50 of the Most Famous Quotes by Marilyn Monroe

“Imperfection is beauty, madness is genius and it’s better to be absolutely ridiculous than absolutely boring.”

– Marilyn Monroe

“A wise girl kisses but doesn’t love, listens but doesn’t believe, and leaves before she is left.”

– MARILYN MONROE

“If you can make a woman laugh, you can make her do anything.”

– MARILYN MONROE

“The real lover is the man who can thrill you by kissing your forehead or smiling into your eyes or just staring into space.”

– MARILYN MONROE

“I believe that everything happens for a reason. People change so that you can learn to let go, things go wrong so that you appreciate them when they’re right, you believe lies so you eventually learn to trust no one but yourself”

– MARILYN MONROE

“Sometimes good things fall apart so better things can fall together.”

– MARILYN MONROE

“I am good, but not an angel. I do sin, but I am not the devil. I am just a small girl in a big world trying to find someone to love.”

– MARILYN MONROE

“When it comes down to it, I let them think what they want. If they care enough to bother with what I do, then I’m already better than them.”

– MARILYN MONROE

“For life: It is rather a determination not to be overwhelmed. For work: The truth can only be recalled, never invented.”

– MARILYN MONROE, Marilyn’s personal diaries, as quoted in Fragments (2010)

“I’m selfish, impatient and a little insecure. I make mistakes, I am out of control and at times hard to handle. But if you can’t handle me at my worst, then you sure as hell don’t deserve me at my best.”

– MARILYN MONROE

“If you get massages, you’ll never need another sleeping pill.”

– MARILYN MONROE, As quoted in Marilyn Monroe Confidential (1980) by Lena Pepitone and William Stedien p. 172

“I’m a failure as a woman. My men expect so much of me, because of the image they’ve made of me , and that I’ve made of myself,  as a sex symbol. They expect bells to ring and whistles to whistle, but my anatomy is the same as any other woman’s and I can’t live up to it.”

– MARILYN MONROE, Statement c. 1962, as quoted in Marilyn (1992) by Peter Harry Brown and Patte B. Barham, Ch. 30

“I think that when you are famous every weakness is exaggerated”

– MARILYN MONROE, “Marilyn Monroe Pours Her Heart Out” interview by Richard Meryman, in LIFE (3 August 1962)

“An actress is not a machine, but they treat you like a machine. A money machine.”

– MARILYN MONROE, As quoted in Ms. magazine (August 1972) p. 38

“If you’re gonna be two-faced at least make one of them pretty.”

– MARILYN MONROE

“Why? – It paid the rent.”

– MARILYN MONROE, On why she had posed nude for a calendar photograph, quoted in Ms. magazine (August 1972) p. 39

“I restore myself when I’m alone. A career is born in public – talent in privacy.”

– MARILYN MONROE, As quoted in Ms. magazine (August 1972) p. 40

“That’s the trouble, a sex symbol becomes a thing. But if I’m going to be a symbol of something, I’d rather it be sex than some of the things we’ve got symbols of. I just hate to be a thing.”

– MARILYN MONROE, Comment on her sex symbol status, quoted in Ms. magazine (August 1972) p. 40

“I’m not interested in money, I just want to be wonderful.”

– MARILYN MONROE, As quoted in Ms. magazine (August 1972) p. 41

“First, I’m trying to prove to myself that I’m a person. Then maybe I’ll convince myself that I’m an actress.”

– MARILYN MONROE, As quoted in Ms. magazine (August 1972) p. 42

“The truth is I’ve never fooled anyone. I’ve let men sometimes fool themselves.”

– MARILYN MONROE, My Story (1974; co-written with Ben Hecht; 2007 edition), p. 133

“Dogs never bite me. Just humans.”

– MARILYN MONROE, As quoted in “A Beautiful Child” in Music for Chameleons (1980) by Truman Capote

“The body is meant to be seen, not all covered up.”

– MARILYN MONROE, Handwritten note responding to a question about posing nude, as quoted in International Herald Tribune (5 October 1984)

“Hollywood’s a place where they’ll pay you a thousand dollars for a kiss, and fifty cents for your soul. I know, because I turned down the first offer often enough and held out for the fifty cents.”

– MARILYN MONROE, As quoted in Marilyn Monroe : In Her Own Words (1983), edited by Roger Taylor

“They feel fame gives them some kind of privilege to walk up to you and say anything to you, of any kind of nature — and it won’t hurt your feelings — like it’s happening to your clothes not you.”

– MARILYN MONROE, Comment on fame, quoted in Marilyn Monroe: A Life of the Actress (1993) by Carl E. Rollyson

“Success makes so many people hate you. I wish it wasn’t that way. It would be wonderful to enjoy success without seeing envy in the eyes of those around you.”

– MARILYN MONROE, As quoted in The Films of Barbra Streisand (2001) by Christopher Nickens and Karen Swenson

“I don’t know who invented high heels, but all women owe him a lot.”

– MARILYN MONROE, As quoted in Her Inspiration : Secrets to Help You Work Smart, Be Successful, and Have Fun (2008) by Mina Parker

“I sleep in the nude but I pull the sheets up.”

– MARILYN MONROE, “Rare Marilyn: a portfolio work by 20 photographers”, American Photo (May – June 1997)

“People have curious attitudes about nudity just as they have about sex. Nudity and sex are the most commonplace things in the world. Yet people often act as if they were things that only existed on Mars.”

– MARILYN MONROE, As quoted in My Story (2006) by Marilyn Monroe and Ben Hecht p. 60

“It’s far better to be unhappy alone than unhappy with someone – so far.”

– MARILYN MONROE, On Being Blonde : Wit and Wisdom from the World’s Most Infamous Blondes (2004) p. 52

“A career is wonderful, but you can’t curl up with it on a cold night”

– MARILYN MONROE, On Being Blonde : Wit and Wisdom from the World’s Most Infamous Blondes (2004) p. 53

“People had a habit of looking at me as if I were some kind of mirror instead of a person.”

– MARILYN MONROE, On Being Blonde : Wit and Wisdom from the World’s Most Infamous Blondes (2004) p. 54

“When it comes down to it, I let them think what they want. If they care enough to bother with what I do, then I’m already better than them.”

– MARILYN MONROE

“We should all start to live before we get too old. Fear is stupid. So are regrets.”

– MARILYN MONROE

“She was a girl who knew how to be happy even when she was sad. And that’s important.”

– MARILYN MONROE

“All little girls should be told they are pretty, even if they aren’t.”

– MARILYN MONROE

“Beneath the makeup and behind the smile I am just a girl who wishes for the world.”

– MARILYN MONROE

“I don’t mind living in a man’s world, as long as I can be a woman in it.”

– MARILYN MONROE

“The nicest thing for me is sleep, then at least I can dream.”

– MARILYN MONROE

“Who said nights were for sleep?”

– MARILYN MONROE

“Keep smiling, because life is a beautiful thing and there’s so much to smile about.”

– MARILYN MONROE

“I want to grow old without facelifts. I want to have the courage to be loyal to the face I have made.”

– MARILYN MONROE

“All a girl really wants is for one guy to prove to her that they are not all the same.”

– MARILYN MONROE

“I don’t mind making jokes, but I don’t want to look like one.”

– MARILYN MONROE

“Sex is part of nature. I go along with nature.”

– MARILYN MONROE

“You never know what life is like, until you have lived it.”

– MARILYN MONROE

“I restore myself when I’m alone.”

– MARILYN MONROE

“I have feelings too. I am still human. All I want is to be loved, for myself and for my talent.”

– MARILYN MONROE

“What do I wear in bed? Why, Chanel No. 5, of course”

– MARILYN MONROE

“Just because you fail once doesn’t mean you’re gonna fail at everything.”

– MARILYN MONROE

“I’ve been on a calendar, but never on time.”

– MARILYN MONROE