Style Icon: Marilyn Monroe - "I just want to be wonderful"

"I'm not interested in money," she once said. "I just want to be wonderful."

"Throughout her life Marilyn Monroe occupied a series of residences, owned no jewelry and counted books, records and a picture of legendary actress Eleonora Duse among her most cherished possessions. Even after the attention-getting roles in The Asphalt Jungle and All About Eve (both 1950), she still kept a modest, one-room bedroom apartment at the Beverly Carlton Hotel in Beverly Hills. "

Marilyn Monroe. I've always admired this lady. I think people had the wrong impression of her. People just assume she was stupid because of the bombshell image. On the contrary she was quite intelligent. I like her simplicity. A woman can live without jewelry. I think there's something to be said about a woman who holds books as a prized possession over jewelry.

"The library of Marilyn Monroe contained over 400 books on a variety of subjects, reflecting both her intelligence and her wide-ranging interests. No surprise to those familiar with Monroe, they were the books of a well-read and inquiring mind. Works of Literature, Art, Drama, Biography, Poetry, Politics, History, Theology, Philosophy, and Psychology covered the walls in her library." Something remarkable.