Mythical muse Marilyn Monroe

"The reason behind Marilyn Monroe's unusual success can be found in her corporeality," writes author Barbara Sichtermann in her new book about the Hollywood star. "It would be hard to find a feminine trait that she didn't have." As such, her talent as an actress was often pushed into the background. "Her celebrity and her sex appeal [...] overshadowed her other work."

Sichtermann collected the views from a number of celebrities on the Marilyn Monroe phenomenon. Playwright Arthur Miller, the actress' last husband, offered this tidbit: "I don't understand how Marilyn became a symbol of authenticity. Perhaps it was simply the result of the effect she had on people: with just one look at her, men would be disloyal and women green with envy."

"When we were married, we spent quite a bit of time alone together because Marilyn could hardly peep outside her front door without being photographed," recalled Miller, who died in 2005. "We had long talks and it was as if we could have done anything without the usual distractions." The pair is pictured here with actors Vivien Leigh and Sir Laurence Olivier.

"She might have been more inclined to accept herself had their been a freer, more equal moral standard," said biographer Barbara Sichtermann about the split felt by Monroe. "There's a lot of truth to the notion that the greatest sex icon of the 1950s was also a victim of acute hypocrisy." Here, Monroe is seen in a screenshot from the 1953 drama "How to Marry a Millionaire."

"Even after the sexual revolution and the advent of feminism in the 1960s, the US remained a relatively puritanical place, where the power of sex was seen as a threat. Anyone who crossed the line was singled out," said Sichtermann.

Novelist Truman Capote was a good friend of the actress. "There is something about her, a presence, an inner light, an intelligence that suddenly appears which you can't see when she's on the stage," he once wrote. "It is so fragile, bitter that only a camera can capture these moments with her."

It wasn't until late in her career that Monroe could toss off the shackles of Hollywood, bringing production companies to their knees after years of being laughed at, wrote novelist Joyce Carol Oates. Film projects, scripts and directors sought her approval because their dream factory couldn't fabricate a new blonde to replace her, said Oates.

Arthur Miller wrote about his former wife that she was a product of the 1940s and 1950s, a time in the American psyche where sexuality could not exist alongside seriousness but were instead opposing forces. In order to continue filming one project, Miller said, Monroe once had to give up her ideals and lie naked in a swimming pool.

Seven years before Monroe's death by drug overdose in 1962, Truman Capote wrote about his feeling that she could not grow old in her job. "It sounds absurd, but it is as it is. I'm afraid she will die young. At the same time, I hope and pray that she lives long enough that her unique talent, which is hidden bottled up inside her, finally gets a chance to come out."