Stars Who Have Played Marilyn Monroe Through the Years

Mar. 15, 2025

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Misty Rowe

Mary Evans/Ronald Grant/Everett Collection

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Paula Lane

Off Hollywood Video/Photofest

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Catherine Hicks

Courtesy Everett Collection

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Theresa Russell

Russell stepping into Monroe’s shoes — well, heels — when she played her in the 1985 British film,Insignificance.

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Susan Griffiths

06of 16Barbara NivenHbo/Original Film/Kobal/ShutterstockNiven starred as the screen siren inThe Rat Packin 1998.

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Barbara Niven

Hbo/Original Film/Kobal/Shutterstock

Niven starred as the screen siren inThe Rat Packin 1998.

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Melody Anderson

Barry Weitz/The Auerbach Company/Kobal/Shutterstock

08of 16Ashley JuddHBO/Kobal/ShutterstockJudd starred as Monroe before she found fame, when she was Norma Jean Baker, in the 1996 HBO original movieNorma Jean and Marilyn.

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Ashley Judd

HBO/Kobal/Shutterstock

Judd starred as Monroe before she found fame, when she was Norma Jean Baker, in the 1996 HBO original movieNorma Jean and Marilyn.

09of 16Mira SorvinoHBO/Kobal/ShutterstockOpposite Judd, Sorvino also starred as Monroe inNorma Jean and Marilyn,channeling the famous actress after she turned herself into a superstar.

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Mira Sorvino

Opposite Judd, Sorvino also starred as Monroe inNorma Jean and Marilyn,channeling the famous actress after she turned herself into a superstar.

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Poppy Montgomery

The Australian actress took her turn as Monroe in the 2001 miniseriesBlonde.

She toldEntertainment Weekly,“When I told my mother I got the part of Marilyn Monroe, she didn’t even bat an eyelash. She said, ‘Well, you’ve been rehearsing for it your whole life.’ "

11of 16Charlotte SullivanIn 2011, Sullivan appeared in one episode of the eight-episode miniseriesThe Kennedysas the blonde bombshell and performed Monroe’s infamous “Happy Birthday” to President Kennedy at his 45th birthday.

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Charlotte Sullivan

In 2011, Sullivan appeared in one episode of the eight-episode miniseriesThe Kennedysas the blonde bombshell and performed Monroe’s infamous “Happy Birthday” to President Kennedy at his 45th birthday.

12of 16Michelle WilliamsBBC Films/Kobal/ShutterstockWilliams transformed into Monroe for the 2011 filmMy Week with Marilyn. Williams won a Golden Globe Award for her portrayal of Monroe and was nominated for an Academy Award.Williams toldThe Hollywood Reporterof portraying Monroe authentically, “For me, the most crucial discovery — the flash — was that the widely accepted image of Marilyn Monroe was a character that Norma Jean played.“She added, “Unless you study her and understand her a bit better than the commonly accepted view, one could miss who she was underneath that. Marilyn was a part she played.”

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Michelle Williams

BBC Films/Kobal/Shutterstock

Williams transformed into Monroe for the 2011 filmMy Week with Marilyn. Williams won a Golden Globe Award for her portrayal of Monroe and was nominated for an Academy Award.

Williams toldThe Hollywood Reporterof portraying Monroe authentically, “For me, the most crucial discovery — the flash — was that the widely accepted image of Marilyn Monroe was a character that Norma Jean played.”

She added, “Unless you study her and understand her a bit better than the commonly accepted view, one could miss who she was underneath that. Marilyn was a part she played.”

13of 16Uma Thurman, Katharine McPhee and Megan HiltyWill Hart/NBCU Photo Bank/NBCUniversal via Getty Images; Mark Seliger/NBCU Photo Bank/NBCUniversal via Getty Images (2)In 2012, the three actresses each took their turn as Monroe inSmash, a series about the staging of a fictional Marilyn Monroe musical, appropriately namedBombshell.

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Uma Thurman, Katharine McPhee and Megan Hilty

Will Hart/NBCU Photo Bank/NBCUniversal via Getty Images; Mark Seliger/NBCU Photo Bank/NBCUniversal via Getty Images (2)

In 2012, the three actresses each took their turn as Monroe inSmash, a series about the staging of a fictional Marilyn Monroe musical, appropriately namedBombshell.

14of 16Blake LivelyGiovanni Rufino/The CWLively briefly channeled Monroe for a dream sequence in the 100th episode ofGossip Girlin 2012, donning Monroe’siconic hot pink outfit and lip-syncing"Diamonds Are a Girl’s Best Friend.”

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Blake Lively

Giovanni Rufino/The CW

Lively briefly channeled Monroe for a dream sequence in the 100th episode ofGossip Girlin 2012, donning Monroe’siconic hot pink outfit and lip-syncing"Diamonds Are a Girl’s Best Friend.”

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Kelli Garner

Garner played Monroe in the 2015 miniseries,The Secret Life of Marilyn Monroe.Garner toldTodaythat she was “extremely apprehensive” to take on the role. “It’s Marilyn Monroe, you know? Those are really, really big shoes. And I wasn’t sure if I could pull it off.”

16of 16Ana de ArmasAna de Armas inBlonde(2022).NetflixAna de Armas is the latest actress to step into Monroe’s shoes; she stars as the late actress in the controversial new Netflix filmBlonde,a somewhat fictional takeon the icon’s life.de Armas toldThe Sunday Timesthat it washard work perfecting Monroe’s signature breathy voice.“I tried!” de Armas said. “It only took me nine months of dialect coaching, and practicing, and some ADR sessions.“The actressreceived rave reviewsfollowing the film’s Venice Film Festival debut in September 2022, despitethe movie itselfgetting a lukewarm reception.Sophie Monks Kaufmanwrotein anIndieWire reviewthat de Armas' “uncanny resemblance to Marilyn takes the film a long way.” David Rooney wrote forThe Hollywood Reporterthat her “raw” performance “strips the most examined woman in pop-culture history bare, literally and metaphorically.”

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Ana de Armas

Ana de Armas inBlonde(2022).Netflix

Ana de Armas is the latest actress to step into Monroe’s shoes; she stars as the late actress in the controversial new Netflix filmBlonde,a somewhat fictional takeon the icon’s life.

de Armas toldThe Sunday Timesthat it washard work perfecting Monroe’s signature breathy voice.

“I tried!” de Armas said. “It only took me nine months of dialect coaching, and practicing, and some ADR sessions.”

The actressreceived rave reviewsfollowing the film’s Venice Film Festival debut in September 2022, despitethe movie itselfgetting a lukewarm reception.

Sophie Monks Kaufmanwrotein anIndieWire reviewthat de Armas' “uncanny resemblance to Marilyn takes the film a long way.” David Rooney wrote forThe Hollywood Reporterthat her “raw” performance “strips the most examined woman in pop-culture history bare, literally and metaphorically.”

source: people.com