Some like it hot! Living like Marilyn Monroe
Isabella Bliss is making a living out of looking like a very special lady…
Walking along London’s Southbank, a stranger stopped me. ‘Please could I take your photograph?’ she asked. I was tired and looking forward to getting home but I smiled as she snapped away.
‘You should work as a Marilyn Monroe lookalike,’ she said. ‘You look just like her.’
This time, I had to hide my grin. Because that’s exactly what I already did.
It was a job I loved, paying honour to a woman who, even to this day, touched so many lives – even if there were a few downsides, like people stopping me in the street, or staring as I walked by.
Instagram had also recently closed my account, saying that other users might ‘confuse’ me with the real thing. That seemed to be going a bit far – after all, she had passed away decades ago.
I’ve always been a huge fan of Marilyn Monroe, watching her films – and countless other musicals – time and again as a child. I even took ballet, tap and modern dance classes, so I could perform the routines in my living room.
‘Turn it down a bit, darling,’ my mum, Mandy, 54, would chuckle. ‘They can hear it over in France.’
But, as is often the case, as I grew up, other interests took over and it wasn’t until I tried pole dancing classes in my 20s to keep fit that I got back into it as a hobby.
I was working in a hairdresser’s salon by then and wasn’t sure which direction my life was taking.
‘Come and see a show with me tonight, I think you’ll like it,’ a friend from work suggested. I didn’t really think much about it until we’d taken our seats and the show, An Evening of Burlesque, began.
‘This is so cool, how have I never seen this before?’ I thought, amazed.
The women were wearing stunning costumes, the set was gorgeous and they each had their own individual characters. It was all so glamorous.
The whole thing inspired me, and just a few weeks later I took myself to London’s Embankment to see a show called Proud Cabaret. The venue was incredible, with its smoky atmosphere and twoseater tables, decorated with vintage lamps and tablecloths. And the show itself was electric.
I knew I’d found my calling and over the next few months, I set about researching all the burlesque legends and practising as much as I could.
‘I can’t come out tonight, I’m busy,’ I’d fib to friends on weekends. All I wanted to do was practise my act… I was engrossed.
And it paid off. Within a year, I’d made burlesque performance my full-time job, aged just 24.
‘I finally feel like I have a purpose in my life,’ I gushed to Mum.
‘ Well as long as it pays the bills...’ she replied, uncertainly.
But I knew I was doing the right thing. I loved the thrill of the performance and seeing the escapism on the audience members’ faces.
Often people would come up to me afterwards. ‘ You look just like Marilyn Monroe,’ many would say.
And when I thought about it, I supposed that with my curves, blonde hair and red lips, I did a bit! I took the comparison as a compliment. Who wouldn’t want to look like the 20th century’s biggest sex symbol?
One of my best friends in the industry, Aaron, 50, made it a bit of a running joke. ‘Come on, give us some Marilyn,’ he’d beg on a night out.
‘I can’t sing,’ I’d laugh, batting him off.
Yes, I was a performer, and loved dancing and acting on stage, but singing…
But, as the joke went on, in 2013, with Aaron’s birthday coming up, I decided to give him a surprise and book some singing lessons to do a surprise performance at his party.
After six months of intensive training, I ordered an amazing pink, diamondencrusted dress, just like Marilyn’s in Gentlemen Prefer Blondes and spent hours perfecting the way she walked and talked.
‘A kiss on the hand may be quite continental but diamonds are a girl’s best friend,’ I crooned on the night and Aaron’s was the loudest cheer in the room.
Someone videoed my performance and as the word got out that I could imitate Marilyn, offers flooded in.
I decided to give it a go at a corporate event.
It went so well, that was just the first. I started doing awards ceremonies and makeup events. I once sang Happy Birthday for an Arabian prince as her, I was flown to Barcelona with an Austin Powers lookalike and I even played her in a movie, as well as introducing her into my cabaret act.
Over time, I’ve honed my act, learning her songs and ordering more costumes.
Some of the dresses can cost over £1,000, as they’re custommade. It’s the same with her jewellery and accessories, I have to find pieces that perfectly copy what she wore.
It’s important to get all the details just right, which is why I decided to stop wearing a wig and get my hair cut like her infamous wavy bob. When people mistake me for her, it’s a huge compliment.
I’ve recently landed a residency at the amazing Proud Cabaret show, the second burlesque show I ever saw. It feels like I’ve really come full circle… all thanks to Marilyn.
Of course, the show was put on hold due to the Coronavirus pandemic, but we’re gradually getting back to normal, and the show is, fingers crossed, reopening on 20 May.
I get such a kick out of seeing how audiences respond to me playing Marilyn. Her light really touches people, they just want to experience her.
Being able to bring that to people is such a joy to me, the biggest honour I could ever imagine.