Celebrities.

Especially as an American, it is impossible to get through an entire day without hearing something from or about them. Movies, music, and television shows are saturated with them. Most news shows include a segment about them, and there is even an entire television network dedicated to the subject. Celebrity news flood the magazine racks, so even standing in line at the grocery store becomes yet another platform for the propagation of their life stories.

But what exactly is a celebrity? What are the criteria that set one apart from “normal” people? A basic definition is someone who all the girls want to be, and all the guys want to be with (or vice versa). It is someone whom the public can’t get enough of. It is someone, for instance, like Marilyn Monroe.

Her official website describes her life and legend the most succinctly: “A global sensation in her lifetime, Marilyn's popularity has extended beyond star status to icon. Today, the name ‘Marilyn Monroe’ is synonymous with beauty, sensuality and effervescence. She remains an inspiration to all who strive to overcome personal obstacles for the goal of achieving greatness.” But what does Ms. Monroe say about herself and the life she lived?

Marilyn Monroe Quotes:

"I am not interested in money. I just want to be wonderful."

"No one ever told me I was pretty when I was a little girl. All little girls should be told they are pretty, even if they aren't."

"An actress is not a machine, but they treat you like a machine. A money machine."

"Being a sex symbol is a heavy load to carry, especially when one is tired, hurt and bewildered."

"I don't want to play sex roles any more. I'm tired of being known as the girl with the shape."

"[Hollywood is] a place where they'll pay you a thousand dollars for a kiss and fifty cents for your
soul."

"I don't mind making jokes, but I don't want to look like one."

"Everybody is always tugging at you. They'd all like a sort of chunk out of you. I don't think they realize it, but it's like 'grrr do this, grr do that...' But you do want to stay intact--intact and on two feet."

"It stirs up envy, fame does. People...feel fame gives them some kind of privilege to walk up to you and say anything to you--and it won't hurt your feelings--like it's happening to your clothing."

"She [Sadie Thompson] was a girl who knew how to be gay even when she was sad. And that's important--you know?"

"With fame, you know, you can read about yourself, somebody else's ideas about you,
but what's important is how you feel about yourself--for survival and living day
to day with what comes up."

"Fame is fickle and I know it. It has its compensations, but it also has its drawbacks and I've experienced them both."

"I knew I belonged to the public and to the world, not because I was talented or even beautiful, but because I had never belonged to anything or anyone else."

"It's all make believe, isn't it?"

Decades after she left the world, singer Elton John wrote the song “Candle in the Wind” about her…

Goodbye Norma Jean
Though I never knew you at all
You had the grace to hold yourself
While those around you crawled
They crawled out of the woodwork
And they whispered into your brain
They set you on the treadmill
And they made you change your
name

And it seems to me you lived your life
Like a candle in the wind
Never knowing who to cling to
When the rain set in
And I would have liked to have known you
But I was just a kid
Your candle burned out long before
Your legend ever did

Loneliness was tough
The toughest role you ever played
Hollywood created a superstar
And pain was the price you paid
Even when you died
Oh the press still hounded you
All the papers had to say
Was that Marilyn was found in the nude

Goodbye Norma Jean
From the young man in the 22nd row
Who sees you as something as more than sexual
More than just our Marilyn Monroe

When I first learned of Marilyn’s true story, it finally clicked: most celebrities are misunderstood. The media portray such distorted pictures of them, and it is sad to say that most viewers don’t mind. Most of the time we tend to do one of two things: (1) put them on a pedestal, deeming them unapproachable and “above” us, or (2) observe their lives from a microscope, criticizing their every move.

This blog will follow the lives of celebrities, as they share it: through blogs, websites, songs, and interviews. Through this, hopefully you too will discover that they are not immune to pain, loneliness, or the universal need to be loved. Celebrities, after all, are still just people.