Hollywood Golden Age Icon, 94, Reveals What Really Led to Marilyn Monroe’s Downfall originally appeared on Parade.
Decades after the lights faded on Hollywood’s Golden Age, one of its last surviving sirens is sharing intimate and startling memories of its most incandescent star. Mamie Van Doren, the iconic ‘50s “It Girl” now 94, has opened up about her long-running friendship with Marilyn Monroe, offering a unique, firsthand perspective on the beloved icon’s triumphs and her tragic, final struggles.
Van Doren, who along with Monroe and Jayne Mansfield formed the trio known as the “Three M’s,” shared a bond with Monroe that began long before either of them became household names. Their connection was forged under the tutelage of the same renowned acting coach.
“Marilyn and I were very good friends, and we liked each other. We went to the same drama coach,” Van Doren told IndieWire, referring to the legendary Natasha Lytess.
In a stunning revelation, Van Doren paints a picture of their first encounter, a scene straight out of a Hollywood classic. “I got to know Marilyn… I was 12 years old when I first met her, she was at the Blue Book Modeling Agency at the Ambassador Hotel, and I lived out back at the Ambassador Hotel. And when I was a kid, and I would go into the swimming pool all the time, and I used to see her modeling all the time. So I met her when she was 17 then and I was 12.”
This early bond blossomed as they navigated the treacherous waters of fame. “We used to see each other all the time at parties, and I knew what she was doing all the time,” Van Doren recalled, adding with a somber tone, “She really had a hard time of it.”
It’s that “hard time” that has fueled speculation for over 60 years. Now, Van Doren is providing a chilling insight into Monroe’s psyche, particularly concerning her relationships with powerful men and her alleged entanglement with the Kennedy brothers.
Thinking back on Monroe’s tragic death, Van Doren observed, “Marilyn always thought she had to have a man with her. She’s always looking for a father, but she was crazy about [John F.] Kennedy.”
Then came the bombshell claim that has long been whispered in Hollywood corridors. “I think they only went to bed one time, and then he passed her on to his brother,” Van Doren stated. “And she got hung up on Bobby [Kennedy], and she just couldn’t stand rejection anymore.”
Van Doren’s account frames Monroe’s 1962 death as the culmination of a life spent seeking validation, ending in what she perceived as an unbearable rejection from one of the most powerful dynasties in America. As one of the last living witnesses to that glittering and perilous era, Mamie Van Doren’s words offer a poignant and explosive final chapter to the story of her friend, Marilyn.
Hollywood Golden Age Icon, 94, Reveals What Really Led to Marilyn Monroe’s Downfall first appeared on Parade on Jul 29, 2025
This story was originally reported by Parade on Jul 29, 2025, where it first appeared.
