“A sex symbol becomes a thing. I just hate to be a thing.”

American actress and model

Marilyn Monroe was an American actress and model, active in the 1950s and early 1960s. She became known for comic blonde-bombshell roles and for her status as a major sex symbol of the period. She was a top-billed film star for a decade, and her screen image came to stand for the era's sexual revolution. By the time of her death in 1962, her films had grossed $200 million.