Marilyn: The Lost Photographs, the Last Interview

On July 4, 1962, journalist and Associate Editor of Life magazine Richard Meryman sat down with Marilyn Monroe in her home and conducted what would become the last interview she would ever give. Photojournalist Allan Grant documented the interview in pictures. Now, for the first time, read the complete restored interview, presented with hundreds of never-before-seen photographs taken during the now historic meeting.

In July 1962, Marilyn Monroe was at a crossroads. At thirty-six years old, and having just been fired by the studio from her current picture, Something’s Gotta Give, she was struggling with fame, age, and a studio system in which she no longer fit. When she sat down to give Richard Meryman an interview, she had a lot to say. Originally intended to be an interview just about fame, over the course of eight hours Marilyn talked about her entire life. Only a small portion of the interview was published in Life magazine. When she died, just two days before the article was published, Meryman put the rest of her interview in his files, never to see the light of day.

Documenting this landmark interview was photojournalist Allan Grant. His images of Marilyn would be her last photo shoot – in her home, in casual clothes, being the glorious free spirit she was. Grant captured every emotion of the interview in glorious images, only a few of which were published with the interview excerpt. The rest, just like the interview, sat in his archive, waiting to be rediscovered.

Marilyn Monroe: The Last Photographs, The Lost Interview is Marilyn Monroe in her own words—the words that haven’t been published, until now. In this recently restored complete transcript, Marilyn very candidly talks about her life, her childhood, fame, the struggles with the studios, her approach to her work, celebrity, being a sex symbol, and more. At times joyous, silly, serious, and pensive, it is a Marilyn that the world has never heard. Accompanying the interview are more than 300 of Grant’s extraordinary pictures taken for the interview, most never published until now.

This beautifully produced book offers readers a glimpse into Marilyn’s mindset during her last days as she began to assert control of her career and address her relationship with celebrity. Deepening the understanding of Marilyn’s talents, humanity, and true legacy, and the appreciation of her true beauty, this is a fitting tribute to one of the most iconic figures of the twentieth century.