One would be forgiven when watching Blonde, Netflix’s controversial film about Marilyn Monroe, for getting lost in the fragmented identities of its protagonist. This fragmentation might be the subject matter of the drama, but it is also the frustration of its premise. In watching Blonde, we see Ana de Armas play a character written by Andrew Dominik — adapted from Joyce Carol Oates’ character in her eponymous novel, fictionally based on Marilyn Monroe, who is presented as an invention by Norma Jeane Mortenson and Hollywood producers. Here, Tatler finds the woman behind these many masks: who she was, and how a multitude of narratives began to swirl around her.
