12 Gorgeous Marilyn Monroe Photos Show Icon As You've Never Seen Her Before

Curator David Wills owns one of the largest independent archives of Marilyn Monroe photographs. In his book Marilyn Monroe: Metamorphosis, he’s gathered a portfolio of over 200 photos of the Hollywood icon. They include previously unseen shots from her early modeling career, candid and on-set images from Marilyn’s many films, and unpublished photos from many of the era’s top photographers — including Richard Avedon, Cecil Beaton, and Willy Rizzo. Here are some gorgeous images of Marilyn Monroe from the collection.

"She was a clean-cut, American, wholesome girl — too plump, but beautiful in a way. We tried to teach her how to pose, how to handle her body... She wanted to learn, wanted to be somebody, more than anybody I ever saw before in my life" - Emmeline Snively, head of the Blue Book Modeling Agency. (Photo: Andre de Dienes, 1945)

"When she saw a camera, any camera, she lit up and was totally different. The moment the shot was over, she fell back into her not very interesting position." - Laszlo Willinger, photographer. (Photo: Laszlo Willinger, 1948)

"I didn't recognize her star potential... Darryl Zanuck signed Miss Monroe, and she became an extraordinary figure in movie history. For years I blushed with embarrassment every time her name was mentioned." - Dore Schary, president of MGM Studios 1951-1956. (Photo: Edward Clark, 1950)

(Photo: John Florea, 1951)

"Of none is the grandeur and servitude of stardom visited more brutally than on the sex symbols. Owing their fame to their bodies, they seldom escape the indignity of being thought of as a piece of flesh." - Alexander Walker. (Photo: Ernest Bachrach, 1952)

"She had a delightful quality, being so beautiful, of wanting to show herself. Some people were offended by it — and of course she did it on purpose. She was so childlike she could do anything... she was both a woman and a baby, and both men and women adored her." - William Travilla, costume designer. (Photo: Nick de Morgoli, 1953)

(Photo: Bert Reisfeld, 1953)

"Marilyn Monroe was a real sex symbol, and so was the great Garbo. They didn't need to say things, they just were. They photographed. Name me a really true sex symbol in today's movies. She doesn't exist." - Bette Davis. (Photo: Gene Trindl, 1953)

"There was something exceptional about Marilyn Monroe. Sometimes she could be ethereal and sometimes like a waitress in a coffee shop." - Truman Capote. (Photo: Frank Powolny)

"Marilyn had kind of a built-in alarm system. It would 'go off' in the middle of a scene if that scene was not right for her, and she would just stop everything. She would stand there with her eyes closed, biting her lip, and kind of wringing her hands until she had worked it out... I didn't necessarily approve of that tactic; it was not easy working with her, but it was fascinating." - Jack Lemmon, Some Like It Hot co-star. (Photo: Richard C. Miller)

"Her quality when photographed is almost of a supernatural beauty." - Lee Strasberg. (Photo: Douglas Kirkland, 1961)

(Photo: Author's collection)

(via The Cut)