Arancha van der Veen has written an excellent article exploring Marilyn’s intellectual side for Classic Movie Hub.
“Over the years, Marilyn Monroe has become more icon than person. The Marilyn the world knows is mostly defined by two things: appearance and tragedy. She is seen as the ditzy, blonde bombshell who giggles as her skirt flies up or as the naïve orphan eaten alive by Hollywood. In reality, Marilyn Monroe was anything but ditzy or naïve … According to those closest to her, she remained bright, funny and eager to learn up until the end. She never saw herself as a victim. Marilyn was a shrewd businesswoman, a talented actress, a creative all-rounder and an intelligent autodidact. Maybe it’s exactly because there were so many sides to her that she has become an enigma people want to figure out. Marilyn was many things, but above all she was unique. It was through her intelligence and ambition that she created ‘Marilyn Monroe’, an icon who continues to fascinate worldwide more than fifty years after her death.”
The Marilyn Report 