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A new look at Marilyn Monroe
(CNN) -- Part of screen legend Marilyn Monroe's mystique is her personification of the American dream. As little Norma Jean Baker, she was a lonely girl who grew up in foster care and married at the age of 16 rather than return to an orphanage. As Marilyn Monroe, she captured the hearts of millions. Women wanted to be like her; men just wanted her. Her untimely death on August 5, 1962 -- 39 years ago this weekend -- only adds to the myth surrounding the screen siren. She was a star that dimmed too soon. Filmstrips have caught Monroe's timeless beauty over the years -- but that was a loveliness overseen by movie directors and molded by makeup experts. Fans who wanted a glimpse of the actress as she really had little to see. Until now. Images from Monroe's last photo shoot are on display at the Andrew Weiss Gallery in Beverly Hills, California. Taken by celebrity photographer Bert Stern, these photos are unretouched and were taken just six weeks before she died. "I mean, sometimes when you look at some of these photographs she looks like a very young girl, almost," exclaims gallery owner Andrew Weiss.
The photos, most in black and white, capture Monroe in a variety of poses and moods. There's the classic sex-kitten image, the actress curled up with pillows and a glass of champagne. Another has her playing with beads on the beach. Her renowned birthmark is visible, as is facial hair and -- gasp! -- even crows' feet around her famous eyes. The photos have been displayed only once before -- in 1995, in Japan. They are for sale, but must remain part of the Weiss gallery exhibit until the end of August. Alesia Stanford recently visited the exhibit and has this report about a camera's unblinking look at American beauty. |
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