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Marilyn Monroe & Jane Russell: A Hollywood Friendship

By Darlene Cah

Key Takeaways

  • Jane Russell and Marilyn Monroe met as co-stars in Gentlemen Prefer Blondes
  • The media tried to create a rivalry between the two women
  • Monroe was painfully shy. Russell was a devout Christian with an extensive curse vocabulary.
  • Russell nicknamed Monroe, “Blondie”

They were both stars, stunningly beautiful, often called bombshells for their obvious appeal. Men desired them. Women admired them. They were the perfect setup for a classic Tinsel Town rivalry: Jane Russell the older glamorous actress, and Hollywood royalty. Marilyn Monroe, the young breathy ingenue, out to dethrone her. The press had their pens poised, anticipating even a hint of jealousy or bitterness between the two women. The studios and media worked every angle to suggest a feud between the stars. But when Russell and Monroe were cast in Gentlemen Prefer Blondes, something completely unexpected happened—the two women became friends.

In a 1985 interview on a stop in Dallas during a book tour promoting her autobiography, Jane Russell: My Path and My Detours, Russell commented on the media hype surrounding their alleged hostility, saying, “We got along very well.”

In fact, Russell, five years older than Monroe and a more experienced actress, (Gentleman Prefer Blondes was Monroe’s first major role), took the anxious young star under her wing, as if she was her big sister. “…I discovered that she was nervous about going on set, I finally went to her dressing room and said, ‘All right, baby, come on set with me now, we’ve only got a few minutes.'” Russell nicknamed Monroe, “Blondie.”

Multi-talented Russell was a woman of contrasts, a devout Christian whose salty vocabulary would make a hardened gangster blush, a sexy pinup girl who was quite the homebody. She knew well the rigors of being on a movie set all day for hours on end. When the director wrapped for the day, she wanted nothing more than to go home, spend time with family or friends, or simply to go to sleep. Russell was adamant about getting her shuteye.

“If I’m very tired, I will blow sky high. Those who know me will testify, they’d rather meet a bear with a sore tail than me without nine hours sleep,” Russell wrote in her book. Not so much, Monroe. The alluring blonde beauty was a workhorse. After a long, hard day on set, she spent several additional hours studying with her acting coach.

In a book tour interview, Russell recalled, “She worked very hard, always knew her lines, and was absolutely determined to get ahead.”

Like Russell, Monroe’s Hollywood image often contradicted her true self. Monroe started life shuffled between foster homes, orphanages, in the custody of family friends, and for brief periods with random relatives. Young Monroe became withdrawn.

She was, “very shy and very sweet and far more intelligent than people gave her credit for,” Russell said.

Monroe and Russell became fast friends for a short time on a movie set, but for each, it was a meaningful connection.

After Russell invited Monroe to her Bible study group, Monroe quipped, “Jane attempted to introduce me to her religious beliefs, while I tried to introduce her to Freud.” And a decade after her triumphant performance in Gentlemen Prefer Blondes, Monroe revealed that she was disrespected by the studio executives, but had only praise for her co-star and friend, Russell, saying, she “was quite wonderful to me.”

Russell contended that Monroe’s insecurity and anxiety was rooted in her difficult, unstable childhood, an instability she continued into her adult life, as she went from one group of people to another looking for a place to belong. In her autobiography, Russell tells of a magical day at the beach in 1962 with her close girlfriends, sharing stories, laughing, drinking wine and listening to music.

“I thought of Marilyn Monroe. I wished I had her phone number, because I knew she belonged there, where we were all laughing about our problems…”

The following day, Russell learned that Monroe had died.

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