Known for her sophisticated, flirtatious charm and wit, most famous Marilyn Monroe quotes will surely help you keep hope alive, live life to the fullest and reach your goals. Discover her inspiring thoughts on happiness, identity, self-love, life and ambition.
Best Marilyn Monroe Quotes
I restore myself when I’m alone. Marilyn Monroe
I’m selfish, impatient and a little insecure. I make mistakes, I am out of control and at times hard to handle. But if you can’t handle me at my worst, then you sure as hell don’t deserve me at my best. Marilyn Monroe
Imperfection is beauty, madness is genius and it’s better to be absolutely ridiculous than absolutely boring. Marilyn Monroe
I believe that everything happens for a reason. People change so that you can learn to let go, things go wrong so that you appreciate them when they’re right, you believe lies so you eventually learn to trust no one but yourself, and sometimes good things fall apart so better things can fall together. Marilyn Monroe
I am good, but not an angel. I do sin, but I am not the devil. I am just a small girl in a big world trying to find someone to love. Marilyn Monroe
This life is what you make it. No matter what, you’re going to mess up sometimes, it’s a universal truth. But the good part is you get to decide how you’re going to mess it up. Girls will be your friends they’ll act like it anyway. But just remember, some come, some go. The ones that stay with you through everything they’re your true best friends. Don’t let go of them. Also remember, sisters make the best friends in the world. As for lovers, well, they’ll come and go too. And baby, I hate to say it, most of them actually pretty much all of them are going to break your heart, but you can’t give up because if you give up, you’ll never find your soulmate. You’ll never find that half who makes you whole and that goes for everything. Just because you fail once, doesn’t mean you’re gonna fail at everything. Keep trying, hold on, and always, always, always believe in yourself, because if you don’t, then who will, sweetie? So keep your head high, keep your chin up, and most importantly, keep smiling, because life’s a beautiful thing and there’s so much to smile about. Marilyn Monroe
If I’d observed all the rules, I’d never have got anywhere. Marilyn Monroe
If you can make a woman laugh, you can make her do anything. Marilyn Monroe
I don’t mind living in a man’s world as long as I can be a woman in it. Marilyn Monroe
The real lover is the man who can thrill you by kissing your forehead or smiling into your eyes or just staring into space. Marilyn Monroe
A strong man doesn’t have to be dominant toward a woman. He doesn’t match his strength against a woman weak with love for him. He matches it against the world. Marilyn Monroe
A wise girl kisses but doesn’t love, listens but doesn’t believe, and leaves before she is left. Marilyn Monroe
Fame doesn’t fulfill you. It warms you a bit, but that warmth is temporary. Marilyn Monroe
The nicest thing for me is sleep, then at least I can dream. Marilyn Monroe
If you’re gonna be two faced at least make one of them pretty. Marilyn Monroe
I defy gravity. Marilyn Monroe
It’s far better to be unhappy alone than unhappy with someone so far. Marilyn Monroe
I like to feel blonde all over. Marilyn Monroe
When it comes down to it, I let them think what they want. If they care enough to bother with what I do, then I’m already better than them. Marilyn Monroe
Experts on romance say for a happy marriage there has to be more than a passionate love. For a lasting union, they insist, there must be a genuine liking for each other. Which, in my book, is a good definition for friendship. Marilyn Monroe
I’ve never fooled anyone. I’ve let people fool themselves. They didn’t bother to find out who and what I was. Instead they would invent a character for me. I wouldn’t argue with them. They were obviously loving somebody I wasn’t. Marilyn Monroe
It’s all make believe, isn’t it? Marilyn Monroe
We should all start to live before we get too old. Fear is stupid. So are regrets. Marilyn Monroe
I don’t want to make money, I just want to be wonderful. Marilyn Monroe
She was a girl who knew how to be happy even when she was sad. And that’s important you know. Marilyn Monroe
I have feelings too. I am still human. All I want is to be loved, for myself and for my talent. Marilyn Monroe
All little girls should be told they are pretty, even if they aren’t. Marilyn Monroe
It’s not true I had nothing on, I had the radio on. Marilyn Monroe
If there is only one thing in my life that I am proud of, it’s that I’ve never been a kept woman. Marilyn Monroe
Beneath the makeup and behind the smile I am just a girl who wishes for the world. Marilyn Monroe
I’m very definitely a woman and I enjoy it. Marilyn Monroe
No one ever told me I was pretty when I was a little girl. All little girls should be told they’re pretty, even if they aren’t. Marilyn Monroe
You believe lies so you eventually learn to trust no one but yourself. Marilyn Monroe
Sometimes I feel my whole life has been one big rejection. Marilyn Monroe
All we demanded was our right to twinkle. Marilyn Monroe
We human beings are strange creatures and still reserve the right to think for ourselves. Marilyn Monroe
It’s often just enough to be with someone. I don’t need to touch them. Not even talk. A feeling passes between you both. You’re not alone. Marilyn Monroe
Fame is like caviar, you know it’s good to have caviar but not when you have it at every meal. Marilyn Monroe
Dogs never bite me. Just humans. Marilyn Monroe
I have always had a talent for irritating women since I was fourteen. Marilyn Monroe
Fame will go by and, so long, I’ve had you, fame. If it goes by, I’ve always known it was fickle. So at least it’s something I experience, but that’s not where I live. Marilyn Monroe
Success makes so many people hate you. I wish it wasn’t that way. It would be wonderful to enjoy success without seeing envy in the eyes of those around you. Marilyn Monroe
What I really want to say That what the world really needs is a real feeling of kinship. Everybody stars, laborers, Negroes, Jews, Arabs. We are all brothers. Marilyn Monroe
Keep smiling, because life is a beautiful thing and there’s so much to smile about. Marilyn Monroe
Give a girl the right shoes, and she can conquer the world. Marilyn Monroe
I want to grow old without facelifts. I want to have the courage to be loyal to the face I have made. Marilyn Monroe
We are all of us stars, and we deserve to twinkle. Marilyn Monroe
Sometimes things fall apart so that better things can fall together. Marilyn Monroe
It’s better to be unhappy alone than unhappy with someone so far. Marilyn Monroe
I don’t know who invented high heels, but all women owe him a lot! Marilyn Monroe
Wanting to be someone else is a waste of the person you are. Marilyn Monroe
All a girl really wants is for one guy to prove to her that they are not all the same. Marilyn Monroe
I don’t mind making jokes, but I don’t want to look like one. Marilyn Monroe
You never know what life is like, until you have lived it. Marilyn Monroe
I am trying to find myself. Sometimes that’s not easy. Marilyn Monroe
I’ve been on a calendar, but I’ve never been on time. Marilyn Monroe
Boys think girls are like books, If the cover doesn’t catch their eye they won’t bother to read what’s inside. Marilyn Monroe
Having a child, that’s always been my biggest fear. I want a child and I fear a child. Marilyn Monroe
When you have a good friend that really cares for you and tries to stick in there with you, you treat them like nothing. Learn to be a good friend because one day you’re gonna look up and say I lost a good friend. Learn how to be respectful to your friends, don’t just start arguments with them and don’t tell them the reason, always remember your friends will be there quicker than your family. Learn to remember you got great friends, don’t forget that and they will always care for you no matter what. Always remember to smile and look up at what you got in life. Marilyn Monroe
Beauty and femininity are ageless and can’t be contrived, and glamour, although the manufacturers won’t like this, cannot be manufactured. Not real glamour; it’s based on femininity. Marilyn Monroe
I am alone; I am always alone no matter what. Marilyn Monroe
The body is meant to be seen, not all covered up. Marilyn Monroe
A woman knows by intuition, or instinct, what is best for herself. Marilyn Monroe
I’m not interested in money, I just want to be wonderful. Marilyn Monroe
One of the best things that ever happened to me is that I’m a woman. That is the way all females should feel. Marilyn Monroe
A career is wonderful, but you can’t curl up with it on a cold night. Marilyn Monroe
What do I wear in bed? Why, Chanel No. 5, of course. Marilyn Monroe
A smart girl leaves before she is left. Marilyn Monroe
I used to think as I looked out on the Hollywood night there must be thousands of girls sitting alone like me, dreaming of becoming a movie star. But I’m not going to worry about them. I’m dreaming the hardest. Marilyn Monroe
If I play a stupid girl and ask a stupid question, I’ve got to follow it through, what am I supposed to do, look intelligent? Marilyn Monroe
Before marriage, a girl has to make love to a man to hold him. After marriage, she has to hold him to make love to him. Marilyn Monroe
I have too many fantasies to be a housewife. I guess I am a fantasy. Marilyn Monroe
Just because you fail once doesn’t mean you’re gonna fail at everything. Marilyn Monroe
Sometimes I think it would be easier to avoid old age, to die young, but then you’d never complete your life, would you? You’d never wholly know you. Marilyn Monroe
To all the girls that think you’re fat because you’re not a size zero, you’re the beautiful one, its society who’s ugly. Marilyn Monroe
If I’m a star, then the people made me a star. Marilyn Monroe
I love to do the things the censors won’t pass. Marilyn Monroe
Men are so willing to respect anything that bores them. Marilyn Monroe
An actress is not a machine, but they treat you like a machine. A money machine. Marilyn Monroe
I learned to walk as a baby and I haven’t had a lesson since. Marilyn Monroe
My dinners at home are startlingly simple. Every night, I stop at the market near my hotel and pick up a steak, lamb chops or some liver, which I broil in the electric oven in my room. I usually eat four or five raw carrots with my meat, and that is all. I must be part rabbit; I never get bored with raw carrots. Marilyn Monroe
How wrong it is for a woman to expect the man to build the world she wants, rather than to create it herself. Marilyn Monroe
I myself would like to become more disciplined within my work. Marilyn Monroe
Your clothes should be tight enough to show you’re a woman but loose enough to show you’re a lady. Marilyn Monroe
I am involved in a freedom ride protesting the loss of the minority rights belonging to the few remaining earthbound stars. All we demanded was our right to twinkle. Marilyn Monroe
Just because you fall once, doesn’t mean you’re fall at everything. Keep trying, hold on, and always trust yourself, because if you don’t then who will? Marilyn Monroe
There are many times when a woman will ask another girl friend how she likes her new hat. She will reply, Fine, but slap her hand to her forehead the minute the girl leaves to yipe, What a horror! Marilyn Monroe
Dreaming about being an actress, is more exciting then being one. Marilyn Monroe
Friends accept you the way you are. Marilyn Monroe
I knew I belonged to the public and to the world, not because I was talented or even beautiful, but because I had never belonged to anything or anyone else. Marilyn Monroe
Fame is fickle, and I know it. It has its compensations but it also has its drawbacks, and I’ve experienced them both. Marilyn Monroe
Looking back, I guess I used to play-act all the time. For one thing, it meant I could live in a more interesting world than the one around me. Marilyn Monroe
Consider the fellow. He never spends his time telling you about his previous night’s date. You get the idea he has eyes only for you and wouldn’t think of looking at another woman. Marilyn Monroe
I am invariably late for appointments sometimes as much as two hours. I’ve tried to change my ways but the things that make me late are too strong, and too pleasing. Marilyn Monroe
Designers want me to dress like Spring, in billowing things. I don’t feel like Spring. I feel like a warm red Autumn. Marilyn Monroe
Some people have been unkind. If I say I want to grow as an actress, they look at my figure. If I say I want to develop, to learn my craft, they laugh. Somehow they don’t expect me to be serious about my work. Marilyn Monroe
When you’re young and healthy you can plan on Monday to commit suicide, and by Wednesday you’re laughing again. Marilyn Monroe
All my stepchildren carried the burden of my fame. Sometimes they would read terrible things about me, and I’d worry about whether it would hurt them. I would tell them Don’t hide these things from me. I’d rather you ask me these things straight out, and I’ll answer all your questions. Marilyn Monroe
It’s better to be absolutely ridiculous than absolutely boring. Marilyn Monroe
I could never pretend something I didn’t feel. I could never make love if I didn’t love, and if I loved I could no more hide the fact than change the color of my eyes. Marilyn Monroe
To put it bluntly, I seem to have a whole superstructure with no foundation. But I’m working on the foundation. Marilyn Monroe
I’m for the individual as opposed to the corporation. The way it is the individual is the underdog, and with all the things a corporation has going for them the individual comes out banged on her head. The artist is nothing. It’s really tragic. Marilyn Monroe
I have been told my eating habits are absolutely bizarre. But I don’t think so. Marilyn Monroe
I’ve often stood silent at a party for hours listening to my movie idols turn into dull and little people. Marilyn Monroe
Nothing’s ever easy as long as you go on living. Marilyn Monroe
The thing I want more than anything else? I want to have children. I used to feel for every child I had, I would adopt another. Marilyn Monroe
Men who think that a woman’s past love affairs lessen her love for them are usually stupid and weak. Marilyn Monroe
That’s the way you feel when you’re beaten inside. You don’t feel angry at those who’ve beaten you. You just feel ashamed. Marilyn Monroe
Arthur Miller wouldn’t have married me if I had been nothing but a dumb blonde. Marilyn Monroe
A wise girl knows her limits, a smart girl knows that she has none. Marilyn Monroe
A woman can’t be alone. She needs a man. A man and a woman support and strengthen each other. She just can’t do it by herself. Marilyn Monroe
So keep your head high, keep your chin up, and most importantly, keep smiling, because life’s a beautiful thing and there’s so much to smile about. Marilyn Monroe
I don’t know if high society is different in other cities, but in Hollywood, important people can’t stand to be invited someplace that isn’t full of other important people. They don’t mind a few unfamous people being present because they make good listeners. Marilyn Monroe
Hollywood is a place where they’ll pay you a thousand dollars for a kiss and fifty cents for your soul. Marilyn Monroe
I wish I knew why I am so anguished. Marilyn Monroe
I don’t stop when I’m tired. I only stop when I’m done. Marilyn Monroe
I want to be an artist, not a celluloid aphrodisiac. Marilyn Monroe
I want to grow old without facelifts. I want to have the courage to be loyal to the face I’ve made. Sometimes I think it would be easier to avoid old age, to die young, but then you’d never complete your life, would you? You’d never wholly know you. Marilyn Monroe
A man is more frank and sincere with his emotions than a woman. We girls, I’m afraid, have a tendency to hide our feelings. Marilyn Monroe
The trouble with censors is that they worry if a girl has cleavage. They ought to worry if she hasn’t any. Marilyn Monroe
There was my name up in lights. I said, God, somebody’s made a mistake. But there it was, in lights. And I sat there and said, Remember, you’re not a star. Yet there it was up in lights. Marilyn Monroe
Suicide, is a persons privilege. I don’t believe it’s a sin or a crime it’s your right if you do. Though it doesn’t get you anywhere. Marilyn Monroe
I enjoy acting when you really hit it right. Marilyn Monroe
Men are always ready to respect anything that bores them. Marilyn Monroe
I think one of the basic reasons men make good friends is that they can make up their minds quickly. Marilyn Monroe
Millions of people live their entire lives without finding themselves. But it is something I must do. Marilyn Monroe
You might as well make yourself fly as to make yourself love. Marilyn Monroe
I just got to feel that whoever I marry has some real regard for me. Marilyn Monroe
Always, always, always believe in yourself, because if you don’t, then who will, Sweetie? So keep your head high, keep your chin up, and most importantly, keep smiling, because life’s a beautiful thing and there’s so much to smile about. Marilyn Monroe
I don’t consider myself an intellectual. And this is not one of my aims. But I admire intellectual people. Marilyn Monroe
There’s only one sort of natural blonde on earth albinos. Marilyn Monroe
Naturally, there are times when every woman likes to be flattered to feel she is the most important thing in someone’s world. Only a man can paint this picture. Marilyn Monroe
Trying to build myself up with the fact that I have done things right that were even good and have had moments that were excellent but the bad is heavier to carry around and feel have no confidence. Marilyn Monroe
A man makes you feel important makes you glad you are a woman. Marilyn Monroe
It’s better for the whole world to know you, even as a sex star, than never to be known at all. Marilyn Monroe
I always have a full length mirror next to the camera when I’m doing publicity stills. That way, I know how I look. Marilyn Monroe
I wanted to ask a thousand questions, but there was no one to ask. Besides I knew that people only told lies to children lies about everything from soup to Santa Claus. Marilyn Monroe
When Clark Gable died, I cried for 2 days straight. I couldn’t eat or sleep. Marilyn Monroe
People had a habit of looking at me as if I were some kind of mirror instead of a person. They didn’t see me, they saw their own lewd thoughts, then they white-masked themselves by calling me the lewd one. Marilyn Monroe
I was honoured when they asked me to appear at the president’s birthday rally in Madison Square Garden. There was like a hush over the whole place when I came on to sing Happy Birthday, like if I had been wearing a slip, I would have thought it was showing or something. I thought, Oh, my gosh, what if no sound comes out! Marilyn Monroe
But chiefly, no lies! No lies about there being a Santa Claus or about the world being full of noble and honorable people all eager to help each other and do good to each other. I’ll tell her there are honor and goodness in the world, the same as there are diamonds and radium. Marilyn Monroe
The fact is that I find more most men are more open, more generous, and much more stimulating than the majority of females I know. Marilyn Monroe
I am not a victim of emotional conflicts. I am human. Marilyn Monroe