The Last Movie Marilyn Monroe Was In Before She Died

When thinking of the biggest names to ever come out of Hollywood, the vast majority pale in comparison to Marilyn Monroe. Born Norman Jean Mortenson on June 1, 1926, the future silver screen legend got her start as a model before trying her hand at acting. Her cinematic debut, 1947's "Dangerous Years," kickstarted her filmography that would grow to include such hits as "The Asphalt Jungle," "Gentlemen Prefer Blondes," and "Some Like it Hot," among several other titles (ranked here from worst to best) that live on in film history thanks largely to her scene-stealing performances.

Monroe reached mainstream success throughout the 1950s, though by the time the '60s began, her career entered a period of decline as she starred in what would turn out to be her final films. On August 4, 1962, Monroe was found dead in her Los Angeles, California apartment at the age of 36. An autopsy later revealed her cause of death to be an overdose of barbiturates, but questions and head-scratching details lingered around the situation. Regardless, the fact remained that she had indeed passed away, and with the untimely end of her life came the end of her brief yet illustrious acting career.

Prior to her unexpected death in 1962, Marilyn Monroe starred in one last big screen feature.

In 1961, famed director John Huston debuted "The Misfits": a film about divorcée Roslyn Tabor, who falls in love with an aging cowboy named Gaylord Langland and aids him and his friends in their latest business venture. To portray Langland, Huston turned to none other than Clark Gable, and for the part of Tabor, he landed Marilyn Monroe for what would ultimately become her final film performance. According to both critics and general audiences, "The Misfits" is a solid movie as a whole, but the work of Gable and Monroe in front of the camera makes it an especially enjoyable watch.

Despite her death shortly after the release of "The Misfits," as the decades have gone by, Marilyn Monroe and her one-of-a-kind life certainly haven't disappeared from the movies. In fact, given her enduring popularity, filmmakers continue to tell her story at the cinema. The most recent effort, director Andrew Dominik's "Blonde," takes a somewhat fictionalized approach to recounting the beloved actress' life. Ana de Armas portrays Monroe in what has proven to be quite the divisive NC-17-rated release. Still, most seem to agree that the lead's performance makes its shortcomings a tad more palatable. 

It stands to reason that Marilyn Monroe will continue to stand among the most widely talked-about and examined individuals in Hollywood history, and it's not difficult to see why. She lived a fascinating life that ended all too soon, resulting in "The Misfits" enduring as her final film.