The wild, joyful, passionate world of Marilyn Monroe's superfans

August 4^th marks 63 years since actress Marilyn Monroe died at her Los Angeles home in 1962 (her housekeeper discovered Monroe in the early morning of August 5^th). Her tragic death at age 36 has undoubtedly fueled the world’s enduring fascination with the actress and, more than half a century after her passing, she remains one the most recognizable faces in the world. Best known for her roles in the movies Gentlemen Prefer Blondes (1953), The Seven Year Itch (1955), and Some Like It Hot (1959), Monroe established herself as the archetypal blonde bombshell, marrying sex appeal with uncanny comedic timing.  

But her legacy is more complicated than the nearly 30 films she appeared in: she is simultaneously an actress, an American icon, and a woman whose life was mired in sadness. Monroe’s multifaceted appeal continues to fascinate fans across the world, documented here by photographer Amy Gaskin.  

Gaskin discovered this ardent fandom during the early days of the pandemic when she visited Monroe’s crypt in Los Angeles’s Westwood Memorial Park, a cemetery that is the final resting place for numerous celebrities. The photographer was intrigued by the “wet lipstick marks decorating [Marilyn’s] resting place,” present even while much of the world was social distancing. It piqued Gaskin’s curiosity, and she began photographing visitors at the grave. They shared with her stories of why Monroe was important to them.  

In these photographs, Gaskin captures the undying dedication of the many superfans who visit Monroe’s grave and demonstrate their devotion to the icon across the world. These fans don her iconic look because they find commonalities with the woman she was, not the woman they imagine she might have been. They find consistent, real joy in Monroe. 

For the superfans documented in Gaskin’s images, Monroe is everything from a source of inspiration to an icon of resilience, a role model of body positivity, and a shared source of community. A mother hopes Monroe inspires her daughter; fans find community with one another and dress up in Monroe’s iconic outfits, wearing the white halter dress with the pleated skirt from The Seven Year Itch or the platinum blonde wig cut to mimic Monroe’s stylish bob.  

“If you love Marilyn, I know you are a kind person,” a member of the Marilyn Remembered Fan Club told Gaskin. Established in 1982, the fan club, an international group of devotees, gathers online to post photographs of Monroe and raise money to place flowers at her grave. (To mark her 92^nd birthday in 2018, the group placed flowers from Parisian Florist, the Los Angeles-based florist that Monroe’s ex-husband Joe DiMaggio used, on her grave.)  

That kind of devotion to the star isn’t unusual. As these photographs make clear, Monroe’s superfans continue to find their own sense of belonging in her life and work. Greg, the president of a fan club dedicated to Monroe and photographed here, collects the actress’s personal items. He told Gaskin that his collection began as a way to “get to know her better.” Surrounded by Monroe-inspired dolls and photographs of the actress, his attachment to her is clear.  

Undoubtedly, Monroe’s biography inspires them as much—if not more—than her work. Born to a single mother in 1926, Monroe’s childhood was unstable, spent moving between different households after her mother was institutionalized. Each turn of her story is marked by tragedy: sexual abuse, failed high-profile marriages, and an early death. Melissa in Dubuque, Iowa, shares a sense of intimacy with Monroe, relating to her “hardships and traumas,” she told Gaskin. “Marilyn taught me a lot of things without saying a word to me.” In Monroe’s story, fans find a woman who persevered through hardship. She is a quintessential American success story: overcoming the odds to find fame and fortune. 

Though it’s impossible to know what Monroe would have wanted her legacy to be, perhaps it’s the legions of admirers who see hope and inspiration in her life. As Gaskin’s photographs make clear, Monroe’s appeal shows no signs of diminishing.