Blonde: What's the true story behind Netflix's controversial Marilyn Monroe biopic?

This article includes references to rape and sexual assault. 

Blonde, starring Ana de Armas, has finally hit Netflix, and it is continuing to divide viewers and critics with its retelling of Marilyn Monroe's life, spanning everything from her marriages to her untimely death in 1962.

While Ana's portrayal of the Hollywood icon has been praised, the movie, which has been rated 18+ due to its pretty graphic sex scenes, has received plenty of criticism for its sensationalist depiction of the late star's life – with many arguing that the film industry is continuing to benefit from an exploited woman.

However, it is essential to note that the Andrew Dominik-directed film is based on a book of fiction by author Joyce Carol Oates and doesn't necessarily follow Marilyn's real life, even though it's described as a biopic and a biographical account of her life. Even Oates admitted to "distilling" certain events of Monroe's life and inventing things to suit the story, which has left fans confused and uncomfortable.

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One fan tweeted: "Blonde is heavily based on a FICTIONAL book about Marilyn Monroe that will go to feed the public more lies about her. this is NOT a biopic". Another wrote: "I'm so disgusted by #Blonde. Using someone's life as a fictional story and everyone thinks that's how it was. Well, to me art has limits."

So with it now being known that large chunks of the movie were fictional, GLAMOUR UK will run down the list of what is fact and what is fiction in Netflix's Blonde. 

What was Marilyn Monroe's childhood actually like?

Blonde: The movie shows a young Marilyn, who at the time was known as Norma, enduring a strained relationship with her alcoholic and physically abusive mother, Gladys. After her mother suffers from a series of mental health breakdowns and is committed to a mental institution, Marilyn is put into foster care and later enters an orphanage.

Real-life: Blonde portrays Marilyn's childhood mostly accurately, as she was placed in a string of orphanages and foster homes in 1934 following the emotional breakdown of her mother, who was later diagnosed as a paranoid schizophrenic). Marilyn hated the orphanage so much that she wed police officer James Dougherty at the age of 16 in 1942 to avoid having to return. 

What happened to Marilyn's father?

Blonde: In the movie, Marilyn's mother (played by Julianne Nicholson) shows her a picture of her supposed father, telling her: "Norma Jeane, look, that man is your father." Later scenes show her mother driving her into the Hollywood Hills as a fire rages on, telling a police officer that Marilyn's father has a fireproof home that can protect them.

Real-life: Gladys told a dubious Marilyn during her childhood that her father "was killed in an auto accident in New York City." However, the picture Marilyn had of her father is supposedly accurate. Speaking of the image, her friend Milton Greene wrote in the book In The Many Lives of Marilyn Monroe: "He wore a slouch hat a little gaily on the side. There was a lively smile in his eyes, and he had a thin moustache like Clark Gable."

Meanwhile, Charles Casillo, who penned the 2018 biography Marilyn Monroe: The Private Life of a Public Icon, claimed that Gladys had an affair with her colleague, Charles Gifford. When he learned she was pregnant; he wanted nothing to do with the child. Casillo claims that Marilyn tried to make contact with Gifford, but he rejected her attempts. 

What happened between Marilyn and US President John F Kennedy?

Blonde: In one of the movie's most talked about and controversial scenes, Marilyn meets with US President John F Kennedy, who later coerces her into giving him a handjob and oral sex. Scenes show that he then rapes her.

Real-life: There are no claims or records of JFK sexually assaulting Marilyn.

However, in 1962 Marilyn famously sang the Happy Birthday song to JFK while dressed in a glamorous diamond-encrusted gown, the same one that Kim Kardashian wore to the Met Gala earlier this year. Following the performance, rumours emerged that the actress and politician were having a secret affair - but many have refuted the claims, pointing out that the pair rarely ever crossed paths except that one night.

Marilyn's close friend Ralph Roberts said: "Marilyn told me that this night in March was the only time of her 'affair' with JFK. A great many people thought, after that weekend, that there was more to it. But Marilyn gave me the impression that it was not a major event for either of them: it happened once, that weekend, and that was that."

Did Marilyn have an abortion?

Blonde: The movie features disturbing scenes where a foetus talks to Marilyn from her uterus before miscarrying. Two of her other pregnancies ended in miscarriage, according to the film.

Real-life: It is unknown that Marilyn ever had an abortion, and there is no evidence to suggest she did. However, she suffered three miscarriages while married to playwright Arthur Miller. 

Was Marilyn in a throuple?

Blonde: In the movie, we see Marilyn indulge in a threesome affair with Charlie Chaplin Jr. and Edward G. Robinson Jr. The trio branded themselves as "The Geminis", but they went their separate ways following Monroe's abortion.

Real-life: There is no evidence claiming that Marilyn was involved in a threesome. However, Charlie confirmed that he had a brief affair with Marilyn in his 1960 autobiography.

Did Marilyn call all her partners "daddy?"

Blonde: There are multiple scenes where Armas' Marilyn repeatedly refers to every male figure in her life, including her husbands, Joe DiMaggio and Arthur Miller, as "daddy."

Real-life: Her first husband, James Dougherty, offered some truth to this, quoting in the 1993 Marilyn biography by Donald Spoto: "She called me 'Daddy.' When she packed my lunch for work, there was often a note inside: 'Dearest Daddy - When you read this, I'll be asleep and dreaming of you. Love and kisses, Your Baby.'"

For further context, in the 1948 movie Ladies of the Chorus, Marilyn famously sang the song "Everybody Needs a Da-Da-Daddy."

For more information about reporting and recovering from rape and sexual abuse, you can contact Rape Crisis.

If you have been sexually assaulted, you can find your nearest Sexual Assault Referral Centre here. You can also find support at your local GP, voluntary organisations such as Rape Crisis, Women's Aid, and Victim Support, and you can report it to the police (if you choose) here.

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