The wonders of the Google search engine caused my Internet path to intersect with three seldom-seen photos of Marilyn Monroe the other day, dressed in bohemian style. She looked so vulnerable in one and so ordinary and playful in the other two, that it got me wondering about the age-old question: Who was Marilyn, really?
I didn’t have to dig too deep to find some quotes attributed to her that tell me she was more boho at heart than glam. I also found some photos of the only home she ever owned (of the 43 she lived in), where she was found dead in 1962 that, I think, back up my assertion.
See what you think:
“We are all of us stars, and we deserve to twinkle.”
“Beneath the makeup and behind the smile,
I am just a girl who wishes for the world.”
“A smile is the best makeup any girl can wear.”
“Keep smiling because life is a beautiful thing
and there’s so much to smile about.”
“Be your own kind of beautiful.”
“Imperfection is beauty, madness is genius, and it’s better to be absolutely ridiculous than absolutely boring.”
Boho. Am I right or what?
With four bedrooms and three baths, kitchen, living room, office and den, it covers 2,624 square feet. The property sits behind tall gates at the end of a quiet culdesac. Monroe reportedly fell in love with the privacy it offered and the garden, where she often spent time with her poodle. She was only to live here a mere six months.
Here’s the only photo I could find of the interior of this home while she lived there (from Architectural Digest).
The rest of these were taken several owners later, when the property last came up for sale. Although the decor is not original to Marilyn, I can easily imagine her roaming its corridors and lounging about its rooms, perhaps still dressed as that simple gypsy girl pondering her future.
Read the House Beautiful story here. Photos are by David Offer Fine Homes. See the full listing for the house here and more photos here.
We miss you, Marilyn, but your boho spirit lives on.
