Marilyn Monroe was one of the most famous actors on the planet in the 1950s and 1960s. She starred in classic Hollywood movies like 'Some Like it Hot' and 'The Seven Year Itch.'

Monroe was multi-talented, and her spot in the limelight began with a modeling career. She posed as a pin-up model before making it onto the big screen in several classic comedy movies of the 1950s.

The actor was most famous for creating the blonde bombshell stereotype that would follow her huge success at the box office. Her time at the top of the billing saw her movies earn over $200 million at the box office in just over a decade.

There were many ups in Marilyn Monroe's career, but there were also some well-documented lows. Most commonly reported were the troubles in her personal life.

By the time of her passing in 1962, much was known about 36-year-old Monroe's struggles with addiction and mood disorders. Despite a sad end, Marilyn Monroe certainly left a lasting impression on the world. She is seen as one of the original pin-up models and a style icon who is still loved today. Her life was all about glitz and glamor, but she also loved cars.

Let's take a look at the cars that screen icon Marilyn Monroe drove.

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1956 Ford Thunderbird

Blue 1956 Ford Thunderbird
Via Wikimedia Commons

One great thing about success in your career is that it can lead to better things in your personal life. As Marilyn Monroe's acting career began to take off, she bought herself something to celebrate. That present to herself was a 1956 Ford Thunderbird, which she owned shortly after appearing in 'The Seven Year Itch.'

The first-generation T-Bird roadster was one of the best-looking cars on the road, so who better to have driven it for Ford than one of the most famous faces in the world. The Thunderbird doesn't just look good, though. It went pretty quick, especially for a road car from the '50s. Using its 5.1-liter engine, the T-Bird could go from 0-60 mph in 10.2 seconds.

After Monroe owned the car for almost a decade, she gifted it to her acting coach, Jason Strasberg, in 1962. That car went on sale at auction in 2018 and fetched a handsome price of $490,000. Considering that a regular 1956 Ford T-Bird has an auction guide price of around $75,000, it's fair to say that Monroe's star power remains real.

1954 Cadillac Series 62 Convertible

Green 1954 Cadillac Series 62 Convertible
Via Wikimedia Commons

Celebrities are fortunate enough to have companies gift them things all of the time for free. Sometimes they can even get paid major dollars for acting as the face of an advertising campaign for the largest brands. For instance, Serena Williams reportedly signed a $55 million endorsement deal with Nike, and Beyonce's deal with Pepsi earned the singer a reported $50 million.

Marilyn Monroe was a trend-setter, and she became the first celebrity to endorse a perfume, Chanel No.5, back in the 1950s. Unlike today's stars, Monroe reportedly did it for free. While Monroe didn't cash in on that deal, it's understood that she was gifted a 1954 Cadillac Series 62 Convertible for appearing on the Jack Benny Program.

Monroe's appearance on the comedy series in the 1950s would have helped boost the ratings, so perhaps Benny needed to find a way to show his gratitude. She made a live appearance on the show, so the pressure was really on, but Monroe nailed it and impressed her host.

The 1954 Cadillac she was gifted produced 230 HP using its 5.4-liter V8 engine. The luxury vehicle came with an inverted gull-wing bumper, dual exhaust pipes, and a four-speed Hydra-Matic automatic transmission. Unlike many luxury cars on the road today, the 1954 Series 62 convertible only had a top speed of 104 mph.

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1953 Cadillac Series 62 Eldorado Convertible

Red 1953 Series 62 Eldorado Convertible
Vi:a Wikimedia Commons

Two of the biggest forces in showbusiness collided when Marilyn Monroe met the iconic baseball star Joe Dimaggio. The pair hit things off, and shortly after meeting, they married in 1954. During their courtship, DiMaggio is believed to have gifted Monroe with a 1953 Cadillac Series 62 Eldorado convertible.

Unfortunately, the happy couple didn't last, and just a year after tying the knot, they divorced. It seems there was no love lost between DiMaggio and Monroe after the Hollywood star remarried just a year later, this time to playwright Arthur Miller.

Many cars from the 1950s have an iconic style, and it seems as though Monroe would have been in competition for people's attention behind the wheel of her Eldorado. We'll never know if Monroe considered herself a gearhead or not, but this 5.4-liter V8 beast was surely great fun to drive.

Of course, it needed to have a big engine to carry the heavy but beautiful chassis. The technology of these great old cars may have been surpassed, but perhaps today's car designers could learn a thing or two about style from Marilyn Monroe's car collection.

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