Famous Marilyn Monroe Quotes

Marilyn Monroe was not a one-dimensional person as the following famous Marilyn Monroe quotes indicate. Monroe was an intelligent and shrewd actress in who fantasy and reality, innocence and sex symbol merged. 

1. “I want to grow old without facelifts. I want to have the courage to be loyal to the face I have made.” At the time this famous Marilyn Monroe quote was made age had not become an issue.  If, Monroe had lived longer would she have had the courage to resist a nip and tuck to prolong her career? We will never know the answer. 
2. “I don’t know who invented high heels but all women owe him a lot.” Reportedly, Monroe had a half inch cut from her high heels, which would alter the aerodynamics of her gait and posture. If true, Monroe was well aware of how high heels added to her sex symbol image, and used the information to her advantage.
3. “I don’t forgive people because I’m weak, I forgive them because I am strong enough to know people make mistakes.” In this quote, Monroe makes an obscure reference to unkind words or actions directed towards her when she says she forgives. Then, equally obscure ends by acknowledging her own mistakes with the inclusive people make mistakes.     
4. “Fame is fickle and I know it. It has its compensations but also has its drawbacks and I’ve experienced them both.” In this famous Marilyn Monroe quote, Monroe clearly shows she recognizes she is in an unpredictable, ruthless business that punishes as well as rewards. Apparently, her desire to be famous outweighed the insincerity of the Hollywood bubble.
5. “Sometimes I think it would be easier to avoid old age, to die young, but then you’d never complete your life, would you? You’d never wholly know yourself…" Monroe died when she was 36 years-old of an apparent suicide on August 4, 1962. Was suicide Monroe’s way of avoiding old age?
6. “A sex symbol becomes a thing. I hate being a thing.” The paradox of Marilyn Monroe is that she was both the perpetrator and victim; she knowingly sold her innocence for the title of sex symbol. What she hated she had become.
7.  “Dreaming about being an actress is more exciting than being one.” When the ethereal mist of dreams met the substance of reality, Monroe had to face the fact that being an actress was a job with its own set of perks and disadvantages.
8. “Being a sex symbol is a heavy load to carry, especially when one is tired, hurt, and bewildered.” Ambition, too, is a heavy burden, and combined with the added burden of meeting the expectations of others resulted in an intoxicating, confusing mixture.
9. “I have feelings too. I am still human.  All I want is to be loved, for myself and for my talent.” This proves that celebrities are no different from anybody else.  Monroe longed to be loved, and appreciated for her own uniqueness; a movie star’s link to humanity.     
10. “I’ve often stood silent at a party for hours listening to my movie idols turn into dull and little people.” Again, and again, Monroe was confronted by the hypocrisy of Hollywood, and yet, like a committed actress she continued to play a part. Alas, to her own detriment. 

The famous quotes of Marilyn Monroe are revealing. Monroe was a paradox; as a woman she wanted to be loved as Norma Jean; but, as a sex symbol she wanted to be adored as Marilyn Monroe.

-Patricia Smith