Marilyn: Behind the Icon is three series in one: an audio drama, an investigative series, and a discussion series. It blends a original scripted episodic story with commentary on the remarkable life of Marilyn Monroe. It’s up close, raw and real; telling her story through extensively researched historical events, including Marilyn Monroe’s own perspective in her own words. We explore her inner journey and human side as no other podcast, film or TV show has ever done before. The series portrays her personal struggles with mental illness and addiction in addition to her amazing resiliency in achieving her dreams as one the greatest movie actresses and icons in motion picture history. We begin our story with her life as a young girl named Norma Jeane—a girl desperate for a stable family and home life — a girl seeking to find her place—a girl nobody wanted—who grew up in the care of foster families and caretakers. As a young teen searching for her identity, she became determined to make something of herself and created a life born out of her dreams, imagination, and talent. Marilyn became a top cover girl model, a young starlet, a celebrated actress, an accomplished singer and dancer, a wife, aspiring mother, a producer, and ultimately, a legend—an enduring ICON.
We’ll highlight the tragedy and pain yet celebrate the triumphs of the life, legend, and the global phenomenon known as MARILYN.
The Marilyn: Behind the Icon producers Nina Boski, Randall Libero and Gary Vitacco-Robles talk about their perspective on developing this dramatic series from a historical and factual approach. Gary offers reasons why his commentary regarding Marilyn Monroe’s mental health perspective is important to tell Marilyn’s story accurately. They explore Marilyn’s goals to become an actress, wife, and mother, her personal challenges and crises related to intergenerational mental illness in her family, and her own childhood trauma. The co-writers reflect upon the responsibility of ethical research, legitimate sources and new source material unearthed by recent auctions. See more at BehindtheIcon.com.
