Fashion Icon Marilyn Monroe Refused To Wear a Girdle

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Marilyn Monroe would have celebrated her 100thbirthday this year, on June 1. In honor of the upcoming milestone, her old friend, James Haspiel, spoke with PEOPLE about her legacy.

Haspiel, who is 88, met the star when he was only a teenager. He was originally a fan who photographed her with his five-dollar camera, but he eventually became a close friend of the legend.

“Marilyn Monroe was a costume she put on,” he said. “It was her invention, it gave her success, but in real life, she was Norma Jeane.”

Norma Jeane was the icon’s real name, which she eventually changed to make herself more marketable. Her mother’s maiden name was Monroe, and the name Marilyn was inspired by the Broadway actress, Marilyn Miller.

Haspiel went on to explain that one of the reasons Monroe was so beloved was because she wasn’t afraid to show off her real figure. “She was loved because she didn’t wear a girdle,” he said. “She was real. She did things other actresses didn’t often do.”

He continued, “In the 1950s and before and sometimes after, actresses wore girdles so that they had a flat stomach. Lana Turner is a perfect example. She never had anything but a perfect figure, if you will.”

Haspiel published the 1991 book Marilyn: The Ultimate Look at the Legend, which contained never-before-seen pictures that he took of the star. When speaking about other famous photographs of her, he revealed that there was speculation she was pregnant after she was photographed for the 1961 movie The Misfits.

“That is the very same belly that’s visible onscreen for two hours in The Prince and the Showgirl and the very same belly that first appeared on-screen in Niagara,” Haspiel said. “In other words, you can go back to those movies and see that same belly. And it was simply because, unlike other actresses, Marilyn didn’t wear a girdle.”

Haspiel, who called his friend an “angel,” said he “cried for two years” after her death. Monroe passed away at the age of 36 in 1962 from an alleged drug overdose.

This story was originally published by Parade on May 10, 2026, where it first appeared in the News section. Add Parade as a Preferred Source by clicking here.

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