8. Marilyn Monroe Becomes an International Icon
Before she became a legendary Hollywood super star, Marilyn Monroe was trying to find work as a model. She was paid to pose nude for pin-up photographs at a calendar company. Some people knew that they existed, but they could not prove it, or find the original photographs. When she went on to a more serious movie career, she left nude modeling behind and tried to play more glamorous characters. However, her costumes were still very tight and showed off her curves, and she was obviously known for being an international sex icon.
Marilyn Monroe’s most famous scene was from The Seven Year Itch where the wind blows up from the New York subway to her her skirt is a perfect example of what pin-up was supposed to be. It captures an “oops” moment when a modest women just so happens to accidentally get in a situation where someone else gets to see something they normally never get to peek at, while still never revealing too much. The vast majority of Monroe’s roles continued on with this same sort of style- classy and yet sexy at the same time. Even though she tried to keep up this reputation for herself, Hugh Hefner got ahold of her nudes, and published them in the first issue of Playboy.