The versatility of Marilyn Monroe

In a previous article, Marilyn Monroe’s versatility was explored from a more traditional perspective, focusing on her ability to perform at a high level across comedy, drama, and musical genres. However, that reading only scratches the surface of the full range of her work. This article takes a different approach: it examines her versatility not just across genres, but within the specific types of characters, archetypes, and screen personas she portrayed throughout her filmography. Beyond being an actress who could shift tones, Marilyn was able to inhabit multiple versions of cinematic femininity, reinventing each one from within.

One of the most unusual types of roles in Marilyn Monroe’s filmography is that of the psychologically unstable woman, a character archetype rarely seen in Hollywood at the time and one she portrayed only once in Don’t Bother to Knock. In the film, Marilyn plays Nell Forbes, a young woman recently released from a psychiatric institution who takes a job as a babysitter in a hotel. It is one of the most demanding acting challenges of her career, especially considering her limited experience in leading roles and dramatic performances at that stage. Even so, the result is striking: Marilyn crafts a fragile, unsettling, and emotionally unbalanced character with remarkable conviction, delivering one of the standout performances of her early career.

In Niagara, Marilyn Monroe portrayed a femme fatale for the first and only time in the classic sense of the term. Rose Loomis is a woman married to an unstable and dangerous husband, whom she wishes to leave in order to escape with her lover. This is a highly unusual register within her filmography, as Marilyn typically embodied characters associated with warmth, charm, or a certain emotional brightness. Even in roles such as Nell or Lorelei, despite their darker or more complex edges, there is usually an underlying sense of inherent goodness. With Rose Loomis, however, that quality is almost entirely absent: she is calculating, cunning, and willing to manipulate those around her to achieve her goal. Although it was an atypical role in her career, her performance was highly effective, to the point that Rose became one of the most memorable femme fatales of the era. Marilyn never returned to a similar character, but through this role she demonstrated that she could inhabit even the furthest extreme of her usual screen persona.

Another less common type of role in Marilyn Monroe’s filmography is that of the tough or resilient woman, a register she portrayed only once in River of No Return. In the film, Marilyn plays Kay, a saloon singer who travels downriver with her boyfriend in hopes of reaching a town where they can improve their living conditions. However, the journey becomes increasingly difficult and tests her ability to survive. This is an unusual role in her career, as Marilyn’s characters are typically built around emotional vulnerability or comedic lightness. Kay, by contrast, stands out for her strength and determination, while still retaining kindness and a good heart. Her performance is solid and effective, although it is not a register in which Marilyn appears as naturally at ease compared to other character types more closely aligned with her interpretive identity. Even so, she delivers the role with competence and control.

In the realm of comedy, one of Marilyn Monroe’s most iconic and distinctive character types is that of the gold-digger or “scheming blonde,” a register she portrayed only once in Gentlemen Prefer Blondes. In this film, Marilyn plays Lorelei Lee, a nightclub singer who, along with her best friend Dorothy Shaw, embarks on a cruise to Paris to perform in a show, although Lorelei is far more interested in diamonds than in the job itself. This role is fascinating because Marilyn does not portray a conventional or particularly unlikable gold-digger. Instead, Lorelei is a “Monroe-ified” version of the archetype: a character whose obsession with diamonds is not framed as cold or manipulative, but rather as an overwhelming passion, almost instinctive in nature. Her relationship with jewels is not moral or strategic, but emotional, like an intense craving that feels impossible to resist.

At the same time, Lorelei is not defined solely by this obsession. The true emotional core of the film lies in her friendship with Dorothy Shaw, a genuine, strong bond full of warmth and chemistry, elevated by the remarkable dynamic between Marilyn Monroe and Jane Russell. Lorelei would never harm anyone for diamonds, but she would do anything for Dorothy. On top of that, she brings an exceptional sense of comedy to the role: she is playful, charming, and constantly attuned to the comedic rhythm of each scene. The result is a nearly perfect performance within this archetype, turning Lorelei into an enduring icon of cinema.

Another of the most distinctive character types in Marilyn Monroe’s filmography can be described as the “cheerful problem-solver,” an archetype reminiscent of Audrey Hepburn’s performances in films such as Roman Holiday or Sabrina. Marilyn only explored this register once, in The Prince and the Showgirl, where she plays Elsie Marina, an American chorus girl working in London who becomes involved in the life of a foreign prince. Marilyn’s performance in this role is particularly remarkable, ranking among her finest work. Elsie is a fascinating character precisely because of her apparent contradiction: she combines surface-level innocence with genuine intelligence and practical awareness. Her joyful nature can make her seem carefree or even naive at first glance, but in reality she is observant, capable, and unexpectedly effective in complex situations.

Throughout the story, Elsie becomes not only a charming and lovable presence, but also plays a key role in resolving the political instability of Carpathia, helping the prince move toward a peaceful democratic transition. Even details such as her ability to speak German reinforce the idea of a character far more complete than her initial appearance suggests. The result is a deeply endearing, luminous, and balanced figure, and one of the clearest examples of Marilyn’s ability to inhabit a character type rooted in both warmth and emotional intelligence with remarkable ease.

Moving on to the character types Marilyn Monroe portrayed more than once, one of them is the “working ambitious woman,” an archetype that appears in two films: There’s No Business Like Show Business and Let’s Make Love. In There’s No Business Like Show Business, Marilyn plays Vicky Parker, a highly talented, disciplined, and ambitious stage singer who also becomes romantically involved with the youngest son of the Donahue family. In this case, the character relies heavily on her stage presence and her role within a competitive, family-centered musical environment. In Let’s Make Love, Marilyn portrays Amanda, an off-Broadway actress. While she shares the same foundation of being a working woman in the entertainment industry, Amanda is less driven by ambition and more defined by warmth, friendliness, and everyday professionalism.

Within Marilyn’s filmography, this type of role is generally seen as one of the least complex in terms of interpretive depth. These films often prioritize musical numbers and spectacle over nuanced storytelling, which results in characters with fewer dramatic layers compared to others in her repertoire. Nevertheless, Marilyn performs competently and shines particularly in the musical sequences. However, it is clear that this was not the type of register that most engaged her creatively, making these performances solid and effective, but less rich compared to other archetypes she explored throughout her career.

The character type most commonly associated with Marilyn Monroe is the “dumb blonde.” Many people, who might just be the dumb ones themselves, believe that Marilyn only played this type of role or even that she was one of those “dumb women” in real life. However, the reality is that she only clearly portrayed this kind of character on two occasions: How to Marry a Millionaire and The Seven Year Itch. In How to Marry a Millionaire, Marilyn plays Pola Debevoise, an innocent model who, along with her friends Schatze Page and Loco Dempsey, sets out to marry millionaires. Pola is not exactly dumb, but she is quite naive in certain aspects, especially in things like her dependence on glasses and her way of understanding the world. She is a very cheerful and charming character, who could also fit into the “cheerful problem-solver” archetype, but here she fits better within comedic innocence.

In The Seven Year Itch, Marilyn plays a young woman whose name is never mentioned, an innocent model spending the summer in a New York apartment who, without meaning to, becomes the center of her downstairs neighbor’s fantasies. In this case, we are dealing with a more pure “dumb blonde,” where the innocence is extreme, almost as if she were a child in the body of a young woman. Although this was not a common type of role in her career, Marilyn delivered some of her most iconic performances in this register. In The Seven Year Itch, we are not dealing with a complex dramatic performance, but we are dealing with the best “dumb blonde” in history. Marilyn had more layered and nuanced roles elsewhere, but in this register she was simply unmatched. Ultimately, while the “dumb blonde” stereotype does not define Marilyn Monroe at all, it does show something very clear: when she played “dumb,” she did it like no one else, and turned even that into iconic cinema.

We now arrive at what is truly Marilyn Monroe’s key type of role: the one she played most often and, arguably, the one she did best with, or at least the one that produced her strongest performances. I’m referring to the “vulnerable girl” archetype. Marilyn herself was a quite vulnerable person in real life, which made these roles, in many ways, her specialty. This archetype can be divided into two main branches: drama and comedy.

In drama, we find Cherie in Bus Stop. Cherie is a saloon singer who dreams of becoming a Hollywood actress. She is an extremely vulnerable character from the very beginning, although she gradually learns to assert herself, especially toward the end. She is also cheerful and dreamy, even when her situation becomes increasingly difficult. Marilyn’s performance is incredible: it was her first role after studying at the Actors Studio, and the result is simply brilliant. A deeply layered character, emotionally intense but organically built, and without a doubt one of her greatest performances. Another example is Roslyn Taber in The Misfits. Roslyn is extremely vulnerable, a deeply empathetic person who is emotionally affected by the suffering of any living being. At the same time, she is also cheerful and occasionally manages to assert herself. Marilyn’s performance here is simply spectacular, probably her best and one of the greatest ever put on screen. She is very similar to Cherie in terms of construction: deep, emotionally intense, yet organic. The difference is that Roslyn pushes emotional intensity even further. Few actors have managed to express emotions in such an intense yet natural way as Marilyn does in The Misfits. Peggy in Ladies of the Chorus could also be considered a vulnerable girl, although in a much softer version and performed by a very inexperienced Marilyn at the time.

Moving on to comedy, Sugar Kane in Some Like It Hot also fits within the vulnerable girl archetype. Sugar Kane is a band singer who has had bad experiences with saxophone players and is looking for a millionaire with glasses. On her trip to Miami, she meets two new friends, Josephine and Daphne. Sugar is cheerful and optimistic, but her past wounds are still there, and when she experiences something similar again, she is completely emotionally shaken. Marilyn’s performance is outstanding: she manages to blend comedy, drama, and musical elements with such precision that very few have ever matched it at that level. Marilyn was a highly sensitive and vulnerable person in real life, which is why these roles suited her almost naturally. Even in her other characters, there is usually a layer of vulnerability underneath.

In conclusion, what this journey through Marilyn Monroe’s different types of roles makes clear is that her career cannot be reduced to a single label. Although she is popularly and almost automatically associated with the “dumb blonde,” this is actually one of the least frequent archetypes in her filmography. Marilyn was an actress with far more versatility than she is usually given credit for. She could be a fragile and unsettling mentally unstable woman in Don’t Bother to Knock, a calculating femme fatale in Niagara, a tough and resilient woman in River of No Return, a charming gold digger in Gentlemen Prefer Blondes, an almost “cheerful problem-solver” figure in The Prince and the Showgirl, a hardworking ambitious performer in different musical contexts, and yes, also a “dumb blonde” taken to its highest level of iconic status.

But if there is one type of role that stands out above the rest, both in quantity and in quality within her filmography, it is undoubtedly the “vulnerable girl.” Whether in the heartbreaking drama of Bus Stop or The Misfits, or in the perfect blend of comedy, music, and emotion in Some Like It Hot, this archetype is where Marilyn reached her greatest depth as an actress. Not because vulnerability was a performance tool, but because it was part of how she experienced the world, and it inevitably filtered through every gesture, every pause, every look. In the end, her legacy is not that of a stereotype, but of an actress capable of inhabiting radically different registers and filling them with emotional truth. And among all those registers, the vulnerable girl is not only the most recurring, but also the most revealing: the one that best explains why Marilyn Monroe remains, to this day, a figure impossible to confine within a single definition.