Marilyn Monroe was becoming a major star when this photograph was taken in 1954.
Marilyn Monroe was becoming a major star when this photograph was taken in 1954.

Marilyn: beyond the myth



When I was 10, The Sunday Times magazine serialised Norman Mailer's biography of Marilyn Monroe. I don't know how or why I had heard of her but I collected all the articles and stuck them in a scrapbook, on the cover of which I wrote Marilyn. Unfortunately, my stepfather thought it was unsuitable reading for a little girl and confiscated it.

The point of the story is not how strict my stepfather was, but rather how Marilyn grabbed the attention of a child, and how she still captures the imagination of millions, almost 50 years after her death.

I can gaze happily at photographs of Marilyn for hours on end. There is something so captivating about her beauty, and also something intangible that draws you back again and again. She seems so much more special than countless other actresses.

Although Marilyn cultivated the "dumb blonde" image, it was inaccurate. Jane Russell, her co-star in Gentlemen Prefer Blondes, called her "very shy and very sweet and far more intelligent than people gave her credit for".

For her acting, there can be no higher accolade than that of Lee Strasberg from the legendary Actors Studio: "I have worked with hundreds and hundreds of actors and actresses," he said, "and there are only two that stand out way above the rest. Number one is Marlon Brando, and the second is Marilyn Monroe."

And let's not forget she could sing and dance as well. Has anyone ever heard a more seductive interpretation of Happy Birthday than the one she sang for JFK in 1962?

But if we're honest, we don't remember Marilyn because of her films or even her songs. Rather, there is something about Marilyn the woman that is endlessly fascinating. Her self-doubt, her disastrous relationships, her humour (famously late for everything, she once quipped: "I've been on a calendar, but I've never been on time") and of course, that endearing vulnerability.

Marilyn didn't take her sex symbol status lightly. "Being a sex symbol is a heavy load to carry," she once said. "Especially when one is tired, hurt and bewildered."

My Week With Marilyn will receive its UAE premiere at the Dubai International Film Festival on Tuesday. The film goes on general release in the UAE on December 22.

COMPANY PROFILE
Name: ARDH Collective
Based: Dubai
Founders: Alhaan Ahmed, Alyina Ahmed and Maximo Tettamanzi
Sector: Sustainability
Total funding: Self funded
Number of employees: 4
Points about the fast fashion industry Celine Hajjar wants everyone to know
  • Fast fashion is responsible for up to 10 per cent of global carbon emissions
  • Fast fashion is responsible for 24 per cent of the world's insecticides
  • Synthetic fibres that make up the average garment can take hundreds of years to biodegrade
  • Fast fashion labour workers make 80 per cent less than the required salary to live
  • 27 million fast fashion workers worldwide suffer from work-related illnesses and diseases
  • Hundreds of thousands of fast fashion labourers work without rights or protection and 80 per cent of them are women
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Creator: Jenna Lamia

Rating: 3/5

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Abramovich London

A Kensington Palace Gardens house with 15 bedrooms is valued at more than £150 million.

A three-storey penthouse at Chelsea Waterfront bought for £22 million.

Steel company Evraz drops more than 10 per cent in trading after UK officials said it was potentially supplying the Russian military.

Sale of Chelsea Football Club is now impossible.

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APPLE IPAD MINI (A17 PRO)

Display: 21cm Liquid Retina Display, 2266 x 1488, 326ppi, 500 nits

Chip: Apple A17 Pro, 6-core CPU, 5-core GPU, 16-core Neural Engine

Storage: 128/256/512GB

Main camera: 12MP wide, f/1.8, digital zoom up to 5x, Smart HDR 4

Front camera: 12MP ultra-wide, f/2.4, Smart HDR 4, full-HD @ 25/30/60fps

Biometrics: Touch ID, Face ID

Colours: Blue, purple, space grey, starlight

In the box: iPad mini, USB-C cable, 20W USB-C power adapter

Price: From Dh2,099

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UAE-Russia ties stretch back 48 years

Trade between the UAE and Russia reached Dh12.5 bn in 2018

More than 3,000 Russian companies are registered in the UAE

Around 40,000 Russians live in the UAE

The number of Russian tourists travelling to the UAE will increase to 12 percent to reach 1.6 million in 2023

ADCC AFC Women’s Champions League Group A fixtures

October 3: v Wuhan Jiangda Women’s FC
October 6: v Hyundai Steel Red Angels Women’s FC
October 9: v Sabah FA

Results

Stage seven

1. Tadej Pogacar (SLO) UAE Team Emirates, in 3:20:24

2. Adam Yates (GBR) Ineos Grenadiers, at 1s

3. Pello Bilbao (ESP) Bahrain-Victorious, at 5s

General Classification

1. Tadej Pogacar (SLO) UAE Team Emirates, in 25:38:16

2. Adam Yates (GBR) Ineos Grenadiers, at 22s

3. Pello Bilbao (ESP) Bahrain-Victorious, at 48s

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Company: Rent Your Wardrobe 

Date started: May 2021 

Founder: Mamta Arora 

Based: Dubai 

Sector: Clothes rental subscription 

Stage: Bootstrapped, self-funded 

NEW ARRIVALS

Benjamin Mendy (Monaco) - £51.75m (Dh247.94m)
Kyle Walker (Tottenham Hotspur) - £45.9m
Bernardo Silva (Monaco) - £45m
Ederson Moraes (Benfica) - £36m
Danilo (Real Madrid) - £27m
Douglas Luiz (Vasco de Gama) - £10.8m 

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Director: Laila Abbas

Starring: Yasmine Al Massri, Clara Khoury, Kamel El Basha, Ashraf Barhoum

Rating: 4/5

Company profile

Name: Tharb

Started: December 2016

Founder: Eisa Alsubousi

Based: Abu Dhabi

Sector: Luxury leather goods

Initial investment: Dh150,000 from personal savings