150 Best Marilyn Monroe Quotes: Timeless Wisdom from Hollywood's Most Iconic Star

Patrick WrightJuly 5, 2025

150 Best Marilyn Monroe Quotes: Timeless Wisdom from Hollywood's Most Iconic Star

Marilyn Monroe

Marilyn Monroe, born Norma Jeane Mortenson on June 1, 1926, remains one of the most captivating figures in entertainment history. Beyond her stunning beauty and magnetic screen presence, Monroe possessed a sharp wit, profound wisdom, and vulnerability that resonated with millions. Despite her tragic death at age 36, her words continue to inspire, challenge, and comfort people around the world.

Often misunderstood as merely a blonde bombshell, Monroe was a complex woman who struggled with personal demons while maintaining an unwavering dedication to her craft. Her quotes reveal a thoughtful, intelligent woman who understood the complexities of fame, love, and the human condition. From her humble beginnings in foster homes to becoming Hollywood's brightest star, Monroe's journey was marked by both triumph and heartbreak.

This collection of 150 quotes showcases the many facets of Marilyn Monroe: the philosopher, the romantic, the feminist ahead of her time, and the vulnerable soul seeking genuine connection in a world of superficiality. Her words remind us that behind the glamorous facade was a woman of substance, humor, and remarkable insight.

Table of Contents

  1. Love and Relationships
  2. Self-Worth and Identity
  3. Success and Ambition
  4. Beauty and Femininity
  5. Life Philosophy
  6. Fame and Hollywood
  7. Wisdom and Growth
  8. Humor and Wit

Love and Relationships

Marilyn's views on love were both romantic and realistic, shaped by her tumultuous personal life and three marriages. Her quotes about relationships reveal a woman who yearned for genuine connection while understanding the complexities of human emotion.

"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 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 could never pretend something I didn't feel. I could never make love if I didn't love, and if I loved I could no more hide the fact than change the color of my eyes." - Marilyn Monroe

"Husbands are chiefly good as lovers when they are betraying their wives." - Marilyn Monroe

"You might as well make yourself fly as to make yourself love." - Marilyn Monroe

"Most men judge your importance in their lives by how much you can hurt them, not by how happy you can make them." - Marilyn Monroe

"It's far better to be unhappy alone than unhappy with someone — so far." - Marilyn Monroe

"There is just no comparison between having a dinner date with a man and staying home playing canasta with the girls." - Marilyn Monroe

"A career is wonderful, but you can't curl up with it on a cold night." - Marilyn Monroe

"I think to love bravely is the best and accept—as much as one can bear." - Marilyn Monroe

"Before marriage, a girl has to make love to a man to hold him. After marriage, she has to hold him to make love to him." - Marilyn Monroe

"Love doesn't need to be perfect, it just needs to be true." - Marilyn Monroe

"The nicest thing for me is sleep, then at least I can dream." - Marilyn Monroe

"A man is more frank and sincere with his emotions than a woman. We girls, I'm afraid, have a tendency to hide our feelings." - Marilyn Monroe

"I don't want to make money, I just want to be wonderful." - Marilyn Monroe

"Keep smiling, because life is a beautiful thing and there's so much to smile about." - Marilyn Monroe

"Sometimes things fall apart so that better things can fall together." - Marilyn Monroe

"I believe that everything happens for a reason." - Marilyn Monroe

Self-Worth and Identity

Monroe's struggle with self-identity and worth resonates deeply in her quotes. Despite her fame, she battled insecurity while maintaining a strong sense of who she was beneath the Hollywood persona.

"Wanting to be someone else is a waste of the person you are." - Marilyn Monroe

"Imperfection is beauty, madness is genius and it's better to be absolutely ridiculous than absolutely boring." - Marilyn Monroe

"Just because you fall once, doesn't mean you're fall at everything. Keep trying, hold on, and always trust yourself, because if you don't then who will??" - Marilyn Monroe

"A smile is the best makeup a girl could wear." - Marilyn Monroe

"Just because you fail once, it doesn't mean you're going to fail at everything. keep trying, hold on, and always, always, always believe in yourself because if you don't, then who will? so keep your head high, keep your chin up, and most importantly, keep smiling because life's a beautiful thing and there's so much to smile about." - Marilyn Monroe

"I've never fooled anyone. I've let people fool themselves. They didn't bother to find out who and what I was. Instead they would invent a character for me. I wouldn't argue with them. They were obviously loving somebody I wasn't." - Marilyn Monroe

"I want to grow old without facelifts... I want to have the courage to be loyal to the face I've made. Sometimes I think it would be easier to avoid old age, to die young, but then you'd never complete your life, would you? You'd never wholly know you." - Marilyn Monroe

"Beneath the makeup and behind the smile I am just a girl who wishes for the world." - Marilyn Monroe

"I am not a victim of emotional conflicts. I am human." - Marilyn Monroe

"All little girls should be told they are pretty, even if they aren't." - Marilyn Monroe

"Just because you fail once doesn't mean you're gonna fail at everything." - Marilyn Monroe

"Trying to build myself up with the fact that I have done things right that were even good and have had moments that were excellent but the bad is heavier to carry around and feel have no confidence." - Marilyn Monroe

"Always remember to smile and look up at what you got in life." - Marilyn Monroe

"A wise girl knows her limits, a smart girl knows that she has none." - Marilyn Monroe

"I'm very definitely a woman and I enjoy it." - Marilyn Monroe

"I don't want everybody to see exactly where I live, what my sofa or my fireplace looks like." - Marilyn Monroe

"I restore myself when I'm alone." - Marilyn Monroe

"Fear is stupid. So are regrets." - Marilyn Monroe

Success and Ambition

Despite being typecast as a dumb blonde, Monroe was fiercely ambitious and dedicated to her craft. Her quotes about success reveal a determined woman who refused to be limited by others' expectations.

"I used to think as I looked out on the Hollywood night — there must be thousands of girls sitting alone like me, dreaming of becoming a movie star. But I'm not going to worry about them. I'm dreaming the hardest." - Marilyn Monroe

"Some people have been unkind. If I say I want to grow as an actress, they look at my figure. If I say I want to develop, to learn my craft, they laugh. Somehow they don't expect me to be serious about my work." - Marilyn Monroe

"Dreaming about being an actress, is more exciting then being one." - Marilyn Monroe

"Give a girl the right shoes, and she can conquer the world." - Marilyn Monroe

"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

"I am trying to find myself. Sometimes that's not easy." - Marilyn Monroe

"The body is meant to be seen, not all covered up." - Marilyn Monroe

"I live to succeed, not to please you or anyone else." - Marilyn Monroe

"I don't stop when I'm tired. I only stop when I'm done." - Marilyn Monroe

"If I'd observed all the rules, I'd never have got anywhere." - Marilyn Monroe

"I've been on a calendar, but I've never been on time." - Marilyn Monroe

"Hollywood is a place where they'll pay you a thousand dollars for a kiss and fifty cents for your soul." - Marilyn Monroe

"An actress is not a machine, but they treat you like a machine." - Marilyn Monroe

"My work is the only ground I've ever had to stand on." - Marilyn Monroe

"I don't want to be rich, I just want to be loved." - Marilyn Monroe

"Fame will go by and, so long, I've had you, fame. If it goes by, I've always known it was fickle." - Marilyn Monroe

"I knew I belonged to the public and to the world, not because I was talented or even beautiful, but because I had never belonged to anything or anyone else." - Marilyn Monroe

"I am good, but not an angel." - Marilyn Monroe

Beauty and Femininity

Monroe's relationship with beauty and femininity was complex. While she embraced her sexuality, she also understood its limitations and the way it shaped how others perceived her.

"What do I wear in bed? Why, Chanel No. 5, of course." - Marilyn Monroe

"I don't mind being burdened with being glamorous and sexual. Beauty and femininity are ageless and can't be contrived, and glamour, although the manufacturers won't like this, cannot be manufactured. Not real glamour; it's based on femininity." - Marilyn Monroe

"It's not true that I had nothing on. I had the radio on." - Marilyn Monroe

"A sex symbol becomes a thing. I hate being a thing." - Marilyn Monroe

"I don't know who invented high heels, but all women owe him a lot!" - Marilyn Monroe

"Gli uomini veri impazziscono per le ragazze che sanno dire di no. Gli stupidi si accontentano delle facili." - Marilyn Monroe

"Your clothes should be tight enough to show you're a woman but loose enough to show you're a lady." - Marilyn Monroe

"Sex is part of nature. I go along with nature." - Marilyn Monroe

"The truth is I've never fooled anyone. I've let people fool themselves." - Marilyn Monroe

"I don't understand why people aren't a little more generous with each other." - Marilyn Monroe

"Beauty and femininity are ageless and can't be contrived." - Marilyn Monroe

"To all the girls that think you're fat because you're not a size zero, you're the beautiful one, its society who's ugly." - Marilyn Monroe

"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." - Marilyn Monroe

"Being a sex symbol is a heavy load to carry, especially when one is tired, hurt and bewildered." - Marilyn Monroe

"I have never cared especially for outdoor sports and have no desire to excel at tennis, swimming, or golf. I'll leave those things to the men." - Marilyn Monroe

"A woman knows by intuition, or instinct, what is best for herself." - Marilyn Monroe

"No one ever told me I was pretty when I was a little girl. All little girls should be told they're pretty." - Marilyn Monroe

"I don't look at myself as a commodity, but I'm sure a lot of people have." - Marilyn Monroe

Life Philosophy

Monroe's philosophical musings reveal a thoughtful woman who contemplated life's bigger questions despite her troubled circumstances.

"For those who are poor in happiness, each time is a first time; happiness never becomes a habit." - 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

"I have too many fantasies to be a housewife.... I guess I am a fantasy." - Marilyn Monroe

"Looking back, I guess I used to play-act all the time. For one thing, it meant I could live in a more interesting world than the one around me." - Marilyn Monroe

"When you're young and healthy you can plan on Monday to commit suicide, and by Wednesday you're laughing again." - Marilyn Monroe

"We are all born sexual creatures,thank God, but it's a pity so many people despise and crush this natural gift." - Marilyn Monroe

"Everyone has violence in themselves. I'm violent." - Marilyn Monroe

"Dogs never bite me. Just humans." - Marilyn Monroe

"Men are always ready to respect anything that bores them." - Marilyn Monroe

"I don't mind making jokes, but I don't want to look like one." - Marilyn Monroe

"They will only care when you're gone." - Marilyn Monroe

"I don't mind it being a world of men as long as I was a woman in it." - Marilyn Monroe

"But as long as one is alive, one can be vital. But you don't give up until you stop breathing." - Marilyn Monroe

"Most people in the world are Christ lovers. And then there are Christ haters. But all of them are fixated on Christ, and he perpetuates for ever." - Marilyn Monroe

"Try to enjoy myself when I can - I'll be miserable enough as it is." - Marilyn Monroe

"We should all start to live before we get too old." - Marilyn Monroe

"I think that when you are famous every weakness is exaggerated." - Marilyn Monroe

"Things go wrong so that you appreciate them when they're right." - Marilyn Monroe

"The sky is not the limit. Your mind is." - Marilyn Monroe

Fame and Hollywood

Monroe's complicated relationship with fame and the Hollywood machine produced some of her most insightful observations about celebrity culture.

"Friendship is the bestiest thing that comes to life. Friends will always be there for you don't worry about the fakes worry about the people who had your back from the start and never treated you wrong always remember they are your real friends don't never take them as granted because one day your going to lose a good friend by the way your action's are when you see a good friend stick to that person." - Marilyn Monroe

"In Hollywood a girl's virtue is much less important than her hairdo." - Marilyn Monroe

"Hollywood's a place where they'll pay you a thousand dollars for a kiss, and fifty cents for your soul." - Marilyn Monroe

"Fame doesn't fulfill you. It warms you a bit, but that warmth is temporary." - Marilyn Monroe

"I knew I belonged to the public and to the world, not because I was talented or even beautiful, but because I had never belonged to anything or anyone else." - Marilyn Monroe

"The thing I want more than anything else? I want to have children. I used to feel for every child I had, I would adopt another." - Marilyn Monroe

"Experts on romance say for a happy marriage there has to be more than a passionate love. For a lasting union, they insist, there must be a genuine liking for each other." - Marilyn Monroe

"I'm one of the world's most self-conscious people. I really have to struggle." - Marilyn Monroe

"Fame is like caviar. It's good to have caviar, but not when you have it at every meal." - Marilyn Monroe

"I won't be satisfied until people want to hear me sing without looking at me." - Marilyn Monroe

"People had a habit of looking at me as if I were some kind of mirror instead of a person." - Marilyn Monroe

"If fame goes by, so long, I've had you, fame. If it goes by, I've always known it was fickle." - Marilyn Monroe

"I've often stood silent at a party for hours listening to my movie idols turn into dull and little people." - Marilyn Monroe

"Please don't make me a joke. End the interview with what I believe." - Marilyn Monroe

"Fame may go by and - so long, I've had you, Fame. If it goes by, I've always known it was fickle." - Marilyn Monroe

"I want to be an artist, an actress with integrity." - Marilyn Monroe

"The public doesn't mind people living together without being married, providing they don't overdo it." - Marilyn Monroe

"Creativity has got to start with humanity and when you're a human being, you feel, you suffer." - Marilyn Monroe

Wisdom and Growth

Despite her young age at death, Monroe possessed wisdom beyond her years, often reflecting on personal growth and life lessons.

"I'm for the individual as opposed to the corporation. The way it is the individual is the underdog, and with all the things a corporation has going for them the individual comes out banged on her head." - Marilyn Monroe

"I have always been deeply terrified to really be someone's wife since I know from life one cannot love another, ever, really." - Marilyn Monroe

"I think that sexuality is only attractive when it's natural and spontaneous." - Marilyn Monroe

"It's better to be unhappy alone than unhappy with someone." - Marilyn Monroe

"I am invariably late for appointments - sometimes as much as two hours. I've tried to change my ways but the things that make me late are too strong, and too pleasing." - Marilyn Monroe

"Respect is one of life's greatest treasures. I mean, what does it all add up to if you don't have that?" - Marilyn Monroe

"I don't forgive people because I'm weak, I forgive them because I am strong enough to know people make mistakes." - Marilyn Monroe

"Sometimes I feel my whole life has been one big rejection." - Marilyn Monroe

"I'm trying to find myself as a person, sometimes that's not easy to do." - Marilyn Monroe

"If you spend your life competing with business men, what do you have? A bank account and ulcers!" - Marilyn Monroe

"Millions of people live their entire lives without finding themselves. But it is something I must do." - Marilyn Monroe

"The truth is, I've never fooled anyone. I've let men sometimes fool themselves." - Marilyn Monroe

"I've always felt toward the slightest scene, even if all I had to do in a scene was just to come in and say, 'Hi,' that the people ought to get their money's worth." - Marilyn Monroe

"What's the good of drawing in the next breath if all you do is let it out and draw in another?" - Marilyn Monroe

"I learned to walk as a baby and I haven't had a lesson since." - Marilyn Monroe

"It's nice to be included in people's fantasies but you also like to be accepted for your own sake." - Marilyn Monroe

"I am alone; I am always alone no matter what." - Marilyn Monroe

"I've never dropped anyone I believed in." - Marilyn Monroe

Humor and Wit

Monroe's sharp wit and self-deprecating humor showed a woman who didn't take herself too seriously despite the pressures of fame.

"I don't know if high heels were invented by a man, but they must have been invented for men." - Marilyn Monroe

"If I play a stupid girl and ask a stupid question, I've got to follow it through, what am I supposed to do, look intelligent?" - Marilyn Monroe

"It's all make believe, isn't it?" - Marilyn Monroe

"I've been asked, 'Do you mind living in a man's world?' I always answer, 'Not as long as I can be a woman in it.'" - Marilyn Monroe

"Diamonds are a girl's best friend." - Marilyn Monroe

"I defy gravity." - Marilyn Monroe

"Speaking of Oscars, I would win overwhelmingly if the Academy gave an Oscar for faking orgasms. I have done some of my best acting convincing my partners I was in the throes of ecstasy." - Marilyn Monroe

"I don't digest things with my mind." - Marilyn Monroe

"When it comes to gossip, I have to readily admit men are as guilty as women." - Marilyn Monroe

"I have too many fantasies to be a housewife. I guess I am a fantasy." - Marilyn Monroe

"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

"I'm the type of person that tries to fall back asleep in the morning just to finish a dream." - Marilyn Monroe

"Confidentially, the type of male I find most enjoyable for a friend is one who has enough fire and assurance to speak up for his convictions." - Marilyn Monroe

"I read poetry to save time." - Marilyn Monroe

"I don't consider myself an intellectual. And this is not one of my aims. But I admire intellectual people." - Marilyn Monroe

"I'm pretty, but I'm not beautiful." - Marilyn Monroe

"There was my name up in lights. I said, 'God, somebody's made a mistake.' But there it was, in lights. And I sat there and said, 'Remember, you're not a star.' Yet there it was up in lights." - Marilyn Monroe

"Designers want me to dress like Spring, in billowing things. I don't feel like Spring. I feel like a warm red Autumn." - Marilyn Monroe

"A strong man doesn't have to be dominant toward a woman." - Marilyn Monroe

"I think one of the basic reasons men make good friends is that they can make up their minds quickly." - Marilyn Monroe

Conclusion

Marilyn Monroe's legacy extends far beyond her iconic beauty and tragic end. Through these 150 quotes, we see a woman of remarkable depth, intelligence, and emotional complexity. Her words continue to resonate because they speak to universal human experiences: the search for love, the struggle for authenticity, the pain of rejection, and the joy of self-discovery.

What makes Monroe's quotes so enduring is their raw honesty. She didn't hide behind platitudes or pretend that life was easier than it was. Instead, she acknowledged the darkness while still finding reasons to smile, to hope, and to keep dreaming. Her vulnerability became her strength, and her willingness to share her struggles made her relatable to millions.

Today, more than six decades after her death, Marilyn Monroe remains an icon not just of beauty and glamour, but of resilience and authenticity. Her quotes remind us that it's okay to be imperfect, that strength comes from embracing our whole selves, and that true beauty radiates from within. In a world that often demands perfection, Monroe's words give us permission to be human.

As we reflect on these quotes, we're reminded that Marilyn Monroe was so much more than the sum of her parts. She was a philosopher in platinum blonde, a poet in high heels, and a woman whose wisdom continues to light the way for those who dare to be themselves in a world that often demands conformity. Her greatest gift to us wasn't her beauty or her talent—it was her honesty about what it means to be human.

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