Inside-Out – The Official Topshop Blog

Marilyn Monroe – the name alone speaks volumes, but add to that the face, the smile, the incredible hourglass figure and you’re left with an icon who defies justifiable description.

Imagine being so beautiful, so iconic that the world never tires of its fascination, even 50 years after your death. That was, and still is, the reality for Marilyn Monroe; a woman who ironically once wrote to cinematographer Jack Cardiff, “Dearest Jack, if only I could be the way you created me” – a wish that has since become her legacy.

To coincide with the 50th anniversary of her death, The National Portrait Gallery are opening an exhibition in honour of the blonde bombshell’s affiliation with the UK. ‘Marilyn Monroe: A British Love Affair’ will host an array of portraits taken by renowned British photographers such as Baron, Cecil Beaton and Antony Beauchamp and a series of press images that include Marilyn’s meeting with the Queen in 1956.

The display will also include a documented journey of the star’s four-month stay during the filming of The Prince and The Showgirl opposite Laurence Olivier (a story that inspired Hollywood’s recent, My Week With Marilyn, starring Michelle Williams and Eddie Redmayne – if you haven’t seen it yet, do!).

Opening this Saturday 29th September until 24th March 2013, there’s plenty of time to get your Marilyn fix – and the best part of all? You can do so without paying a penny because the exhibition is free.

See you there!