Marilyn Monroe - All the actresses who've played her | Gallery

By Bryanne Salazar 8:21am PDT, May 27, 2020

Hollywood has attempted to resurrect Marilyn Monroe countless times over the years. In honor of the late Tinseltown bombshell's birthday on June 1, Wonderwall.com has rounded up all the actresses who've brought the screen legend back to life on the big and small screens, starting with a rising Cuban-Spanish starlet…

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"Knives Out" actress Ana de Armas is set to star as Marilyn Monroe in "Blonde," a big-screen adaptation of Joyce Carol Oates' work of fiction about the inner life of the iconic actress. Ana debuted her look on the film's Los Angeles set on Aug. 29, 2019. The film is expected to be released in 2020 or 2021.

Michelle Williams portrayed Marilyn Monroe in the Oscar-nominated 2011 film "My Week with Marilyn." Unlike most movies about the vivacious star, this one focused on the uncomfortable interactions between legendary actor Sir Laurence Olivier and Marilyn for one week while they filmed "The Prince and the Showgirl."

Madonna was so inspired by Marilyn Monroe's song "Diamonds are a Girl's Best Friend" from the film "Gentlemen Prefer Blondes" that she recreated the entire scene for her "Material Girl" video in 1985.

Kelli Garner starred as Marilyn Monroe in the two-part 2015 TV miniseries "The Secret Life of Marilyn Monroe," which explored the private life of the beautiful star and her many complicated relationships.

In 1975, Misty Rowe starred as a young woman looking to become a movie star in the biopic "Goodbye Norma Jean." The movie took place during the beginning of Marilyn Monroe's Hollywood career, when she was an impoverished factory worker dreaming of making it big in Hollywood.

In the 1996 HBO original film "Norma Jean and Marilyn," Ashley Judd transformed into a young woman dreaming of stardom long before the world came to know her as Marilyn Monroe.

Although Ashley Judd played Norma Jean in the HBO original film "Norma Jean and Marilyn," it was actress Mira Sorvino who took on the role of Marilyn Monroe. In this Golden Globe-nominated TV project, we see how Marilyn used her sexuality to further her career, which had devastating effects.

Although Charlotte Sullivan only appeared in one episode of the eight-part miniseries "The Kennedys" in 2011, her scene as Marilyn Monroe — singing a breathy "Happy Birthday" to President John F. Kennedy — was almost as amazing as when it happened in real life.

While the late Anna Nicole Smith never actually played Marilyn Monroe on screen, she made it her life's mission to embody the beautiful star. In 2005, Anna recreated the "Happy Birthday" song Marilyn sang to President Kennedy — with a few humorous twists — on the "Comedy Central Roast of Jeff Foxworthy."

Poppy Montgomery took a turn as Marilyn Monroe in the 2001 miniseries "Blonde." What made this project so unusual was that it incorporated fiction into the semi-biographical story of Marilyn's life.

The 1993 TV movie "Marilyn & Bobby: Her Final Affair" is a fictionalized account of Marilyn Monroe (played by Melody Anderson) and Robert F. Kennedy's alleged romantic relationship.

Fans of "Gossip Girl" got a fun surprise for the show's 100th episode in 2012. Actress Blake Lively did a spot-on Marilyn Monroe impression during a dream sequence and even sang "Diamonds Are a Girl's Best Friend."

Sophie Monk took on the role of Marilyn Monroe in the 2004 TV movie "The Mystery of Natalie Wood," which followed the life of child-to-adult star Natalie Wood, who died under mysterious circumstances in a tragic boating accident.

Actress and longtime Marilyn Monroe impersonator Susan Griffiths got the role of a lifetime when she starred in the TV movie "Marilyn and Me" in 1991.

Barbara Niven starred as Marilyn Monroe in the 1998 TV movie "The Rat Pack," which followed the lives and loves of famous friends Dean Martin, Frank Sinatra, Peter Lawford, Joey Bishop and Sammy Davis Jr.

In what can only be described as the meta performance of a lifetime, Uma Thurman starred as Hollywood actress Rebecca Duvall, who was vying for the role of Marilyn Monroe in "Bombshell" — the Broadway musical at the center of "Smash," the 2012 NBC musical drama series about a cast of characters who wrote, directed, produced and performed in a Broadway musical about Marilyn's life.

On "Smash," Katharine McPhee starred as Karen Cartwright — a kindhearted theater ingenue fighting to land a starring role playing Marilyn Monroe in the Broadway musical "Bombshell."

Not to be outdone, Megan Hilty also starred on the TV series "Smash" as veteran theater actress Ivy Lynn, who wanted to prove she was the No. 1 choice to take on the role of Marilyn Monroe in a (fictional) theatrical production of "Bombshell."

Paula Lane starred as Marilyn Monroe in the 1989 movie "Goodnight, Sweet Marilyn," which claimed to detail the blonde bombshell's life leading up to her death, as revealed by a supposed "close friend."

OK, so maybe Penelope Cruz didn't actually play Marilyn Monroe in 2009's "Los Abrazos Rotos" ("Broken Embraces"), but her role as Lena, a woman who transforms herself into unnamed famous characters from the past, deserves a mention. We think she did Marilyn proud.

Theresa Russell played Marilyn Monroe in the 1985 film "Insignificance." The British movie, which also starred Tony Curtis and Gary Busey, revolves around four characters who represent iconic figures of the 1950s era: Marilyn, Joseph McCarthy, Joe DiMaggio and Albert Einstein.

Catherine Hicks took on the role of Marilyn Monroe in the 1980 TV flick "Marilyn: The Untold Story." The movie follows Marilyn's life from her days as an orphan to her meteoric rise in Hollywood to, ultimately, her untimely death.

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