On Marilyn Monroe’s 100th Birthday, revisit her most iconic diamond moment

Marilyn Monroe taught generations that diamonds are a girl’s best friend, delivering the iconic line with a wink and a purr in Gentlemen Prefer Blondes. Yet away from the spotlight, the Hollywood legend favoured a far more restrained jewellery wardrobe, gravitating toward pearls, gold hoops, and delicate diamond pieces. Shrouded in her blonde bombshell persona—red lips, platinum waves, and dripping diamonds—Monroe became the mid-century poster child for on-screen jewellery glamour.

Born Norma Jeane Mortenson (before using her mother’s maiden name, Baker) in Los Angeles on June 1, 1926, Marilyn Monroe would have celebrated her 100th birthday today. As lookalikes gather in Palm Springs and admirers around the world honour her legacy, major exhibitions in Los Angeles and London are offering a closer look at the woman behind the myth. The Academy Museum of Motion Pictures is presenting *Marilyn Monroe: Hollywood Icon*, featuring personal belongings and jewellery from the star’s life, while the National Portrait Gallery’s upcoming *Marilyn Monroe: A Portrait* will showcase dresses, memorabilia, and photographs that chronicle her enduring influence on fashion and jewellery.

Though she frequently wore costume jewellery and paste diamonds on the big screen, Monroe came from humble beginnings and favoured pearls, gold hoops, and delicate diamond baubles in her personal life. Still, her connection to diamonds became the stuff of legend, from her performance of “Diamonds Are a Girl’s Best Friend” to her appearances in the storied 24.04-carat Moon of Baroda diamond—the largest stone she is known to have worn publicly.