I had a Pinterest board when I was 13 titled “Retro Quotes” — which, if the name didn’t make it obvious, was full of quotes from classic Hollywood stars like Marilyn Monroe, Audrey Hepburn and Elizabeth Taylor. It’s worth noting that I had never seen any of their movies at the time, but the words attributed to these women spoke to my younger self. Their quotes became my words to live by: “If you cant’t handle me at my worst, then you don’t deserve me at my best.” “Happy girls are the prettiest girls.” “Pour yourself a drink, put on some lipstick and pull yourself together.” These women exuded femininity and elegance years after passing, through something as simple as a low-quality social media post.
As I’ve grown older and become more appreciative of my identity as a woman, I still try to live by their words in a way. I’m lucky enough to have people in my life who love me at my worst. I feel much more confident about myself when I’m happy. I don’t usually wear lipstick, but at least I can legally drink now. Where my so-called relationship with these women has changed, however, is that I’ve become more aware of how much popular culture has aestheticized them. I’ve read books that were clearly based on Taylor’s many marriages; Hepburn’s iconic black dress in “Breakfast at Tiffany’s” frequently ends up on DIY Halloween costume lists; Monroe remains a popular subject in movies (for better or for worse). I began to see that the reasons we consider these women iconic are only a small part of their lives. It seems to me that society has blurred the line between legacy and reality, and I want to understand exactly what that means.
Marilyn Monroe is primarily remembered for either her movie-star status or her downward spiral at the early end of her life. Or, at least, I had only ever heard her discussed this way. I knew the basics: She was blonde and beautiful. She starred in movies like “The Seven Year Itch” and “Gentlemen Prefer Blondes.” She may or may not have had an affair with John F. Kennedy. She died of a drug overdose at only 36 years old. But Monroe was obviously a more well-rounded individual beyond being a beautiful but troubled actress. Just while doing research for this article, I learned that she had a difficult childhood, was in and out of several foster homes and experienced sexual abuse during that time. She wasn’t even a natural blonde. She started her own production company, which some say aided the collapse of the studio system. Yes, she struggled with addiction, but also suffered from several mental health conditions and possibly even endometriosis.
But the piece of information I was most surprised to learn was that she disliked playing a “dumb blonde” or “sex roles” — which happened often. Her most famous movies were marketed using her sex appeal, and that exploitation of her image is one of the biggest things I still see happening to her today. The Michigan Theater screened “Some Like It Hot” for Valentine’s Day, and I can attest that several people in the theater either giggled or whistled almost every time Monroe was on screen. Typecasting unfortunately still happens in the entertainment industry, but Monroe was at more of a disadvantage considering her contract originally kept her from choosing her own projects. She did eventually earn that right after a year-long fight with 20th Century Fox, as well as the opportunity to show off more of her range, but this knowledge makes her cemented status as a bombshell all the more frustrating. She was much more talented and bright than people gave her credit for, and yet I still don’t see enough conversation about her outside of her appearance.
Elizabeth Taylor was considered one of the first modern celebrities. Starring in movies like “Cleopatra,” “Cat on a Hot Tin Roof” and “Father of the Bride,” she, like Monroe, had several of her films promoted using her sex appeal. Due to sensationalized rumors, public attention was frequently drawn to her personal life. Taylor hated her fame. She felt that the films she received the most acclaim for cut scenes that displayed the core of her characters, disliked how much control the studio had over her and found it hard to be viewed as herself rather than the roles she played.
Still, Taylor recognized that she had been given a platform, which she used to drive her philanthropic efforts. She was one of the first celebrities to take part in HIV/AIDS activism, helping to found both the American Foundation for AIDS Research and the Elizabeth Taylor AIDS Foundation to raise awareness. Taylor told Vanity Fair, “I could take the fame I’d resented and tried to get away from for so many years … and use it to do some good.” She did just that: She raised over $270 million, and she’s now considered an LGBTQ+ icon as a result. I had not known anything about her life outside of her acting career, and even then I was surprised to learn just how much she disliked it. I admire her ability to take a shitty situation and do something with it she was proud of, even (and especially) if it didn’t benefit her directly.
Audrey Hepburn is remembered as a film and fashion icon, starring in movies like “Roman Holiday,” “Breakfast at Tiffany’s” and “My Fair Lady.” She also spent much of her later life as a humanitarian and philanthropist. Pop culture largely focuses on her life as an actress, but even then, I’ve known some people who didn’t think she could act. I had a teacher in high school who ignorantly argued that Hepburn was “just playing herself” in every movie she starred in. For one, her EGOT status says otherwise. For another, I don’t understand why whether or not she was a good actress matters so many years after her passing. Yes, she was a movie star, but she accomplished so much more with her life. After her family survived the German occupation of the Netherlands during World War II, she wanted to show her gratitude by working closely with UNICEF, becoming an ambassador and traveling around the world on field missions to provide residents of poorer countries with things like clean water and vaccines. For this work, she received the Presidential Medal of Freedom.
I’d say that Hepburn is the outlier on this list. She took on a variety of roles in her career, and while considered beautiful, was never marketed as a sex symbol like Monroe or Taylor — in fact, some called her “the antithesis of the … blonde bombshell.” Though this comment is more in reference to her thin figure (an entirely different issue facing women in Hollywood that I don’t have the time nor the word count to unpack), there was still very little I knew about her life outside of the stage and screen, things I’d have to go looking for myself to get the whole picture.
One definition of the word “retro” is something that is “fashionably nostalgic.” Thinking of the ways that some of Hollywood’s most famous faces are remembered, that definition is certainly a fitting one. But is there a cost to calling these women icons when our knowledge is largely limited to their time in front of the camera, or their lowest moments in the public eye? I say yes, if only because women can be beautiful and also ambitious. They can have nice things in life and still struggle, and not only is there nothing wrong with that, it’s nobody’s business but theirs. They can be remembered for more than one thing, and they should be. It’s high time people started to notice.
Daily Arts Writer Hannah Carapellotti can be reached at hmcarp@umich.edu.