The Archives

1972

“Perhaps the most tragic aspect of Monroe’s life is that her sexiness was in large part a put-on required of her by the times,” Newsweek said a decade after the American sensation’s death. Despite her public image as a “dumb blonde,” Monroe paved the way for female entertainment industry stars. She was one of the first women to start her own production company, Marilyn Monroe Productions, which produced its first independent film, The Prince and the Showgirl, in 1957. Many actresses today head their own companies, such as Reese Witherspoon who recently sold Hello Sunshine for over $900 million.