When did Marilyn Monroe first start to lose her looks?

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She never lost her looks, in 1962 she was more beautiful than ever.

Dear Ilove--

I guess since you've already posted this thread on the Liz Taylor site, we'll have it on Madonna soon?

MM's absolute physical peak was 1952-55. She didn't begin to "lose" her looks after that, but those three miscarriages in a row and her substance issues did show, from time to time. (She's worn-out looking in sections of "Let's Make Love" if still adorable.)

She is ravishing in 1962--all that wonderful bone structure is obvious again-- but she's beginning to fray at the edges. She had that very delicate skin, which needed constant care and a healthy lifestyle. The super-white hair was not, in my opinion flattering to her, but it was dramatic and did look fabulous in certain circumstances. Had she lived, she would have had to change a lot of her habits to maintain her beauty. But I think she would have stayed skinny, stayed super blonde, had unnaturally large implants, etc. It wouldn't have been pretty.

No matter the circumstances of her death--whatever theory one believes--I think fate, or something, was kind in taking her. Unless she'd undergone a total personality change and an alteration in her drug and champagne consumption, she would have aged rapidly and that, I think, would have been a horror for her, causing more abuse.

I mean, we'll never know. She was still Marilyn Monroe, and had the potential to survive that last miserable summer and all that had happened to her. She was still "big news." But, there would have had to have been such luck, such good wind in her sails, so many "good thoughts" for Marilyn. Unfortunately, Hollywood isn't known for handing out good thoughts, and Marilyn hadn't had a lot, even early on.

It's the not knowing, the unfinished film, the unfinished life (or was it?) that fascinates. There was something else, another ephemeral quality removed from beauty or talent, that people reacted to during her lifetime, and certainly since her death. Everything about her was different, even tho superficially she was the standard busty blonde beauty, easy to replace, yes? But no...she couldn't be replaced, and even Billy Wilder would cry over her loss and the fact that there would never be another Marilyn Monroe--not even close. (Of course, then he would turn around and talk about how difficult and "mean" she was!)

___Denis has said it very well, I'd be hard pressed to add much. However, Marilyn never lost her looks. There was no one past, present or future who had her total magic. She could not be replaced, or duplicated. She was a one of a kind, original. She is just as fantastic in her last LIFE shots (my favorites) as 15 years earlier when she was first starting.

I think Marilyn had this habit of degrading and regenerating in terms of looks.

There were times when she looked a bit wan and blah - "There's No Business Like Show Business" , "Let's Make Love" .... And very rarely, downright awful - the 1962 Golden Globes immediately comes to mind.

But there were plenty of times before, in between and after when she was glorious- "Ladies of the Chorus", "Niagara", "Gentlemen Prefer Blondes", "Prince and the Showgirl","Something's Got to Give " etc.

She looked her best when she wasn't too thin and had a more natural and flattering hair and makeup. Denis-38 brings up some interesting and depressing thoughts about the evolution that marilyn's looks might have gone through had she lived. I really hope that she would not have gone the brassy Mae West and Mamie Van Doren route. I hope that by that time she would have developed enough sensitivity and pragmatism to allow herself to age more naturally, like Eva Marie Saint. But we'll never know.

Lisibet--

Interesting you mention "There's No Business..." I just watched it again the other night on Netflix (they have a number of her films, including "Don't Bother to Knock.") I don't think she looks "blah" in the movie, rather it's her hardest look--hair too crimped and a heavier makeup. Rather vulgar. But then everything about her appearance and the character, the musical numbers, etc, was geared toward the vulgar. FOX was paying her back--refusing "The Girl In Pink Tights", etc. The script is clearly based on what studio execs thought of her-- manipulative and cheap. Her stiff performance doesn't help. Although, she's Marilyn, and inevitably there are some lovely moments, even in that.

Still, it's a minor miracle that she literally went from "No Business.." to "Itch" (with maybe a week off) In "Itch" she looks totally adorable and gives a wonderful, relaxed performance. Like a different person, almost.

As to aging, Marilyn was surely sensitive enough to know she had to transition her image to fit her maturing looks (and in some ways--her stylish Puccis, for example--she had.) But there was not enough personal security to be comfortable with "aging." Not that any film star known for their looks is comfortable with that inevitability.

Perhaps had "SGTG" been a hit, the hit she needed, she might have had some breathing and thinking room. On the other hand, had the nude swim scene been even more publicized, she might have thought, "Oh, well, they still want me naked, so maybe I'll 'em more!" That would have been grim.

Never had the chance. Died at 36 and looked radiant.

There are some pix while she is filming The Misfits were she looks worn out and that she is aging; but there are others where she still looks beautiful. In stills for Somethings Got To Give she looks rejuvenated and like she has reached a new level of beauty and sexiness. The stiched together film also shows she is still radiant. So I would say she never really got a chance to lose her looks because she died before they could completely go. She didn't have a drastic decline like Vivien or Elizabeth.

1. BVS 2. TWS 3. Avenger