
On 15 September 1954, Hollywood actress Marilyn Monroe stood on top of a New York subway grate and an updraft of warm air caught her white dress like a parachute.
This moment – part of a scene she was filming for the movie The Seven Year Itch, directed by Billy Wilder – went on to become one of the most iconic in cinematic history.
But there is a painful story behind this classic image, one that reveals one of many dark times in Monroe’s tumultuous life.
At the time, Monroe was married to baseball superstar Joe DiMaggio, and this very scene allegedly was a catalyst for their acrimonious divorce, according to the Guardian.
The couple met in 1952. A then 25-year-old Monroe was on the brink of international success having just starred in Monkey Business and Don’t Bother to Knock, while DiMaggio – 12 years her senior – had just ended his legendary career as a New York Yankee early due to injuries.
After seeing publicity shots of Monroe in which she wore a baseball shirt and heels, DiMaggio arranged a dinner date with the star.
In her memoir, Marilyn: My Story, Monroe recalled meeting the ballplayer: “I had thought I was going to meet a loud, sporty fellow. Instead I found myself smiling at a reserved gentleman in a grey suit, with a grey tie and a sprinkle of grey in his hair… If I hadn’t been told he was some sort of ballplayer, I would have guessed he was either a steel magnate or a congressman.”
She was also intrigued by the attention DiMaggio received.
She wrote: “Sitting next to Mr DiMaggio was like sitting next to a peacock with its tail spread… No woman has ever put me so much in the shade.”
They quickly became an item, marrying – second marriages for both – two years later in San Francisco. According to the Telegraph, the American media called the event “the marriage of the century”.

Top Comments
Her life really was just so sad.