Barbie and the Diamond Castle: Released in 2008 to highlight the Barbie movie of the same name. This doll showcases Barbie and her friend as they are set on a magical adventure. Still, Monroe prevailed. Her natural beauty helped her get through the door, but it was her hard work that cemented her rise to superstardom. “She had a drive to better herself by reading books on psychology, philosophy, poetry, art, drama, you name it,” says Vogel. “She studied at the prestigious Actors Studio in New York, with Lee Strasberg, because she had the desire to be a drama student, even after she was already a famous Hollywood actress. She was a trailblazer, and in many ways a feminist before the term was really known or understood.”

Monroe’s hardships persisted as she came of age. In one foster home, she was sexually abused, fondled by a lodger at just 8 years old. At school, she was the target of other children’s hurtful jests. “I was tall for my age and scrawny and my hair was short and rather thin and scraggly,” she said in a May 1952 interview. “The boys used to yell ‘Norma Jeane—string bean!’ and they thought it was so funny that I wanted to be an actress. … Somehow they thought I looked like a boy, I was so straight up and down.” In 1953, when Playboy magazine published nude photos of Monroe without her consent, she kept her career intact by turning the images into free advertising. (Monroe hadn’t posed for Playboy; the photos dated to 1949, when the aspiring actress took part in a nude shoot with a pin-up photographer.) A May 1952 interview with the Chicago Tribune reveals how Monroe cannily responded to the situation: “When an interviewer recently asked her why she posed in the nude for calendars, she replied, ‘I was hungry.’ That’s a stopper if I ever heard one.” Barbie was first introduced to the public on March 9th, 1959, at the American International Toy Fair in New York. It was named after creator Ruth Handler’s daughter, who inspired her to make a doll that was based on a full-grown character rather than a baby. Ruth saw her daughter role-playing with her toys and thought of toys that could fill in the niche as nothing similar was available on the American market. She forwarded the idea of the toy to her husband, who was at the time the cofounder of Mattel, an American toy company founded in 1945.

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It wasn’t easy to make it big as an actress in 1950s Hollywood. At the time, the film industry was dominated by the “ studio system,” an arrangement through which the “ Big Five” studios—Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, Warner Brothers, Paramount, 20th Century Fox and RKO—monopolized movie production, distribution and exhibition. These male-dominated companies quashed the independent studios where women actors, directors and producers had previously found success.

Marilyn’s death is] the gift that keeps on giving,” says Cohan, “because there’s no smoking gun. The autopsy continues to be raised, but it never answers any questions. … And the fact that she died in her [mid-30s] meant that she never grew old. … It’s another reason that she remains forever, forever young” in the public imagination. When you’re famous you kind of run into human nature in a raw kind of way,” she observed. “It stirs up envy, fame does. People you run into feel that, well, who is she—who is she, who does she think she is, Marilyn Monroe?” Once the above factors are assessed, the next quintessential step is determining the doll's year and model. While older dolls tend to be rarer and thus more expensive, plenty of younger collectible models could be worth much more than you might expect. For example, some rare collectible Barbies are the 2014 Karl Lagerfeld Barbie, the 2001 Aqua Queen of the Prom Barbie, the 2003 City Smart Silkstone Barbie, and many more.

Monroe’s career soared as her romantic life foundered, with two successive husbands failing to understand the woman she wanted to be. Baseball hero Joe DiMaggio balked at the sexuality of his wife’s public image. Playwright Arthur Miller was disgusted by her cult of celebrity. “Marilyn Monroe desperately wanted to be loved,” said film historian Karina Longworth in a 2017 episode of the “ You Must Remember This” podcast. “But she never had the courage to figure out that she could choose who to love.” As with all kinds of collectibles – the rarer, the better. The same goes for Barbie dolls. Over the years, there have been a couple of Barbie dolls that have been sold in limited numbers. The limited editions are often made to highlight a special celebration or an anniversary. Here are some of the more memorable dolls: At the age of 36, Monroe was found dead in her Brentwood home. Was her death a suicide? An accident? A cover-up concocted by the Kennedys? A murder at the hands of her doctors? Sixty years later, the exact nature of her demise remains the subject of spirited debate.

While her public image is known to many, it is her private life that has always held our attention, and thus is the focus of the Marilyn Monroe Collection. Scott continues to seek items to add to the collection, a never ending quest to celebrate and remember the life of a truly amazing woman. So, who was Marilyn Monroe? Once upon a time, she was a real person, a childhood dream come true—the dream of a little girl named Norma Jeane Mortenson. Who was Norma Jeane Mortenson? Here’s what you need to know about the true history behind Blonde—and the woman, actress and image that was Monroe—ahead of the film’s release on Netflix on September 28. Is Blonde based on a true story? Barbie undeniably changed the modern toy industry and influenced the upbringing of many young girls, who could role-play with a doll and was given over 180 career choices. Moreover, over the years launched a number of collectible limited edition Barbies, that are highly sought after by collectors and individuals all over the world. For more than 60 years, Barbie has captivated generations by always being relevant in pop culture. There are few brands that are more well-known than Barbie. The vintage Barbie dolls are a symbol of the ongoing trends and fashion rules of its time. Looking at vintage Barbie dolls is like looking at a summary of fashion trends from 1959 until today, in 2023.Speaking with Meryman in the summer of 1962, Monroe had just one request. “Please don’t make me a joke,” she said. “End the interview with what I believe. I don’t mind making jokes, but I don’t want to look like one. I want to be an artist, an actress with integrity.”

Pink Jubilee Barbie: Released in 1989 to mark the 30th anniversary of Barbie. The doll wears a beautiful pink/silver dress. Marilyn Monroe’s final interview is a heartbreaker. Published in Life magazine on August 3, 1962—just a day before the actress died of a barbiturate overdose at age 36—it found Monroe reflecting on her celebrity status, alternatively thoughtful, frank and witty. Despite Barbie’s initial success, many parents were concerned about the mature appearance of Barbie’s body, but Ruth Handler saw it as important to give young girls a distinctly adult role model to look up to and aspire to. She was a doll that represented a modern, well-rounded woman who could be anything from a mother to a doctor to an astronaut. Barbies fame began with the launch of the first doll, named Barbie Millicent Roberts, which was introduced in 1959. Since then, with every new edition of the doll, new accessories and outfits were added, reflecting the times the Barbies were produced. For Blonde’s lead actress, de Armas of Knives Out fame, the role was an emotional and spiritual revelation. “I truly believe that [Marilyn] was very close to us, she was with us,” de Armas tells Deadline . “… She was all I thought about, she was all I dreamed about, she was all I could talk about.” The actress adds, “I knew I had to let myself open and go to places that I knew were going to be uncomfortable, dark and vulnerable. That’s where I found the connection with this person.”

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Take your time describing your doll. Remind yourself when and how did you get it, and write if it was ever taken out of the original box. The more information our specialist will have, the more precise your appraisal will be. According to Vogel, “It’s as if we feel robbed of what could have been had Marilyn lived longer, so we cling on to everything she gave us, and repeatedly watch it, over and over and over again. … Maybe we’ll see or hear something new this time, or maybe it will be a comfortable reminiscence of memories that makes us feel nostalgic joy in knowing that no matter how much time has passed, she is still there, and will be for as long as we can turn on a television.” This portrait marked Monroe’s discovery. Her marriage fell apart as she pursued a career in modeling, but she was determined to make a name for herself. Monroe’s wholesome look, completed by her winning smile and large bust, made her a natural for pin-ups. She continuously strove to improve her craft, honing her ability to work the camera through modeling classes and study. She also bleached her curly, reddish-brown hair, becoming a platinum blonde. When Monroe is on screen, you watch her,” says film scholar Steven Cohan in an interview. “[T]here was something just physical about Monroe that exploded on film. … She just photographed luminously. So, there’s something very beautiful about [her] performance. And she had great timing—just watch her deliver lines.”