The grandson of a photographer who helped ‘create’ Marilyn Monroe’s famous persona has given a glimpse into what the star really looked like behind the scenes.
Photojournalist Eve Arnold, originally from Great Britain, met Marilyn long before she was the iconic sex symbol we all knew and loved.
She started photographing Marilyn when she was just a young woman determined to make it in Hollywood was behind some of the most famous photos of her, ultimately making her one of history’s biggest stars.
Eve worked closely with the actress for almost a decade until Marilyn tragically died in 1962 at the age of 36 and the two women formed an extremely close relationship behind the scenes.
According to Eve’s grandson Michael Arnold, the photographer, who died in 2012 at the age of 99, got to see a side of Marilyn that few got to see.
The grandson of a photographer who helped ‘create’ Marilyn Monroe’s famous persona has given a glimpse into what the star really looked like behind the scenes
He spoke exclusively to DailyMail.com about everything his grandmother told him about what Marilyn was like when she wasn’t dazzling in front of a camera or wowing an audience – and he claimed she was much more ‘vulnerable’ and ‘self-conscious’. than some might think.
Photojournalist Eve Arnold (seen in 2005), originally from Britain, met Marilyn long before she was the iconic sex symbol we all knew and loved
Michael explained that his grandmother and Marilyn first crossed paths in 1952 at a “Hollywood party.”
He said the blonde beauty approached Eve because she had seen some photos she had taken of German-American actress Marlene Dietrich and was impressed.
“The first thing Marilyn Monroe said to her was, ‘I saw your piece on Dietrich, if you could do that with her, imagine what you could do with me,’” he revealed.
‘Eve thought that was very wonderful, the energy that Marilyn had. She had a vision of what was possible for her.”
Marilyn soon enlisted Eve to turn her into a star.
“Monroe said to Eve, ‘Let’s make Marilyn.’ She was very clear about the vision she had and what she wanted to look like,” he continued.
“Marilyn realized that Eve was someone who could help her get where she wanted to go.”
She was behind some of Marilyn’s most famous photos and ultimately helped transform her into one of history’s biggest stars
Eve worked closely with the actress for almost a decade until Marilyn tragically died in 1962 at the age of 36 and the two women formed an extremely close relationship behind the scenes.
According to Eve’s grandson Michael Arnold, the photographer, who died in 2012 at the age of 99, got to see a side of Marilyn that few got to see.
He explained that the two women quickly formed a close friendship that went beyond their working relationship.
“Marilyn really started to trust Eve. This allowed Eve to capture images of her that were more candid and real than some other photographers who may not have been able to get beneath the surface of the persona she had created,” he said.
“Eve loved working with her because she always wanted to come up with new ways of working and new ideas… She always wanted to push the boundaries and try new things.”
He said Marilyn would “confide in” Eve about her deepest insecurities and her growing mental health issues as her career flourished.
“There was a vulnerable side to Marilyn,” he said. ‘Eve said she had created a fantasy of what she had wanted to become, but she had realized that when she got there it wouldn’t actually fulfill her in the way she thought it would. She started to get quite depressed.”
He recalled his grandmother telling him that Marilyn was having a hard time on the set of the 1961 film The Misfits.
‘The film was meant for her [move] into more serious acting and her childhood hero, Clark Gable, was one of the actors in that,” he explained.
‘She felt quite intimidated because they often changed the lines in the scene she was going to play.
“And the other actor learned the new lines seamlessly and rattled them off, but she felt very nervous and self-conscious about it.”
Marilyn died of acute barbiturate poisoning in 1962, a year after the film’s release, and her death was ruled a probable suicide.
He spoke exclusively to DailyMail.com about everything his grandmother told him about what Marilyn was like when she wasn’t dazzling in front of a camera or wowing audiences.
He claimed she was much more ‘vulnerable’ and ‘self-conscious’ than she appeared in public. Eve is seen with Marilyn during a photo shoot
He said: ‘Eva said she had created a fantasy of what she wanted to be, but when she got there she realized it wouldn’t actually fulfill her.’
He recalled his grandmother telling him that Marilyn was having a hard time on the set of the 1961 film The Misfits. Marilyn is pictured behind the scenes of The Misfits
‘The film was meant for her [move] to more serious acting and her hero Clark Gable was in that,” he explained. “She felt quite intimidated.” She has been seen with Clark and Montgomery Clift
He said she “began to get quite depressed.” She died a year later and it was considered a probable suicide. She can be seen on the set of Misfits with husband Arthur Miller
Michael said that after her death, his grandmother spent years preventing the photos she took of Marilyn from being used in the press.
But ultimately, she decided she wanted to share the “Marilyn she knew” with the rest of the world.
Michael recently republished a book Eve wrote about her time with Marilyn, titled Monroe, which features more than 100 images she took of the actress.
‘Eve wanted to show the smart businesswoman that Marilyn was too. “She was often seen as just a sex symbol, but she was actually so bright and focused,” he added.
“And even though she didn’t have a traditional education, she read a lot of books and really knew what she wanted.
“She had studied other actresses and how they walked and talked, she had spent hours and hours cultivating this way of being and figuring out ways to propel herself to the heights she reached.”
Michael recently republished a book Eve wrote about her time with Marilyn, titled Monroe, which features more than a hundred images she took of the actress.
In addition, there will also be one Eve Arnold Exhibition in London, which runs from November 7 to 20 and features the best of her snaps of Marilyn, as well as some of the other iconic photos she took of stars like Queen Elizabeth II and Malcolm X.