Marilyn Monroe is oft imitated but never duplicated. These photos have made the internet rounds as Marilyn, but not one of them is actually her.
Eva Six
Eva Six was a Hungarian born actress who was in three B movies in the early 60s and was touted as a Zsa Zsa Gabor type. The photo on the left is frequently mistaken for Marilyn, but the photo of Eva on the right (with the same towel) clearly shows it’s not her. It didn’t help matters that the photo was included and misidentified as Marilyn in the book written by James Dougherty, Marilyn’s first husband.
Lisa Marie Presley
Legendary makeup artist Kevyn Aucoin made up Lisa Marie Presley as Marilyn for his 1997 book Making Faces. He was such a master at the art of makeup that the photos are still mistaken for actually being Marilyn.
Eva Herzigova
Often mistaken for being a vintage photo of Marilyn, this is actually model Eva Herzigova, in a 1992 Guess ad photographed by Ellen von Unwerth.
Suzie Kennedy
Suzie Kennedy is an award winning and world renowned Marilyn tribute artist. She’s appeared in print, film, and even modeled Marilyn Monroe’s own clothes. These images have also appeared on t-shirts, mugs, and clocks as actually being Marilyn. The photo on the right, taken for Used Magazine, has recently shown up in artwork and in at least one example as a tattoo thought to be be Marilyn.
Marilyn Waltz
These are photos of Marilyn…but not Marilyn Monroe. Marilyn Waltz was a minor pin up model who was a Playmate of the Month in the February 1954, April 1954, and April 1955 issues of Playboy. While these photos were taken in 1955, the middle one was misidentified as being of Marilyn Monroe in 1946 and sold at auction for quite a bit of money.
Marilyn and JFK….or are they?
These photos are all over the internet, supposedly showing an intimate and clandestine moment between Marilyn Monroe and John F. Kennedy. However, looks can be deceiving….these were taken by photographer Allison Jackson using lookalike models. Jackson is known for her series of photos using celebrity lookalikes, particularly the British Royal Family.
Susan Griffiths
Susan Griffiths is an actress and Marilyn lookalike who has portrayed Marilyn in numerous acclaimed roles, such as Pulp Fiction, Quantam Leap, and Nip/Tuck. This photo appears all over the place mistaken as Marilyn in the Seven Year Itch.
Scarlett Johansson
Often touted as being a ‘rare’ picture of Marilyn, this is actually Scarlett Johansson when she was photographed by Mario Testino for his 2007 book Let Me In.
Jimmy James
Jimmy James is a singer, songwriter, tribute artist and all around entertainer. Throughout the 1980s and 90s he performed so well as Marilyn that to this day people still can’t tell it’s not really her. The photo on the left is frequently used for tattoos, but it’s actually Jimmy in an ad for eyewear.
Sunny Thompson
Sunny Thompson is an actress and the star of the award winning and critically acclaimed one woman show Marilyn: Forever Blonde. When she is on stage it’s remarkable how much she can convey Monroe so it’s no wonder that photos of her are frequently mistaken for Marilyn.
Shirley Kilpatrick
This photo surfaced fairly recently, with people claiming it was Marilyn Monroe putting her makeup on. It’s actually actress Shirley Kilpatrick, who starred in films like The Astounding She-Monster.
Ginta Lapina
The cropped version of this advertisement is often thought to be Marilyn. It’s actually Latvian model Ginta Lapina in a 2012 ad campaign for Blackglama fragrance.
Sybil Saulnier
Sybil Saulnier was a French actress who tried a very Marilynesque look in these photos by Paul Schutzer. She appeared in a handful of French films in the 1960s. Making things harder for Marilyn fans, these photos have recently resurfaced with Marilyn’s face photoshopped onto Sybil’s body.
Diana Dors
Although she was touted as ‘Britain’s Marilyn Monroe’, Diana Dors actually had a successful film career that started earlier than Marilyn’s. These Christmas publicity photos are often mistaken for being Marilyn, and sometimes have Marilyn’s face photoshopped over them.
Sandy Fulton
This evocative Greek goddess image is frequently thought to be Marilyn. It is Sandy Fulton, photographed by the famed Bunny Yeager and appears in the book Bikini Girls Of The 1950s.
Elsa Sorensen
Often mistaken for Marilyn, this is a photo of Elsa Sorensen. She was a former Miss Denmark and a 1956 centerfold for Playboy. She also used the name Dane Arden.
Banbury Cross
Banbury Cross is a London based burlesque dancer. She wows crowds with classic fan dances and champagne stripteases and is known as the Bulletproof Blonde. She is an internationally known bombshell, but she’s not Marilyn.
Gwen Stefani
Maybe the polka dots are reminiscent of the cherries on Marilyn’s Misfits dress, but this photo is frequently captioned as ‘Marilyn Monroe, 1960’. It’s actually Gwen Stefani for Vogue,
Olya Polyakova
The photo on the left has shown up a lot lately being called Marilyn, especially as tattoos and phone cases.The photo on the right shows this is not Marilyn but Olya Polyakova, a Ukrainian singer and actress.
Kathleen Hughes
Kathleen Hughes made fourteen films but is better known for her television appearances on such shows as Alfred Hitchkock Presents, The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet, and I Dream of Jeannie. Coincidentally, she was married to Stanley Rubin, producer of Marilyn’s film River of No Return, and attends the memorial services for Marilyn held each year in LA.
Pauline Bailey
Pauline Bailey is very well known UK based Marilyn impersonator. She has appeared in print advertisements, commercials, music videos, and over 50 appearances on British television. While both images have been mistaken for Marilyn, the one on the left sometimes has Marilyn’s face photoshopped over it.
Charlize Theron
Prior to starting her acting career, Charlize Theron modeled in Europe. Here an 18 year old Charlize does a Marilyn-themed photo shoot for the French magazine Madame Figaro in 1993. Long before transforming herself into a monster, she transformed so well into Marilyn that people are still mixing them up.
Virginia Welles
The photo on the left is often stated as being a very young Marilyn in a Christmas publicity shoot, and occasionally appears with Marilyn’s face photoshopped in. It’s actually actress Virginia Welles, who was married to Orson Welles. The photo on the right illustrates that this is definitely not a young Marilyn.
Jayne Mansfield
Jayne Mansfield admired and styled herself after Marilyn, so she would likely be flattered that this photo of her at the 1964 Cannes film festival with one of her beloved chihuahuas has recently been mistaken as being Marilyn.
Rostislava Savchuk
Rostislava is a Ukrainian born model who has done several Marilyn inspired photo shoots, including a recreation of the famous Bert Stern photos. This photo is mistaken for Marilyn and has shown up as tattoos, on tshirts, and on phone cases.
Rosalina Neri
Rosalina Neri was an Italian actress who was billed as ‘Italy’s Marilyn Monroe’. She starred in nine episodes of The Rosalina Neri Show and appeared in several Italian films. There are a few photos of Rosalina that are mistaken for Marilyn, and some that have Marilyn’s face photoshopped onto them, but this one circulates the most.
Marian Stafford
Marian Stafford was an actress and model who appeared in the March 1956 issue of Playboy. She modeled for several popular men’s magazines of the era and was a regular guest on The $64,000 Pyramid.
Betty Bjurstrom
Betty Bjurstrom was a Swedish model and actress. This 1947 photo by Christer Stromholm is sometimes mistaken as Marilyn, but Betty is missing Marilyn’s distinctive widow’s peak and she never visited Paris.
Model On A Trampoline
Photographer Andre de Dienes is famous both for his photos of Marilyn Monroe and his photos of striking nudes. However, he was never able to combine his two passions, as Marilyn never consented to pose nude for him. He writes about her refusal to do nudes in his published journal. Chuck Murphy, the sole owner and copyright holder of the de Dienes estate, has stated definitively that Marilyn never posed nude for Andre and that the woman in this photo is an unknown model that is absolutely not Marilyn.
By Marijane Gray
