Blonde: What’s the true story behind the Marilyn Monroe movie?

If you’re a big Netflix fan (same!) then you’ll no doubt have heard the hype surrounding the streaming giant’s upcoming movie, Blonde. The much-anticipated film follows the life of Hollywood legend Marilyn Monroe (real name Norma Jeane Mortenson), with Knives Out’s Ana De Armas taking on the titular role.

Blonde premiered on Netflix on 28 September, but film fans have been able to watch it in cinemas since 23 September – although, the movie has received a mixed reaction. One fan said Armas’ performance as Monroe was the “rawest portrayal we’ve ever seen” as another person described her as “impeccable”. Meanwhile, one viewer said they “never want to watch it again”.

“There is this emotional detachment from Marilyn Monroe that makes this such a dark and graphic film. It’s actually disturbing how exploitative this is,” another critic said of the film, with someone else claiming that Blonde is full of “needless scenes of sexual assault.”

Many viewers were also left wondering what – if anything – is factual about the movie, especially given that Blonde is actually based on a biographical novel, not real life. With that in mind, we took a deep dive into the key scenes in the film to ask: What’s true and what’s not in Netflix’s Blonde?

Is Netflix’s Blonde based on a true story?

What was Marilyn Monroe’s childhood like?

In the movie: In the early scenes of Blonde, we see a young Monroe – or Norma, as she was known then – struggling to maintain a relationship with her mother, who is alcohol-dependent, mentally unstable, and physically abusive. After her mother suffers a string of mental health episodes, Monroe is put into foster care, entering an orphanage while her mother is committed to a mental institution.

In real life: Sadly, Blonde’s depiction of Monroe’s childhood is pretty accurate. Monroe never met her father, and following her mother’s mental breakdown in 1934 (which resulted in a paranoid schizophrenia diagnosis) she was placed in various orphanages and foster homes. In 1942, at the age of 16, Monroe married police officer James Dougherty to avoid having to return to the orphanage.

What really happened with Marilyn Monroe and US President JFK?

In the movie: In one of the most disturbing scenes in Blonde, Monroe is flown out to visit US President John F Kennedy who is recovering from back surgery.

In real life: Wearing a skin-tight, diamond-encrusted gown – which made headlines itself earlier this year – Monroe famously sang a sultry Happy Birthday to JFK in 1962, igniting rumours that the actor and politician were having a secret affair.

Many have refuted the claim, with some historians pointing out that Monroe and JFK’s paths rarely crossed, apart from the night of 24 March 1962. “Marilyn told me that this night in March was the only time of her ‘affair’ with JFK,” the actor’s close friend Ralph Roberts said. “A great many people thought, after that weekend, that there was more to it. But Marilyn gave me the impression that it was not a major event for either of them: it happened once, that weekend, and that was that.”

Others believe the alleged affair ran much deeper and involved JFK’s brother, Bobby. “It was pretty clear that Marilyn had had relations with both Bobby and Jack [JFK],” claimed biographer James Spada, who wrote Marilyn.

Did Marilyn Monroe have an abortion?

In the movie: Blonde portrays Monroe as being perpetually haunted by the spirit of her unborn fetus, and infers that she had an abortion due to fears that her mother’s mental illness was hereditary. According to the movie, two of her other pregnancies ended in miscarriage.

In real life: No evidence has ever come to light to suggest that Monroe had an abortion. However, she did suffer three miscarriages during her marriage to the playwright, Arthur Miller. This was reportedly devastating to her as she wanted to become a mother.

Blonde is available to stream on Netflix now.

Via Cosmopolitan UK