The Secret Life of Marilyn Monroe
Genre	Drama Biopic
Based on	The Secret Life of Marilyn Monroe book by J. Randy Taraborrelli
Screenplay by	Stephen Kronish (teleplay)
Directed by	Laurie Collyer
Starring	Kelli Garner Susan Sarandon Emily Watson Jeffrey Dean Morgan
Composer	David Carbonara
Country of origin	United States
Original language	English
No. of episodes	2
Production
Executive producers	Stephen Kronish Damien Ganczewski Keri Selig Jonathan Koch Steven Michaels
Producers	Joseph Boccia Don Carmody David Cormican
Production locations	Ontario, Canada
Cinematography	Christopher Manley
Editors	Ron Wisman Ron Wisman Jr.
Running time	84 minutes
Production companies	Intuition Productions Asylum Entertainment
Original release
Network	Lifetime
Release	May 30 (2015-05-30) – May 31, 2015 (2015-05-31)

The Secret Life of Marilyn Monroe is a 2015 American drama miniseries on Marilyn Monroe. It stars Kelli Garner, Susan Sarandon, Emily Watson, Jeffrey Dean Morgan, and Eva Amurri Martino and was first aired on Lifetime on May 30 and 31, 2015. The (two-hour forty-seven minute) miniseries is based on The New York Times bestseller of the same name by J. Randy Taraborrelli. It was nominated for three Creative Arts Emmy Awards^[1]

Plot

A chronicle of Marilyn Monroe's family life, her relationship with her mother, Gladys Pearl Baker, and how she succeeded in hiding her most intimate secrets from the press and an invasive world.

Cast

Main characters

• Kelli Garner as Marilyn Monroe
• Susan Sarandon as Gladys Pearl Baker, Marilyn's mother
• Emily Watson as Grace McKee, Marilyn's foster mother, later called "aunt"
• Jack Noseworthy as Alan DeShields, Marilyn's therapist
• Giacomo Gianniotti as Jimmy Dougherty, Marilyn's first husband
• Jeffrey Dean Morgan as Joe DiMaggio, Marilyn's second husband
• Stephen Bogaert as Arthur Miller, Marilyn's third husband
• Matthew Bennett as Whitey, Marilyn's makeup artist
• Embeth Davidtz as Natasha Lytess, Marilyn's acting coach
• Peter MacNeill as Mr. Schenck, Chairman of Fox Studios
• Tony Nardi as Johnny Hyde, Marilyn's agent
• Barry Flatman as Mr. Zanuck, Studio Head of 20th Century Fox
• Angela Vint as Patricia Newcomb, Marilyn's publicist
• Tamara Hickey as Patricia Kennedy Lawford

Supporting characters

• Eva Amurri Martino as young Gladys Pearl Baker
• Gloria Gruber as Ida Bolender, Marilyn's caretaker as a child, also called "aunt"
• Vickie Papavs as Mrs. Murray, Marilyn's housekeeper
• Morgan Kelly as Tom Kelly, photographer
• Michael Rash as Billy Wilder, Marilyn's director
• Norm Owen as Richard Sherman
• Neil Crone as Don Lyon
• Jeff Kassel as Dr. Ennis, Gladys' doctor
• Sarah Booth as Mrs. Kelly
• Carolina Bartczak as Phyllis
• Lindsay G Merrithew as the Beverly Hill Physician
• Ella Allan as young Marilyn Monroe (Norma Jeane)
• Mia Allan as young Marilyn Monroe (Norma Jeane)

Reception

Critical reception

The Secret Life of Marilyn Monroe garnered mixed reviews. Keith Ulrich of The Hollywood Reporter writes, "There's little that's surprising or inspired in Lifetime's two-part miniseries about iconic Hollywood celebrity Marilyn Monroe."^[2] While, Brian Lowry of Variety writes, "What sets this latest rehash of the star's existence apart, marginally, is a knockout performance by Kelli Garner and, to a lesser degree, Susan Sarandon's turn as her mentally disturbed mother."^[3] A positive review by Jordan Appugliesi of US Weekly states, "Surprise! It's Actually Good."^[4] On Rotten Tomatoes the series has an approval of 55% based on 11 reviews with an average rating of 6/10. The site's critical consensus reads, "Offering few revelations, The Secret Life of Marilyn Monroe treads the same well-worn path as many other Monroe biopics, despite an admirable performance by Kelli Garner".^[5] On Metacritic, the series has a score of 55 out of 100 based on 12 critics, indicating "mixed or average".^[6]

Accolades