Marilyn Monroe at 100: Her final interview lays bare her soul

A new book marks the 100th birthday of Marilyn Monroe by publishing her final interview in full for the first time. The interview was originally published on August 3, 1962, just two days before the shocking discovery of the 36-year-old actress's body. The book is titled 'Marilyn: The Lost Photographs, The Last Interview.'

One hundred years after her birth on June 1, 1926, Marilyn Monroe remains one of the most iconic and tragic figures in entertainment history. A new publication is giving the world a rare and intimate glimpse into her final weeks: the book 'Marilyn: The Lost Photographs, The Last Interview' presents, for the first time in its entirety, the last interview Monroe ever gave to Life magazine.

The interview was originally published on August 3, 1962 — just two days before the world learned that the 36-year-old actress had been found dead at her Los Angeles home on August 4, 1962. The timing of the publication gave the piece an eerie, haunting quality that has fascinated Monroe's admirers for decades. Now, the full, unedited version of that conversation is finally seeing the light of day.

A soul laid bare

In the interview, Monroe spoke candidly and with unusual emotional depth, offering a window into the inner life of a woman who had spent years being defined by her glamour and sexuality rather than her humanity. Her words, long available only in excerpted form, take on new weight when read in full — a portrait of vulnerability behind the legend.

The release of the book coincides with the centenary of Monroe's birth, a milestone that has prompted renewed global interest in her life, legacy, and the circumstances of her untimely death. Monroe starred in some of Hollywood's most beloved films, including 'Some Like It Hot' and 'Gentlemen Prefer Blondes,' and became a cultural symbol of the 1950s and 1960s that endures to this day.

Legacy at 100

Decades after her passing, Monroe's image continues to appear on everything from fine art to fashion runways, and debates about who she truly was — beyond the carefully constructed persona of the blonde bombshell — have never faded. This newly complete interview offers scholars, fans, and curious readers alike a chance to hear Monroe's own voice, unfiltered, in what turned out to be her final public statement to the world.