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Marilyn Monroe A Lesbian? Hollywood Icon Had Affairs With Women, New Book Alleges

Was Marilyn A Lesbian? New Book Says Yes
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She might have been one of the world's premier sex symbols, but Marilyn Monroe was plagued with well-documented personal insecurities -- among them the possibility she might be a lesbian, a new book alleges.

Author Lois Banner describes Monroe's doubts about her sexuality in her new book, "Marilyn: The Passion and the Paradox," an extract of which has been published in The Guardian.

"She had affairs with many eminent men –- baseball great Joe DiMaggio, playwright Arthur Miller, director Elia Kazan, actor Marlon Brando, singer Frank Sinatra, the Kennedy brothers –- and she married DiMaggio and Miller," Banner writes. "Yet she desired women, had affairs with them, and worried that she might be lesbian by nature."

She continues, "How could she be the world's heterosexual sex goddess and desire women? How could she have the world's most perfect body on the outside and have such internal imperfections? Why was she unable to bear a child? The adult Marilyn was haunted by these questions."

Still, Banner's profile of Monroe, who died in 1962 at the age of 36, is more flattering in other respects. The author even argues that the icon, frequently brushed aside as a "dumb blonde" or simply as a sex object, had the makings of an early feminist.

"She certainly took actions that could be called feminist," she writes. "Her entire life was a process of self-formation. She was a genius at self-creation and made herself into an actress and a star. She formed her own production company, she fought the moguls to a standstill, and she publicly named the sexual abuse visited on her as a child: a major –- and unacknowledged –- feminist act."

Of course, Banner is by no means the first to argue that the "Some Like It Hot" star might have swung both ways. Monroe is believed to have admitted to sexual encounters with Joan Crawford and Marlene Dietrich, as well as acting coach Paula Strasberg.

Take a look at other public figures in history who faced rumors about their sexuality:

Historical Figures Rumored To Have Been LGBT
Abraham Lincoln(01 of15)
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The 16th president of the United States has long been rumored to have been gay.Numerous historians point to his rocky marriage with Mary Todd Lincoln as well as the fact that he very close relationships with several men, including Joshua Speed, who shared his bed for four years.In the New York Times book review of "The Intimate World Of Abraham Lincoln" by C.A. Tripp, Richard Brookhiser writes:
"In 1831, when he was 22, Lincoln moved to New Salem, an Illinois frontier town, where he met Billy Greene. Greene coached Lincoln in grammar and shared a narrow bed with him. ''When one turned over the other had to do likewise,'' Greene told Herndon. Bed-sharing was common enough in raw settlements, but Greene also had vivid memories of Lincoln's physique: 'His thighs were as perfect as a human being could be.' Everyone saw that Lincoln was tall and strong, but this seems rather gushing."
 (credit:via WikiCommons)
James Dean(02 of15)
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Few stars have endured such long-standing rumors about their sexuality as James Dean. "James Dean was one of [Marlon] Brando's most lasting yet troubled gay relationships," biographer Darwin Porter wrote. " They had a relationship for a number of years but it was always turbulent. At one point they had a big stand-up fight at a party in Santa Monica, California, witnessed by dozens of people."In addition to Brando, the "Rebel Without A Cause" actor also had alleged trysts with fellow stars Rock Hudson and Clifton Webb, among others. (credit:AP )
Eleanor Roosevelt (03 of15)
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The "First Lady to the World" has long been rumored to have been bisexual or a lesbian. According to author Lillian Faderman, author of "To Believe in Women," Roosevelt had a long term relationship with journalist Lorena Hickok. The two shared a series of intimate love letters. "Funny, everything I do my thoughts fly to you," Roosevelt reportedly wrote."Never are you out of my heart." (credit:AP )
Marlon Brando & Vivien Leigh (04 of15)
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Brando had a reputation as a notorious womanizer in Hollywood, but fans might be surprised to learn that his liaisons are also rumored to have included men, many of them famous. "James Dean was one of Brando's most lasting yet troubled gay relationships," Darwin Porter, author of "Brando Unzipped," reportedly wrote. "They had a relationship for a number of years but it was always turbulent." Porter also calls Brando's alleged affair with Montgomery Clift "a long and enduring relationship."Meanwhile, Brando's "Streetcar Named Desire" co-star Vivien Leigh has also been the subject of ample speculation about her love life. "Damn You, Scarlett O'Hara" claims the star was involved in a relationship with Isabel Jeans, a British actress who appeared in early films by Alfred Hitchcock, for about three months. (credit:AP )
Joan Of Arc(05 of15)
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While most people think that Joan of Arc was executed for witchcraft, according to "The Transgender Studies" reader By Susan Stryker and Stephen Whittle, the French peasant-turned-soldier was actually put to death for dressing as a man.
"Joan was condemned because of her assertion that her transvestism was a religious duty and that she regarded her visions as higher than the authority of the church. In the verbatim proceedings of her interrogation... the court records show that Joan's judges found her transvestism repugnant and demanded that she wear women's clothing. Joan refused, knowing her defiance meant she was considered damned... She vowed, "For nothing in this world will I swear not to arm myself and put on a man's dress."
She eventually recanted and was sentenced to life in prison wearing women's clothing.However, as Stryker and Whittle note, "within days she resumed male dress." When asked why she had reverted, she said that she preferred men's clothing to women's.She was sentenced to death for dressing as a man with the Inquisition's judges stating "time and again you have relapsed, as a dog returns to its vomit."Photo: Image provided by brxo on Flickr.com (credit:Flickr: brx0)
J. Edgar Hoover (06 of15)
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Historians have for years speculated about the sexuality of the first FBI chief, J. Edgar Hoover, with some suggesting he was gay and enjoyed cross-dressing, the Daily Mail notes. "He was a man of mystery," director Clint Eastwood told ABC last fall. "He might have been [gay]. I am agnostic about it. I don't really know and nobody really knew." (credit:AP )
Katherine Hepburn & Spencer Tracy (07 of15)
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Former male hustler Scotty Bowers' memoir "Full Service: My Adventures in Hollywood and the Secret Sex Lives of the Stars" alleges that both Spencer Tracy and Katherine Hepburn enjoyed the company of same-sex lovers during their respective heydays, according to the New York Times. Meanwhile, William J. Mann's "Kate: The Woman Who Was Hepburn" also details the actress's alleged lesbianism. (credit:AP )
Pope Julius III(08 of15)
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One of several popes rumored to have been gay, Julius III was involved in a scandal after he became infatuated with a teenage beggar named Innocenzo.Julius made his brother adopt Innocenzo and then the pope named him a cardinal, GLBTQ.com notes, adding, "the Venetian ambassador reported that Innocenzo shared the pope's bedroom and bed." (credit:via Wikipedia Commons)
Vincente Minnelli (09 of15)
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Minnelli was once married to one of the world's most beloved gay icons (Judy Garland, pictured) and father to another (Liza Minnelli), but the Oscar-winning director's connection to the LGBT community allegedly doesn't stop there. "Despite the fact that Minnelli was married to Judy Garland and three other women...it was generally assumed that he was a closeted gay man who, due to the societal conditioning of his era, felt compelled to marry and procreate," biographer Mark Griffin wrote. "It seems clear to me that on several levels, Minnelli was living in two different worlds." (credit:AP )
James Buchanan(10 of15)
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Many consider the 15th president of the United States to be our first gay president.Historian James W. Loewen writes about Buchanan's alleged homosexuality in his book "Lies Across America."In it he states "I'm sure that Buchanan was gay," and points to Buchanan's relationship with William Rufus King, a senator from Alabama.The Washington Blade adds:
Loewen said contemporary records indicate the two men were inseparable, and wags would refer to them as "the Siamese twins."Loewen also said Buchanan was "fairly open" about his relationship with King, causing some colleagues to view the men as a couple.For example, Aaron Brown, a prominent Democrat, writing to Mrs. James K. Polk, referred to King as Buchanan's "better half," "his wife" and "Aunt Fancy ... rigged out in her best clothes."
 (credit:Alamy)
Cary Grant (11 of15)
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Speculation over the "An Affair to Remember" star's love life continues 25 years after his death. As People magazine reported, however, aughter Jennifer Grant, who penned a memoir of her famous father last year, dashed the rumors. "Can't blame men for wanting him, and wouldn't be surprised if Dad even mildly flirted back," she wrote. Then again, she added, "Dad somewhat enjoyed being called gay. He said it made women want to prove the assertion wrong." (credit:AP )
Richard Nixon(12 of15)
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UPI White House reporter Don Fulsom, who penned the new memoir "Nixon's Darkest Secrets," suggested a "homosexual nature" in the relationship between the former U.S. president and his best friend Bebe Rebozo, the president's alleged mob bagman who was at Nixon's side when he died.According to U.S. News & World Report, Fulsom cites several examples of the two men holding hands, sometimes in public, along with cuddling and awkward swimming pool games. (credit:AP )
Paul Newman (13 of15)
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The handsome star of "Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid" was allegedly bisexual, and is rumored to have enjoyed "hot and heavy" romances with the likes of James Dean, Sal Mineo, Howard Hughes, Montgomery Clift, Marlon Brando and Tony Perkins. (credit:AP )
Amelia Earhart (14 of15)
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The famed aviatrix has been the subject of much speculation over her sexuality, no doubt fueled by what some have described as her boyish appearance. Still, "Amelia" director Mira Nair thinks rumors about Earhart's lifestyle are far-fetched. "The boyish appearance has, over the many years, thrown many people off and made them think this or that about her," she told the Orlando Sentinel. "But that was the flapper look. The more pictures I looked at of her, the less boyish she appeared." (credit:AP )
Laurence Olivier(15 of15)
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4th February 1965: Laurence Olivier (Sir Laurence Kerr, 1st Baron Olivier of Brighton, 1907-1989), director of the National Theatre and an accomplished actor, director and producer in his office at the National Theatre, London. (Photo by Cleland Rimmer/Evening Standard/Getty Images)

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