We may receive an affiliate commission from anything you buy from this article.
In July 1962, Marilyn Monroe gave what would be her final interview, with Life Magazine writer Richard Meryman, and her last formal photo shoot, for photographer Allan Grant. She died shortly after the article was published, and the majority of Grant’s photos, and the recordings made by Meryman, have remained unseen and unheard ever since.
Now, Jason Greene and Chris Flannery have compiled Meryman’s complete interview transcript and Grant’s images for (Weldon Owen), in which the star speaks candidly about her life, Hollywood, celebrity, and the challenges of the studio system.
Read an excerpt below, and
I DON’T THINK OF MYSELF AS FAMOUS. What counts is what you do. It’s also what you identify yourself with—like with the people. Normally I just wear whatever, but when I’m in a crowd and I’m going to be recognized, I’m more careful the way I dress. I mean, more carefully dressed for the occasion. There are certain times I feel that the public should see me at my best. I’m not going to go running around like a dog. I feel I wouldn’t want to let anybody down and I wouldn’t want to disappoint them. Fantasy is important for people, and so I think in that way.
Sometimes wearing a scarf and a polo coat and no makeup and with a certain attitude of walking, I go shopping or just look at people living. But then, you know, there will be a few teenagers who are kind of sharp, and they’ll say, “Hey, just a minute. You know who I think that is?” And they’ll start tailing me. And I don’t mind. I realize some people want to see if you’re real. The teenagers, the little kids, their faces light up. They say, “Gee,” and they can’t wait to tell their friends. Old people come up and say, “Wait till I tell my wife.” You’ve changed their whole day. In the morning, the garbagemen that go by Fifty-Seventh Street when I come out the door say, “Marilyn, hi! How do you feel this morning?” To me, it’s an honor, and I love them for it. The workingmen, I’ll go by and they’ll whistle. At first they whistle because they think, oh, it’s a girl. She’s got blonde hair and she’s not out of shape, and then they say, “Gosh, it’s Marilyn Monroe!” And that has its . . . you know, those are times it’s nice. People knowing who you are and all of that, and feeling that you’ve meant something to them.”
Excerpted from “Marilyn: The Lost Photographs, The Last Interview,” by Allan Grant and Richard Meryman. Conceived and developed by Jason Greene and Chris Flannery at marilynslostphotos.com. © 2026. Photographs by Allan Grant © 1962 MM LLC. Reprinted by permission of Weldon Owen/Insight Editions. All rights reserved.
