Blonde, which was released on Netflix today (September 28), gives insight into Marilyn Monroe’s successful career before her death on August 4, 1962.
Ana de Armas stars as the Hollywood actress in the Netflix movie alongside Adrien Brody as Marilyn’s ex-husband, Arthur Miller, and Julianne Nicholson as Marilyn’s mother, Gladys Pearl Baker.
In the days before her tragic death, Marilyn hit headlines after it was revealed that she was having an alleged affair with married man and president of the United States, John F Kennedy.
Here’s everything you need to know about her relationship with JFK:
How did Marilyn Monroe and John F Kennedy meet?
(Image: X80001)
Speculation has suggested that Marilyn Monroe and JFK met at a dinner party in New York back in 1962.
The pair were reportedly introduced by none other than music legend Frank Sinatra, who was a close friend of JFK and Marilyn.
JFK is said to then have invited the movie star to a weekend at Bing Crosby’s house in Palm Springs a few weeks later, where they were not joined by JFK’s wife, Jackie Kennedy.
Did Marilyn Monroe have an affair with JFK?
(Image: The LIFE Images Collection/Getty Images)
Marilyn was named as one of JFK’s mistresses by investigative journalist Seymour Hersh in his book “The Dark Side of Camelot”.
However, this was never officially confirmed.
In 1973, Normal Mailer, an American novelist, was the first person to bring the idea of a Kennedy-Monroe affair to into the spotlight, but he has since said he “needed the money very badly” at the time and hoped the comment would boost his book sales.
Marilyn’s masseuse and close friend, Ralph Roberts, claimed at the time that Marilyn had introduced JFK to him as the president was struggling with a bad back.
Ralph told biographer Donald Spoto: “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.”
When did Marilyn Monroe sing Happy Birthday Mr President to JFK?
(Image: Bettmann Archive)
For JFK’s 45th birthday, Marilyn sung Happy Birthday Mr President at Maddison Square Garden, New York, on May 19, 1962 – 10 days before his real birthday.
The performance caused a stir with the media, with many people regarding it as proof of their affair.
Some people also linked the performance and Marilyn’s presence to the reason as to why Jackie did not attend her husband’s 45th birthday party.
Did Marilyn Monroe have a relationship with JFK’s younger brother?
(Image: GETTY)
Following Marilyn’s Happy Birthday performance and the alleged affair, she was then linked to ‘the other brother’, Robert ‘Bobby’ Kennedy.
Frank Sinatra’s close friend, Tony Oppedisano, made bombshell claims about Marilyn’s dating history in his memoir, “Sinatra and Me: In The Wee Small Hours”.
In reference to Marilyn’s relationship with JFK, Tony wrote: “It was obviously a sexual thing, and I would expect that there were feelings on her side.”
“She respected him; she admired him.”
Tony added: “She loved what he was doing with the country, and then to have a physical relationship with him, she found him attractive and vice versa.”
In the memoir, he claimed that Marilyn had begun a relationship with Bobby to “to get back” at the president after the end of their affair.
“According to Frank again, she felt a little bit betrayed and, yet again, taken advantage of when it ended” with JFK, Oppedisano says.
“And to an extent, maybe her taking up with Bobby was to get back at him, and it wasn’t so much about Bobby as maybe sticking her thumb in JFK’s eye – ‘You’re not going to be with me, so maybe I’ll take up with your brother.’ “
How did Marilyn Monroe die?
(Image: AP)
On August 4, 1962, Marilyn died of a barbiturate overdose at her home in Los Angeles, California, and her body was discovered the next day.
She was 36 years old at the time of her death.
Tony Oppedisano claims in his book that Frank Sinatra believed Monroe was killed.
“And he never got over it,” Oppedisano wrote.
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Source: Celebrities - dailystar.co.uk
