Reference

85+ Marilyn Monroe Quotes About Life

Famous actress, Marilyn Monroe, is known for more than just her beauty. Enjoy these Marilyn Monroe quotes on love, womanhood, and Hollywood.

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Jarvik Joshi

Famous actress and American sex symbol, Marilyn Monroe, was born as Norma Jeane Mortenson on June 1st, 1926, in Los Angeles, California. Monroe’s mother had paranoid schizophrenia, affording her a lifetime in psychiatric care, and Monroe with a childhood in foster care.

Sadly, Monroe was often abused by her foster parents. She was raped by the time she turned 11. At the age of 15, she dropped out of school. A year later in 1942, decided to marry U.S. marine Jimmy Dougherty. When her husband left to serve overseas, Monroe found herself working in a factory. This is where photographers discovered her photogenic qualities and kicked off her modeling career. Bert Parry – Wikipedia

Her life as an actress began in 1947 with a small role in The Shocking Miss Pilgrim. Her career brought along many struggles with anxiety, depression, and substance abuse. She also had two more failed marriages. One was with the famous baseball player Joe Dimaggio in 1954. The other with famous playwright Arthur Miller in 1956.

In the mid-1950’s, she moved to New York City to study acting at the Actor’s Studio with Lee Strasberg. Despite her insecurities regarding her talent as an actress, a good thing is that Monroe’s 23+ films grossed more than $200 million.It also won her 3 Golden Globes (1954, 1960, 1962). At the early age of 36, in August of 1962, Marilyn Monroe overdosed on sleeping pills, ruling her death as a ‘probable suicide.’

People mistake her as only being a promiscuous ‘dumb blonde.’ However, many of her close friends attribute her as being very intelligent, kind to all, and “ahead of her time.” Enjoy some of Marilyn Monroe’s famous quotes below to discover a clever saying to share with friends or loved ones.

Marilyn Monroe Quotes on Life and Love

“A wise girl kisses but doesn’t love, listens but doesn’t believe, and leaves before she is left.” – Marilyn Monroe

“I have feelings too. I am still human. All I want is to be loved, for myself and for my talent.” – Marilyn Monroe

“I always felt insecure and in the way, but most of all, I felt scared. I guess I wanted love more than anything else in the world.” – Marilyn Monroe

“I have always been deeply terrified to really be someone’s wife since I know from life, one cannot love another, ever, really.” – Marilyn Monroe

“I love a natural look in pictures. I like people with a feeling one way or another — it shows an inner life. I like to see that there’s something going on inside them.” – Marilyn Monroe

“Fear is stupid. So are regrets.” – Marilyn Monroe

“The most unsatisfactory men are those who pride themselves on their virility. Those who regard sex as if it were some form of athletics where you can win cups. It is a woman’s spirit and mood a man has to stimulate in order to make sex interesting. The real lover is the man who can thrill you by touching your head, or smiling into your eyes, or by staring into space.” – Marilyn Monroe

“All a girl really wants is for one guy to prove to her that they are not all the same.” – Marilyn Monroe

“I want to grow old without facelifts… I want to have the courage to be loyal to the face I’ve made. 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 you.” – Marilyn Monroe

“Respect is one of life’s greatest treasures. I mean, what does it all add up to if you don’t have that?” – Marilyn Monroe

“You never know what life is like until you have lived it.” – Marilyn Monroe

“A man is more frank and sincere with his emotions than a woman. Us girls, I’m afraid, have a tendency to hide our feelings.” – Marilyn Monroe

“Before marriage, a girl has to make love to a man to hold him. After marriage, she has to hold him to make love to him.” – Marilyn Monroe

“I think there are two things in human beings… that they want to be alone, but they also want to be together.” – Marilyn Monroe

“The nicest thing for me is sleep, then at least I can dream.” – Marilyn Monroe

“We are all born sexual creatures, thank God, but it’s a pity, so many people despise and crush this natural gift.” – Marilyn Monroe

“For those who are poor in happiness, each time is a first time; happiness never becomes a habit.” – Marilyn Monroe

“Millions of people live their entire lives without finding themselves. But it is something I must do.” – Marilyn Monroe

“Men who think that a woman’s past love affairs lessen her love for them are usually stupid and weak.” – Marilyn Monroe

“Ever notice how ‘what the hell’ is always the right answer?” – Marilyn Monroe

“Success makes so many people hate you. I wish it wasn’t that way. It would be wonderful to enjoy success without seeing envy in the eyes of those around you.” – Marilyn Monroe

“A strong man doesn’t have to be dominant toward a woman. He doesn’t match his strength against a woman weak with love for him. He matches it against the world.” – Marilyn Monroe

“If you’re going to be two-faced, at least make one of them pretty.” – Marilyn Monroe

“Boys think girls are like books; if the cover doesn’t catch their eye, they won’t bother to read what’s inside.” – Marilyn Monroe

“I read poetry to save time.” – Marilyn Monroe

“If I’d observed all the rules, I’d never have got anywhere.” – Marilyn Monroe

“I live to succeed. Not to please you or anyone else.” – Marilyn Monroe

“Men are climbing to the moon, but they don’t seem interested in the beating human heart.” – Marilyn Monroe

“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.” – Marilyn Monroe

“Experts on romance say for a happy marriage, there has to be more than a passionate love. For a lasting union, they insist, there must be a genuine liking for each other. Which, in my book, is a good definition for friendship.” – Marilyn Monroe

“Never get too attached to someone because attachments lead to expectations and expectations lead to disappointments.” – Marilyn Monroe

“Dogs never bite me. Just humans.” – Marilyn Monroe

“It is better to be hated for what you are than to be loved for what you are not.” – Marilyn Monroe

Marilyn Monroe Quotes to Connect With on a Bad Day

“Keep smiling because life is a beautiful thing, and there’s so much to smile about.” – Marilyn Monroe

“Beneath the makeup and behind the smile, I am just a girl who wishes for the world.” – Marilyn Monroe

“She was a girl who knew how to be happy even when she was sad. And that’s important—you know.” – Marilyn Monroe

“Sometimes, things fall apart so that better things can fall together.” – Marilyn Monroe

“This life is what you make it. No 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.” – Marilyn Monroe

“Sometimes, I feel my whole life has been one big rejection.” – Marilyn Monroe

“In spite of everything, life is not without hope.” – Marilyn Monroe

“Always remember to smile and look up at what you got in life.” – Marilyn Monroe

“Creativity has got to start with humanity, and when you’re a human being, you feel, you suffer.” – Marilyn Monroe

“Imperfection is beauty, madness is genius, and it’s better to be absolutely ridiculous than absolutely boring.” – Marilyn Monroe

“Everyone’s a star and deserves the right to twinkle.” – Marilyn Monroe

Best Marilyn Monroe Quotes on Happiness and Strength

“I don’t forgive people because I’m weak; I forgive them because I am strong enough to know people make mistakes.” – Marilyn Monroe

“I’m selfish, impatient, and a little insecure. I make mistakes, I’m 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.” – Marilyn Monroe

“I’m one of the world’s most self-conscious people. I really have to struggle.” – Marilyn Monroe

“I am not a victim of emotional conflicts. I am human.” – Marilyn Monroe

“When it comes down to it, I let them think what they want. If they care enough to bother with what I do, then I’m already better than them.” – Marilyn Monroe

“I don’t mind making jokes, but I don’t want to look like one.” – Marilyn Monroe

“Just because you fail once doesn’t mean you’re going to fail at everything.” – Marilyn Monroe

“I am trying to find myself. Sometimes that’s not easy.” – Marilyn Monroe

“It’s not too much fun to know yourself too well or think you do. Everyone needs a little conceit to carry them through and past the falls.” – Marilyn Monroe

“Sometimes you just have to throw on a crown and remind them who they’re dealing with.” – Marilyn Monroe

“Things go wrong so that you appreciate them when they’re right.” – Marilyn Monroe

“Against all odds and despite all the obstacles, we are going to make it.” – Marilyn Monroe

“It’s nice to be included in people’s fantasies, but you also like to be accepted for your own sake.” – Marilyn Monroe

“Dreaming about being an actress is more exciting than being one.” – Marilyn Monroe

Marilyn Monroe Quotes on Fame, Stardom, and Life in Hollywood

“I used to think, as I looked out on the Hollywood night, ‘There must be thousands of girls sitting alone like me, dreaming of being a movie star.’ But I’m not going to worry about them. I’m dreaming the hardest.” – Marilyn Monroe quotes

“In Hollywood, a girl’s virtue is much less important than her hairdo. 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.” – Marilyn Monroe quotes

“First, I’m trying to prove to myself that I’m a person. Then maybe I’ll convince myself that I’m an actress.” – Marilyn Monroe quotes

“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.” – Marilyn Monroe quotes

“I love to do the things the censors won’t pass.” – Marilyn Monroe quotes

“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. They expect bells to ring and whistles to whistle. But my anatomy is the same as any other woman’s, and I can’t live up to it.” – Marilyn Monroe quotes

“I don’t mind being burdened with being glamorous and sexual. Beauty and femininity are ageless and can’t be contrived, and glamour, although the manufacturers won’t like this, cannot be manufactured. Not real glamour; it’s based on femininity.” – Marilyn Monroe quotes

“It takes a smart brunette to play a dumb blonde.” – Marilyn Monroe quotes

“I knew I belonged to the public and to the world. Not because I was talented or even beautiful, but because I had never belonged to anything or anyone else.” – Marilyn Monroe quotes

“I’d like to show that I can get publicity without using my ass or getting fired from a picture.” – Marilyn Monroe quotes

“With fame, you know, you can read about yourself, somebody else’s ideas about you. But what’s important is how you feel about yourself – for survival and living day-to-day with what comes up.” – Marilyn Monroe quotes

“Fame doesn’t fulfill you. It warms you a bit, but that warmth is temporary.” – Marilyn Monroe quotes

“I don’t stop when I’m tired. I only stop when I’m done.” – Marilyn Monroe quotes

“A career is wonderful, but you can’t curl up to it on a cold night.” – Marilyn Monroe quotes

“I’ve often stood silent at a party for hours listening to my movie idols turn into dull and little people.” – Marilyn Monroe quotes

“It’s all make-believe, isn’t it?” – Marilyn Monroe quotes

“Fame is like caviar, you know — it’s good to have caviar but not when you have it at every meal.” – Marilyn Monroe quotes

Marilyn Monroe Quotes to Inspire Women

“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.” – Marilyn Monroe quotes

“One of the best things that ever happened to me is that I’m a woman. That is the way all females should feel.” – Marilyn Monroe quotes

“I don’t mind living in a man’s world, as long as I can be a woman in it.” – Marilyn Monroe quotes

“How wrong it is for a woman to expect the man to build the world she wants, rather than to create it herself.” – Marilyn Monroe quotes

“A girl doesn’t need anyone that doesn’t need her.” – Marilyn Monroe quotes

“A wise girl knows her limits; a smart girl knows that she has none.” – Marilyn Monroe quotes

“Give a girl the right shoes, and she can conquer the world.” – Marilyn Monroe quotes

“A girl should be like a butterfly. Pretty to see, hard to catch.” – Marilyn Monroe quotes

“To all the girls who think you’re fat because you’re not a size zero. You’re the beautiful one. It’s society who’s ugly.” – Marilyn Monroe quotes

“Your clothes should be tight enough to show you’re a woman but loose enough to show you’re a lady.” – Marilyn Monroe quotes

“I don’t need a king; I’m already the queen.” – Marilyn Monroe quotes

“If there is only one thing in my life that I am proud of, it’s that I’ve never been a kept woman.” – Marilyn Monroe quotes

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