The 10 Biggest Marilyn Monroe Wannabes
By Saryn Chorney
Was Marilyn Monroe a one-of-a-kind Hollywood icon or can any busty actress in a blond wig standing on an air vent pull off the trick? Many wannabe starlets -- and superstars -- have attempted to invoke her iconic style in photo shoots, on red carpets and, uh, as body art. In honor of Marilyn's birthday this week (she would've been 83 on June 1), we've rounded up our Top 10 "Candle in the Wind" Marilyn Monroe wannabes.
10. Paris Hilton: At the Hollywood premiere of her 2008 movie "The Hottie & The Nottie," heiress Paris Hilton cribbed Marilyn's "Diamonds Are a Girl's Best Friend" ensemble to extravagantly trashy effect.
As Hilton once told the UK's Sunday Times, "There's nobody in the world like me. I think every decade has an iconic blonde -- like Marilyn Monroe or Princess Diana -- and right now, I'm that icon."
Oh, totally. The only difference? Marilyn's supposed sex tape was just a hoax.
9. Angelina Jolie: We usually think of Angelina Jolie as such an icon in her own right, that it's hard to imagine her as the Marilyn Monroe-type until you see this Douglas Kirkland photo. Back in 1961, the renowned photographer shot a series of intimate portraits of the original Marilyn in an unmade bed for Look magazine. Here he recreates the moment to surprisingly similar effect. Who knew Angie had that kind of soft, blond vulnerability in her?
Then again, if you saw the 2002 stinker "Life or Something Like It," you might've had a clue.
8. Kate Moss: Even more shocking than Angelina, the once wafer-thin Kate Moss posed as the ultimate curvy icon for New York Magazine's February 2009 cover. Apparently the mag hit newsstand gold with the Li-Lo cover, so they decided to give K-Mo the ol' Ma-Mo treatment, too.
"I'm a woman now!" Moss exclaimed in the accompanying interview. Ahhh. We're starting to get it. The whole Marilyn Monroe photo shoot thing is like a weird, cult-ish Hollywood rite of passage.
7. Mariah Carey: Mariah Carey's Marilyn Monroe obsession is well documented. Not only did the singer imitate her idol in the "I Still Believe" and "Don't Forget About Us" videos, but she also bought Marilyn's white baby grand piano at an auction for more than $600K.
Mariah supposedly believes that the actress's ghost haunts the piano, which may also inadvertently explain the voices in her head that told her to make "Glitter," marry Nick Cannon and decorate her home bathroom in a Marilyn-theme (not necessarily in that, or any, sensible order).
6. Christina Aguilera: Pop star Christina Aguilera posed as Marilyn for the cover of GQ magazine's June 2006 issue. Aside from a brief jet-black coif during her "Dirrty" phase, the singer seems most at ease when she looks like a pinup version of Marilyn.
Christina's video for "Ain't No Other Man" features her in full Marilyn mode, as does the cover of her 2006 "Back to Basics" album. Xtina even sang her own special version of "Happy Birthday, Mr. Perez-ident" at the celeb blogger's birthday party in March. Luckily we don't have to imagine the two of them having a secret affair.
5. Jessica Simpson: Jessica Simpson's May 2008 Esquire magazine cover shoot is almost an exact replica of a famous 1965 Esquire cover, which is actually an image of Italian actress (and Marilyn Monroe-lookalike) Virna Lisi.
Much like Monroe, Simpson has been both celebrated and slammed for her merits as a comedic actress, as well as for her curvy (not fat!) figure. Don't worry, Jess, Marilyn was once rumored to be a size 12, and look how she's remembered now -- as the ultimate icon of feminine beauty. Things could be worse.
4. Scarlett Johansson: The comparisons are inevitable: Blond, breathy and buxom (and actually talented), Scarlett Johansson graced the cover of Esquire magazine's October 2006 issue (as well as a recent Dolce & Gabbana ad campaign) looking a lot like Ms. Monroe.
"I love Marilyn," says Scarlett. "I think she was incredibly beautiful and a very underrated actress. I am a curvy woman who is blonde, and perhaps we are both comfortable in our femininity, but I think that is as far as the comparison goes."
We think ScarJo doth protest too much. Some big Hollywood honcho ought to cast her in a "Gentlemen Prefer Blondes" remake -- with Megan Fox in the Jane Russell, role, obviously.
3. Lindsay Lohan: Lindsay Lohan has paid homage to Marilyn Monroe in a major magazine not once, but twice. Here she recreates her idol's last nude photo shoot for the cover of New York Magazine's February 2008 issue. (The other was a recent Spanish Vogue shoot.) Bert Stern, the same photographer who snapped the original Marilyn pics, specifically requested to work with Lohan.
Tabloid infamy, drug and alcohol problems, a Marilyn quote tattoo and even an apartment are just a few things the troubled beauties have in common. Of the Stern photo shoot, Lohan said, "It's really an honor." Considering her current lackluster resume, we'd have to agree.
2. Britney Spears: When she was photographed for the cover of Esquire magazine in November 2003, Britney Spears was channeling an iconic Marilyn image. Ready for some more odd similarities and connections?
-- Britney's middle name is Jean, much like Marilyn's real name was Norma Jeane.
-- In the music video for her song "Lucky," Brit is dressed up to look just like Marilyn.
-- Britney demands that a collection of Marilyn Monroe DVDs be on-hand in all her hotel rooms.
-- Brit visits Marilyn's grave regularly and wants to be buried in the same cemetery.
We could go on, but it's pretty clear she's obsessed -- and we're a little creeped-out.
1. Madonna: Since Madonna first (and most famously) mimicked Monroe in her 1985 hit music video "Material Girl," it seems like most of the starlets these days are just copying Madonna's imitation of Marilyn (did your head just explode?). The video featured a reenactment of Marilyn's iconic performance of "Diamonds Are a Girl's Best Friend" from the 1953 film "Gentlemen Prefer Blondes." Legions of wannabes soon began aping the singer who was parodying the actress, and well, the rest is pop culture history.
While Madonna claimed she never wanted to be compared to Monroe, she went on to dress up as the actress at the 1991 Oscars and pose in a multitude of Marilyn-themed magazine photo shoots since then, thus making her the ultimate wannabe. Nice try, Madge.
Honorarable Mention: Megan Fox may not actually look like Marilyn Monroe, but she does sport an image of the actress in tattoo form on her right forearm. Does this make her some kind of post-modern Marilyn for the new milennium? And here we were thinking she was the next coming of Angelina Jolie.
Megan, enough worrying about Scarlett Johannson's S.A.T.-friendly vocabulary -- you blow our minds by just being you (and your Marilyn tattoo).
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