success and fame will not be the answer if something inside of you is bothering you, if things in your mind aren’t going right.” (Linda Evans)
2. “There’s nobody in the world like me. I think every decade has an iconic blonde, like Marilyn Monroe or Princess Diana and, right now, I’m that icon.” (Paris Hilton)
3. “By the way, Marilyn Monroe was a size 14.” (Issey Miyake)
4. “I remember her on the screen, huge as a colossus doll, mincing and whispering and simply hoping her way into total vulnerability.” (Gloria Steinem)
5. “I loved the movies and I wanted to be like Marilyn Monroe. I thought she was so glamorous and everyone seemed to love her. I wanted to be like that and I told everyone I would be the next Marilyn Monroe.” (Sharon Stone)
6. “I’d kill myself if I was as fat as Marilyn Monroe.” (Elizabeth Hurley)
7. “I used to sit near Marilyn Monroe in the Actor’s Studio. She’d get dressed up because that was her identity. Sad. Those cameras wouldn’t leave her alone. She didn’t know where to hide.” (Doris Roberts)
8. “I just feel a connection with Marilyn Monroe. I just love her. I just completely feel what she went through.” (Anna Nicole Smith)
9. “Hollywood didn’t kill Marilyn Monroe, it’s the Marilyn Monroes who are killing Hollywood.” (Billy Wilder)
10. “I don’t really think she’s been out of fashion for very long. She’s an iconic figure, maybe the most beautiful, the most enduring blond ever. That’s why 50 years later, she remains as iconic as she ever was.” (Anjelica Huston)
That wraps up our look at some of the all-time best Marilyn Monroe quotes. Despite her death at the age of 36, Monroe remains a major Hollywood icon, and her image can be found on every kind of merchandise imaginable. For even more famous quotes from cinema, please take a look at the following:
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