Some Like It Hot: The Marilyn Monroe Quiz
Instructions: With her luminous smile, comedic brilliance, and unforgettable screen presence, Marilyn Monroe remains Hollywood's most iconic star — and her remarkable life is as fascinating as any film she ever made.
- 1.
What was Marilyn Monroe's birth name?
ANorma Jeane MortensonBClara Jean BakerCBetty Louise NorrisDJean Frances Monroe - 2.
Which Hollywood studio signed Marilyn Monroe to the contract that launched her stardom in the early 1950s?
AMGMB20th Century FoxCParamount PicturesDWarner Bros. - 3.
Which 1953 thriller, set near the famous waterfalls on the US-Canada border, was the first film in which Marilyn Monroe received top star billing?
AHow to Marry a MillionaireBGentlemen Prefer BlondesCNiagaraDRiver of No Return - 4.
In the 1953 musical comedy "Gentlemen Prefer Blondes," Marilyn Monroe played Lorelei Lee alongside which co-star?
ALauren BacallBDoris DayCBetty GrableDJane Russell - 5.
In the 1953 comedy "How to Marry a Millionaire," Marilyn Monroe appeared alongside which two other legendary Hollywood stars?
ABetty Grable and Lauren BacallBJane Russell and Debbie ReynoldsCGrace Kelly and Kim NovakDDoris Day and Donna Reed - 6.
Who was Marilyn Monroe's first husband, whom she married in June 1942 at the age of sixteen?
AJoe DiMaggioBJames DoughertyCArthur MillerDFred Karger - 7.
Marilyn Monroe's second husband, Joe DiMaggio, was an American legend in what sport?
ABoxingBFootballCBaseballDBasketball - 8.
Marilyn Monroe's third husband, Arthur Miller, was best known as what kind of writer?
ANovelistBScreenwriterCPoetDPlaywright - 9.
Which two male actors starred alongside Marilyn Monroe in the classic comedy "Some Like It Hot" (1959)?
ATony Curtis and Jack LemmonBCary Grant and James StewartCDean Martin and Frank SinatraDRock Hudson and James Dean - 10.
The iconic image of Marilyn Monroe's white dress billowing upward over a breezy subway grate comes from which film?
ABus StopBThe Seven Year ItchCGentlemen Prefer BlondesDSome Like It Hot - 11.
In "The Prince and the Showgirl" (1957), Marilyn Monroe starred opposite which renowned British actor, who also directed the film?
AAlec GuinnessBJohn GielgudCLaurence OlivierDRalph Richardson - 12.
"The Misfits" (1961), the last film Marilyn Monroe completed, was written specifically for her by which person?
ABilly WilderBTennessee WilliamsCJohn HustonDArthur Miller - 13.
On May 19, 1962, Marilyn Monroe sang a now-legendary breathy "Happy Birthday, Mr. President" to John F. Kennedy. At which famous New York City venue did this performance take place?
AMadison Square GardenBCarnegie HallCRadio City Music HallDThe White House - 14.
Marilyn Monroe passed away in 1962. In which month did she die?
AJuneBAugustCOctoberDSeptember - 15.
Before her rise to fame, Marilyn Monroe posed for nude photographs in 1949 for fifty dollars. Those same photos were later purchased for the debut issue of which magazine in 1953?
ALifeBLookCPlayboyDEsquire
Answer Key
Marilyn Monroe was born Norma Jeane Mortenson on June 1, 1926, and was baptized as Norma Jeane Baker after her mother's surname; she adopted the stage name Marilyn Monroe when she launched her acting career.
20th Century Fox signed Marilyn Monroe and released all three of her landmark 1953 films — Niagara, Gentlemen Prefer Blondes, and How to Marry a Millionaire — turning her into the biggest female star of the decade.
In Niagara (1953), Monroe played scheming wife Rose Loomis who plots to murder her husband at Niagara Falls; it was her first film with top billing and helped establish her as a major Hollywood star.
Jane Russell played Dorothy Shaw to Monroe's Lorelei Lee in Gentlemen Prefer Blondes (1953), and the two stars became close friends during filming — their chemistry on screen made the film a smash hit.
How to Marry a Millionaire (1953) brought together three of Hollywood's biggest female stars — Monroe, Betty Grable, and Lauren Bacall — as three women hunting for wealthy husbands in New York City.
Marilyn Monroe married her neighbor James Dougherty on June 19, 1942, largely to avoid being sent back to an orphanage; they divorced in 1946 when Monroe began her modeling and acting career.
Joe DiMaggio was one of baseball's all-time greats, a New York Yankees center fielder whose record 56-consecutive-game hitting streak in 1941 remains one of the most celebrated achievements in sports history.
Arthur Miller was one of America's most celebrated playwrights, author of Death of a Salesman (1949) and The Crucible (1953); he and Monroe married in 1956 and divorced in 1961.
Tony Curtis and Jack Lemmon played musicians who disguise themselves as women to flee the mob in Some Like It Hot (1959), while Monroe's Sugar Kane — the dizzy singer they befriend — steals every scene.
Director Billy Wilder created the unforgettable scene in The Seven Year Itch (1955), in which Monroe's white halter dress is lifted by a breeze from a subway grate — it became one of the most recognized images in cinema history.
Laurence Olivier both directed and co-starred with Monroe in The Prince and the Showgirl (1957), though the two reportedly clashed on set because of their very different approaches to the craft of acting.
Arthur Miller wrote The Misfits as a gift to Monroe, crafting the role of Roslyn Taber especially for her; sadly, by the time the film was released in 1961, their marriage had already ended in divorce.
Monroe performed at a Democratic Party fundraiser at Madison Square Garden celebrating President Kennedy's upcoming birthday, arriving late and dazzling the crowd in a skin-tight, flesh-colored rhinestone gown she had to be sewn into.
Marilyn Monroe was found unresponsive at her Los Angeles home on the night of August 4, 1962, and was pronounced dead on August 5; she was just 36 years old.
Photographer Tom Kelley took the photographs in 1949, and Hugh Hefner purchased them for the inaugural December 1953 issue of Playboy; Monroe later said she had posed because she desperately needed the money at the time.