Madonna Stole From Marilyn Monroe

Madonna's thefts from Marilyn Monroe went beyond the 1985 Material Girl music video, the 1991 Vanity Fair magazine spread, and the 1985 and 1992 Saturday Night Live television show appearances. Madonna stole from Monroe from around 1983 up to 1993, and sporadically there-after. Marilyn Monroe was born in 1926, and she died in 1962.

When asked about her copying off Marilyn Monroe, Madonna likes to say that "if it wasn't for the blond hair, I don't know what people would do for comparisons." (source: appearance on Johnny Carson Show and Cosmopolitan magazine interview)

Madonna has had to admit, when confronted by journalists (as she would not usually willingly admit to later in her career) that she has stolen from Marilyn Monroe.

Very early in her career though, it apparently did not bother her to reveal her fondness for Monroe, since she would state in some interviews that she grew up 'idolizing' Marilyn.

Madonna stole a lot more than the blond hair from Marilyn, or the dress, hair, and dance number from Monroe's "Diamonds are a Girl's Best Friend" sequence in the 1950s movie "Gentlemen Prefer Blondes" in her "Material Girl" music video.

Very little can be chalked up to a coincidence in Madonna's world since she is a control freak who is reportedly very much in charge of her public image, so I find it very hard to accept the argument that what follows were 'accidents.'

Marilyn Monroe's 1940s photo shoot with Andres Di Dienes

Ripped off by Madonna in the 1983 music video Burning Up

Jewelry as Prop

Typical Marilyn Monroe pose: in this particular case, from a 1953 publicity shot for the movie How To Marry A Millionaire.

Ripped off by Madonna for a photo shoot around 1984

Diamonds Are A Girl's Best Friend dance number from the 1953 movie Gentlemen Prefer Blondes Ripped off by Madonna for the 1985 music video Material Girl
Below: Marilyn Monroe, 1953	Below, Madonna, 1985

Marilyn Monroe photographed by George Barris on the beach, early 1960s.

Ripped off by Herb Ritts for Madonna's Like A Virgin promotional photos, 1985

The Seven Year Itch, 1955

Ripped off by Madonna in 1985 on Saturday Night Live television show appearance

» View Saturday Night Live sketch, Madonna ripping off Marilyn Monroe, at You Tube

White Fur Coats
Marilyn Monroe, 1950s:	Madonna, 1986:

Marilyn Monroe photographed at a party

Styling ripped off by Madonna for the cover of 1986 Life magazine

Marilyn Monroe promotional photo, 1950s

Being ripped off by Madonna and Herb Ritts in 1986 for an album single cover

From Philippe Halsman's photo shoot with Marilyn for Life magazine.

One of his images of Monroe from this session was to appear on a cover of Life magazine in 1952

Ripped off by Madonna in the 1986 Who's That Girl movie (which totally tanked at the box office, ha ha!) and the 1987 American Music Awards, where she wore a dress very similar to the first one

Above: Marilyn Monroe, 1952, from a photo shoot with Phillipe Halsman for LIFE magazine	Above: attending the 1987 American Music Awards in her Marilyn Monroe geddup.

Marilyn Monroe posing in bubble bath from photo shoot by Andre Di Dienes

Madonna ripping this off, too, in 1990...

The Marilyn Monroe Look / Poses / Mannerisms, 1950s

Ripped Off by Madonna over the 1980s and into the 1990s for various appearances, videos, shows, and tours

Above: Marilyn Monroe photographed by Milton Greene, 1950s.	Above: Madonna in 1986. Out take from a photo shoot for LIFE magazine
Above: Marilyn Monroe, 1950s	Above: from a photo shoot by Herb Ritts for Madonna's 1986 album True Blue
Above: Marilyn Monroe from Some Like It Hot, 1959 Below: Marilyn Monroe. Some of the photos were taken in 1953 for the film How To Marry A Millionaire	Above: Madonna 1990 Below: Madonna in 1987
Above: Marilyn Monroe in 1960; various photos from the film Let's Make Love	Above: Madonna in 1995

Marilyn At Make-Up Table, series by Sam Shaw Ripped off by Madonna, 1984, Like A Virgin album publicity photos
Marilyn Monroe, 1950s	Madonna in 1984
Above: Marilyn Monroe, 1950s, photographed by Sam Shaw	Above: Madonna, 1984, promotional photo for Like A Virgin album
Above: no, it's not like Marilyn Monroe was ever photographed getting make-up applied or anything...
Above: Marilyn Monroe, 1950s	Above: Madonna in 1984. This is only one of several photos of her primping in front of a mirror - just the way Marilyn Monroe was photographed in the 1950s

Marilyn Monroe Look, including The Seven Year Itch, 1955 Ripped off by Madonna for the 1990 music video Vogue
Above and below: Marilyn Monroe in photos for the 1955 movie The Seven Year Itch; photos taken in 1954	Above and below: photos of Madonna from Vogue music video, 1990

Marilyn Monroe Look Ripped off by Madonna and Warren Beatty for the Breathless Mahoney character in the 1990 movie Dick Tracy
Marilyn Monroe:		Madonna:

Let's Make Love movie, 1960; other well known Monroe films and public appearances

Ripped off by Madonna for the 1991 Oscars

Above: Marilyn Monroe in Gentlemen Prefer Blondes, 1953	Above: Madonna at the 1991 Oscars show
Above: Marilyn signing autographs at the premiere of her movie How To Marry A Millionaire, 1953	Above: White trash Madonna, in a futile attempt to mimic Monroe's glamour and beauty, 1991 Oscars (Madonna was escorted to the event by pop singer Michael Jackson)
Above: Marilyn Monroe performing Specialization in the 1960 film Let's Make Love	Above: Madonna delivering more of her Gosh-awful, off key live singing at the 1991 Oscars
Above: Marilyn Monroe, 1960, Let's Make Love	Above: Madonna at the 1991 Oscars
Above: the lovely Marilyn Monroe, 1953	Above: the ugly Madonna at the 1991 Oscars
Above: Marilyn Monroe in 1953, on the Jack Benny show.	Above: Madonna, 1991, Oscars.
Above: Marilyn Monroe getting prepared for her How To Marry A Millionaire premiere, 1953	Above: Madonna trying to mimic Monroe but making a fool of herself. 1991.
Above: Marilyn Monroe singing Specialization in the 1960 movie Let's Make Love	Above: Madonna, 1991 Oscars
Above: Marilyn Monroe singing Specialization in the 1960 movie Let's Make Love	Above: Madonna, 1991 Oscars
Above: Marilyn Monroe singing Specialization in the 1960 movie Let's Make Love	Above: Madonna, 1991. Still ripping off Monroe.
Above and directly below: Marilyn Monroe, 1960	Above and directly below: Madonna 1991
Above: publicity shot of Marilyn Monroe wearing the dress from the "Specialization" segment of the 1960 movie Let's Make Love
March 1955 Elephant Ride, Charity Benefit, Madison Square Garden Ripped off by Madonna for 1991 Japanese television commercial for Nippon Boutique
Above: Marilyn Monroe, 1955	Above: Madonna, 1991
Above: Marilyn Monroe, 1955	Above: Marilyn Monroe, 1955	Above: Marilyn Monroe, 1955
Bus Stop movie, 1956 Ripped off by Madonna for 1991 Truth or Dare movie promotional photos (the Madonna documentary was known in Europe as In Bed With Madonna)
Above: Marilyn Monroe on the set of Bus Stop, 1956.	Above: Sleaze Ball (that would be Madonna to you) wearing identical outfit to Monroe's for a 1991 promotional photo for her raunchy, stupid documentary Truth or Dare (also known as In Bed With Madonna in Europe). Madonna also wore this outfit for a 1991 spread in Vanity Fair magazine, whose editors claimed it was the actual one Monroe herself had worn years before. This image of Madonna was rotated by me. In the original version, Madonna appears horizonatally on the bed, which itself is another Monroe rip-off.
Famous Marilyn Monore photos and poses Ripped off by Madonna and Vanity Fair magazine, 1991 With the encouragment and blessing of the folks at Vanity Fair magazine, Madonna recreated some of Marilyn Monroe's poses, or else wore the same hair style and make-up as Monroe did, in this spread for Vanity Fair. I don't know why Vanity Fair went through with this, since Madonna herself had been forcing and cramming the Monroe-Madonna comparisons down the public's throats since the 1980s.
Above: Marilyn Monroe in 1956. This is from one of the "Hooker" series photos by Milton Greene. Marilyn is wearing one of the outfits she wore as the character Cherie in the film Bus Stop.	Above: Madonna ripping off Monroe. According to the magazine, this is the actual costume Marilyn herself wore. Why anyone would allow this trash (Madonna) to wear something that once adorned a True Classic (that is, Marilyn Monroe) is beyond me.
Above: Marilyn Monroe. Both shots probably taken in the very late 1940s, possibly early 1950s. Before she became really famous.	Above: Madonna, 1991. The photographer seems to have been stealing from two sources: a particular early profile shot of Monroe, and one of Monroe's many sexy sweater/ lying on the floor type poses
Above: Marilyn Monroe photographed by Cecil Beaton, 1950s	Above: Madonna, 1991
Above: Marilyn Monroe, before she became famous. This photo was probably taken in the late 1940s, possibly the early 1950s	Above: Madonna imitating Monroe.
Above: From the very famous photo shoot with Bert Stern in 1962: The Last Sitting.	Above: a physically unattractive Madonna ripping off the Bert Stern photos of Monroe
Above: Marilyn Monroe, 1953.	Above: Madonna, 1991. This same image was used on the cover of Vanity Fair magazine. The Vanity Fair cover photo's pose, clothing, and hairstyle seem to be a composite of several Marilyn Monroe images (I may eventually add another, separate page with these examples shown).
Above: Marilyn Monroe, 1962	Above: Madonna, 1991
Happy Birthday Mr. President, May 1962, Madison Square Garden Ripped off by Madonna, 1992, Saturday Night Live television show appearance
Above: Marilyn Monroe in May of 1962 at Madison Square Garden	Above: Madonna, 1992
Above: Marilyn Monroe, 1962	Above: Marilyn Monroe, 1962	Above: Madonna, 1992
Marilyn Monroe Look Ripped Off By Madonna for the Sex Book, 1992 In the 1992 Sex book, Madonna once again wore the Marilyn Monroe look: the blonde hair with loose curls, red lip stick, as well as 1950s, Marilyn-esque type outfits (including a white, shiny dress), but because she wore this look while engaged in sex acts, I cannot provide more examples in this category - I'm trying to keep this site fairly clean
Above: Marilyn Monroe photographed by Alfred Eisenstadt, 1950s	Book cover from the 1980s, Goddess: The Secret Lives of Marilyn Monroe, by Anthony Summers - featuring photo of Monroe taken in the 1950s, after she announced her divorce from Joe DiMaggio	Above: Madonna, 1992
Gentlemen Prefer Blondes, 1953 Ripped Off By Madonna for the Sticky and Sweet Tour, 2008 Madonna had one of her back-up dancers dress in a blonde, Marilyn Monroe style wig and a copy of the pink dress Monroe wore in the film Gentlemen Prefer Blondes
Above: Marilyn Monroe in Gentlemen Prefer Blondes, from 1953	Above: photo taken from Sticky and Sweet tour, 2008. On the left in red shorts is Madonna, on the right is one of her back-up dancers dressed up like Marilyn Monroe from Gentlemen Prefer Blondes. Presumably, this back-up dancer is supposed to be dressed as one of Madonna's former personas - the gold digger from the 'Material Girl' music video from 1984 - but Madonna stole this gold digger persona and style from Marilyn Monroe's "Lorelei" character from Gentlemen Prefer Blondes.
Rip Off or Coincidence? Whether these similarities are intentional or not, after seeing the following images, you cannot argue that Madonna was the first to pose a certain way or dress a certain way

Above: Marilyn Monroe, ca. 1953	Above: Madonna, Hard Candy album promotional photo, 2008
Above: Marilyn Monroe, ca. 1953	Above: Madonna, 2008
Above: Marilyn Monroe, 1950s » View More Images From This Monroe Series: Click Here	Above: Madonna, 2008
Above: Marilyn Monroe, 1962	Above: Madonna in a 2008 Hard Candy album promotional photo
Above: Marilyn Monroe, 1962	Above: Madonna in a 2008 Hard Candy album promotional photo
Above: Marilyn Monroe in black wig, wardrobe test shot for Let's Make Love, 1960	Above: Madonna in black wig, Open Your Heart music video, 1986
Above, left: Madonna in 1990. Above, right: Madonna in 1993.
Above: Marilyn Monroe, 1961 » Click Here to View More Images from this Monroe Photo Shoot	Above: Madonna. Photo taken some time in the 1990s
Above and below: Monroe, 1950s	Above and below: Madonna, 1994
Marilyn Monroe in the film The Seven Year Itch, which was released in 1955	Above: Madonna in 1988
Above: Marilyn Monroe in a publicity photo taken in 1954 for the 1955 movie The Seven Year Itch	Above: Madonna in 1988