Skip to content

Top Navigation

PEOPLE.com PEOPLE.com
  • News
    • Coronavirus
    • Crime
    • Human Interest
    • Politics
  • Entertainment
    • Celebrity
    • TV
    • Movies
    • Music
    • Country
    • Awards
    • Sports
    • Theater
    • Books
  • Coronavirus
  • Royals
  • Lifestyle
    • Style
    • Fashion
    • Beauty
    • Health
    • Parents
    • Home
    • Real Estate
    • Pets
    • Food
    • Shopping
    • Tech
  • PeopleTV
  • Shopping
    • Coupons

Profile Menu

Your Account

Account

  • Join Now
  • Email Preferences
  • Newsletters
  • Manage Your Subscription

More

  • Give a Gift Subscription
  • Premium
Login
Logout
Subscribe

Explore PEOPLE.com

PEOPLE.com PEOPLE.com
  • Explore

    Explore

    • Every Tiara Worn at a Royal Wedding

      From Princess Beatrice to Meghan Markle Read More Next
    • Engineer Creates App To Translate Your Cat

      Find out what your cat is trying to tell you with a new cat app Read More Next
    • The Sweetest Photos of Princes Harry with Diana

      Princess Diana died when Harry was just 12 years old Read More Next
  • News

    News

    See All News

    Sean Connery's Cause of Death Revealed Weeks After He Dies at Age 90

    Sean Connery died on Oct. 31 at age 90
    • Coronavirus
    • Crime
    • Human Interest
    • Politics
  • Entertainment

    Entertainment

    See All Entertainment

    Coyote Ugly Turns 20: Where Is the Cast Now?

    • Celebrity
    • TV
    • Movies
    • Music
    • Country
    • Awards
    • Sports
    • Theater
    • Books
  • Coronavirus
  • Royals
  • Lifestyle

    Lifestyle

    See All Lifestyle

    Introducing ... PEOPLE's Products Worth the Hype

    • Style
    • Fashion
    • Beauty
    • Health
    • Parents
    • Home
    • Real Estate
    • Pets
    • Food
    • Shopping
    • Tech
  • PeopleTV
  • Shopping

    Shopping

    • Coupons

Profile Menu

Subscribe this link opens in a new tab
Your Account

Account

  • Join Now
  • Email Preferences
  • Newsletters
  • Manage Your Subscription

More

  • Give a Gift Subscription
  • Premium
Login
Logout
Sweepstakes

Follow Us

People is on Community!
Text us for exclusive photos and videos, royal news, and way more.
Text: 212-479-1704
  1. People.com
  2. Pets
  3. Marilyn Monroe's Real Best Friends: Animals

Marilyn Monroe's Real Best Friends: Animals

From pups to chimps to toy tigers, the iconic beauty – immortalized by Michelle Williams in the new film My Week with Marilyn – adored all kinds of beasts
By People Staff
Updated November 23, 2011 11:00 AM
Skip gallery slides
FB Tweet

1 of 11

FB Tweet
Pinterest Mail Email iphone Send Text Message

HAND-IN-HAND

Credit: SNAP/Rex USA

Marilyn Monroe enjoyed the company of many pets throughout her life. “I like animals,” she once said. “If you talk to a dog or a cat, it doesn’t tell you to shut up.” Here, she and a collie play nice on the set of the 1953 thriller Niagara.

1 of 11

Advertisement
Advertisement

2 of 11

FB Tweet
Pinterest Mail Email iphone Send Text Message

GETTING CHEEKY

Credit: Michael Ochs Archives/Getty

Young starlet Monroe gets into the spirit of her 1952 screwball comedy Monkey Business and wraps her arms around the movie’s star chimpanzee.

2 of 11

3 of 11

FB Tweet
Pinterest Mail Email iphone Send Text Message

SPEAK, BOY, SPEAK!

Credit: SNAP/Rex USA

Not only could Monroe stun all manner of men into silence, she worked her magic on dogs, too. While shooting a scene with an acting pup for 1962’s Something’s Got to Give, it wasn’t Monroe who flubbed her lines, but the dog. All he could do was stare.

3 of 11

Advertisement
Continued on next slide.
Advertisement

4 of 11

FB Tweet
Pinterest Mail Email iphone Send Text Message

SPLENDOR IN THE GRASS

Credit: Sam Shaw/Rex USA

Monroe and her third husband, playwright Arthur Miller, shared a basset hound named Hugo. During a bucolic moment at the couple’s home in Roxbury, Conn., in 1957, the actress lets down her hair and enjoys a laugh with the dog.

4 of 11

Advertisement

5 of 11

FB Tweet
Pinterest Mail Email iphone Send Text Message

WINDOW SEAT

Credit: Ernst Haas/Ernst Haas/Getty

Two years prior to her death in 1962, a joyful Monroe relaxes with a furry friend.

5 of 11

6 of 11

FB Tweet
Pinterest Mail Email iphone Send Text Message

BEACH BABIES

Credit: Everett

Shortly before she fully transformed into Marilyn, the actress lounges on the sand with dog Ruffles in 1947.

6 of 11

Advertisement
Advertisement
Continued on next slide.
Advertisement

7 of 11

FB Tweet
Pinterest Mail Email iphone Send Text Message

FLASH POINT

Credit: AP

“When she saw a camera, any camera, she lit up and was totally different,” photographer Laszlo Willinger said of Monroe. Even when attempting to walk her dog while skiing on sand, she could be extremely charismatic.

7 of 11

Advertisement
Advertisement

8 of 11

FB Tweet
Pinterest Mail Email iphone Send Text Message

TOY STORY

Credit: John Kobal Foundation/Getty

Monroe’s powers of seduction even worked on a toy tiger in this photo taken in 1957.

8 of 11

Advertisement

9 of 11

FB Tweet
Pinterest Mail Email iphone Send Text Message

LAWN ORNAMENT

Credit: Michael Ochs Archives/Getty

Walking a dog in wedges and a bikini – anything goes with Marilyn! She and a Chihuahua pose for the cameras at a Beverly Hills home in 1950.

9 of 11

Advertisement
Advertisement
Continued on next slide.
Advertisement

10 of 11

FB Tweet
Pinterest Mail Email iphone Send Text Message

FAMILY TIME

Credit: Seymour Wally/NY Daily News Archive/Getty

Miller, Monroe and their basset hound hang out in the yard in Roxbury in 1956. The only thing missing is a pair of sunglasses for Hugo.

10 of 11

Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement

11 of 11

FB Tweet
Pinterest Mail Email iphone Send Text Message

BY THE BOOK

Credit: SNAP/Rex USA

On the set of Monkey Business in 1952, chimpanzee Esther goes over some lines with her costar.

11 of 11

Advertisement
Advertisement
Replay gallery

Share the Gallery

Pinterest Facebook

Up Next

By People Staff

Share the Gallery

Pinterest Facebook
Trending Videos
Advertisement
Skip slide summaries

Everything in This Slideshow

Advertisement

View All

1 of 11 HAND-IN-HAND
2 of 11 GETTING CHEEKY
3 of 11 SPEAK, BOY, SPEAK!
4 of 11 SPLENDOR IN THE GRASS
5 of 11 WINDOW SEAT
6 of 11 BEACH BABIES
7 of 11 FLASH POINT
8 of 11 TOY STORY
9 of 11 LAWN ORNAMENT
10 of 11 FAMILY TIME
11 of 11 BY THE BOOK

Share options

Pinterest Mail Email iphone Send Text Message

Login

PEOPLE.com

Magazines & More

Learn More

  • Subscribe this link opens in a new tab
  • Advertise
  • Content Licensing
  • Sitemap
  • Student Offer this link opens in a new tab

Connect

People is on Community!
Text us for exclusive photos and videos, royal news, and way more.
Text: 212-479-1704
Newsletter Sign Up
Other Meredith Sites

Other Meredith Sites

  • 4 Your Health this link opens in a new tab
  • Allrecipes this link opens in a new tab
  • All People Quilt this link opens in a new tab
  • Better Homes & Gardens this link opens in a new tab
  • Bizrate Insights this link opens in a new tab
  • Bizrate Surveys this link opens in a new tab
  • Cooking Light this link opens in a new tab
  • Daily Paws this link opens in a new tab
  • EatingWell this link opens in a new tab
  • Eat This, Not That this link opens in a new tab
  • Entertainment Weekly this link opens in a new tab
  • Food & Wine this link opens in a new tab
  • Health this link opens in a new tab
  • Hello Giggles this link opens in a new tab
  • Instyle this link opens in a new tab
  • Martha Stewart this link opens in a new tab
  • Midwest Living this link opens in a new tab
  • More this link opens in a new tab
  • MyRecipes this link opens in a new tab
  • MyWedding this link opens in a new tab
  • My Food and Family this link opens in a new tab
  • MyLife this link opens in a new tab
  • Parenting this link opens in a new tab
  • Parents this link opens in a new tab
  • People en Español this link opens in a new tab
  • Rachael Ray Magazine this link opens in a new tab
  • Real Simple this link opens in a new tab
  • Ser Padres this link opens in a new tab
  • Shape this link opens in a new tab
  • Siempre Mujer this link opens in a new tab
  • Southern Living this link opens in a new tab
  • SwearBy this link opens in a new tab
  • Travel & Leisure this link opens in a new tab
© Copyright 2021 Meredith Corporationthis link opens in a new tab. People is a registered trademark of Meredith Corporation All Rights Reserved. People may receive compensation for some links to products and services on this website. Offers may be subject to change without notice. Privacy Policythis link opens in a new tab Terms of Servicethis link opens in a new tab Ad Choicesthis link opens in a new tab Manage Push Notificationsthis link opens in a new tab California Do Not Sellthis link opens a modal window Web Accessibilitythis link opens in a new tab

Manage Push Notifications

If you would like to opt out of browser push notifications, please refer to the following instructions specific to your device and browser: Google Chrome and Android, Firefox, Safari, or Microsoft Edge.
© Copyright . All rights reserved. Printed from https://people.com

View image

Marilyn Monroe's Real Best Friends: Animals
this link is to an external site that may or may not meet accessibility guidelines.