From Marilyn Monroe’s ‘crazy’ nighttime routine to famous smile: unexpected secrets behind her perfectly-crafted bombshell image

Bryan expressed that Marilyn practically lived in some of her costumes and regularly reused them.

He revealed: “This was one of her first movies – she had a bit part in and this was the [silk velvet] costume created [for it]. But here’s the thing: when they created this – the studio created it, and they also let her wear it to parties and events, openings, super market openings, that kind of stuff.”

Bryan continued: “So in those days, starlets often kept their movie costumes and would use them and reuse them and reuse them and reuse them. So this is kind of a look at what she looked like, size-wise in 1948.”

Marilyn created an elongated look thanks to sticking to nude heels for most of her outfits.

Bryan shared: “[During] the last couple of years of her life, so 1960, 1961, 1962, she almost always wore nude heels like this, and she wore a 7 1/2 AAA, so very narrow.”

Marilyn wanted to provide an illusion when it came to dressing herself. 

Bryan revealed: “This is one of her bras. So, she prided herself most of the time on trying to at least appear braless. She had some crazy ideas where sometimes she would wear bras at night and not in the day. I don’t know what that would do, but that’s what she did. And so you can see one of them there, and it’s, I believe, a 34C.That’s pretty much what she was.”

He continued: “She wasn’t very voluptuous on top, but she had the perfect hourglass. Most of her life, her measurements were a 34, 33, 34, something like that.”

Bryan took us through what happened on the day of Marilyn’s death and the significance of her last signed check.

Bryan explained: “This is the last check, the last thing she signed ever. So, August 4th, 1962, [on] the day she died, she received a chest of drawers, furniture delivery in the afternoon. And her housekeeper, Eunice Murray, filled the check out and she signed it.”

He added: “The reason why that’s important also, other than being the last thing that she signed, is that they’ve had handwriting experts look at it and they said her signature is very intentional. She was in a good place when this was signed.”

Bryan concluded: “This was a chest of drawers she’d ordered. It finally came in. She was excited. She’s furnishing her new house. That’s the night she died. To show her mindset at this particular time.”

Marilyn consciously carved out the iconic look that she’s known for globally, and believe it or not, one aspect of it was not public knowledge, however, it furthered her persona.

Bryan expressed: “She studied herself. She studied how to best show her body, off her face, how she should do her makeup to make it appear as attractive as possible. She learned how to smile. In fact, it was her first modeling coach named Evelyn Snively back in the 40s, that said her gums were too large and said, ‘you need to smile lower.'”

He continued: “And so that open mouth smile of hers was actually trying to hide the fact that her teeth were smaller. And so, who knew? But there were things like that – that she learned how to swoop her hair because she had a widow’s peak, so she was taking the focus. So she was very shrewd about how she looked, and she learned to embrace her assets and hide her flaws.”

Bryan emphasized that there are two things that he wants people to know about Marilyn – how in charge she was of her notorious image and just and how ambitious she was about her career.

He shared: “There are two things, really. One is that she was a kind, very regular person that cared about a lot of other people, and she was also extremely powerful. She was not a victim, and she was in charge of her own creation basically. I think most people don’t realize how smart she was and that she created Marilyn. She knew how to dress, she knew how to make herself up.”

He continued: “I think passion filled [her] when she became an actress. She knew what she wanted, she went after it. I think most people don’t realize how hard she worked to do it – that she took acting classes, dance lessons and voice lessons, and even when she would do a full day of filming, when she was done, she would go train. And so she took it very seriously.”

Bryan concluded: “I think those two things in particular, where she was not a victim, she was very strong, and that she was also a very nice, regular person, and she cared about people very much.”

Marilyn Monroe: Hollywood Icon will be on view from May 31, 2026 to February 28, 2027.

“Presenting hundreds of original objects, including posters, portraits, photographs, production documents, letters, and rarely seen personal materials — many of which will be on display for the first time — the exhibition will give unique insight into her agency in becoming a Hollywood icon,” per the Academy Museum of Motion Pictures website.