'Blonde': Jamie Lee Curtis Said 'It Was so Shocking' to See Ana de Armas' as Marilyn Monroe
Skip to main content

Ana de Armas has starred in several high-profile movies in recent years alongside co-stars such as Daniel Craig, Chris Evans, and Ryan Gosling. The Cuban actor has a career that’s on the rise, and we’ll soon see her play Marilyn Monroe in the biopic Blonde. de Armas called it the most intense work of her career, but one former co-star knows she’ll shine in the role. When Jamie Lee Curtis saw a photo of de Armas as Monroe, she couldn’t hide her shocked reaction.

Ana de Armas (left) and Jamie Lee Curtis appear at CinemaCon in Las Vegas in 2019. Curtis said it was shocking to see how convincingly de Armas transformed into Marilyn Monroe for her starring role in 'Blonde.'
Ana de Armas (left) and Jamie Lee Curtis | Gabe Ginsberg/WireImage

Ana de Armas plays Marilyn Monroe in ‘Blonde’

Blonde drops on Netflix on Sept. 23, 2022, and the streaming service describes it like this:

Based on the bestselling novel by Joyce Carol Oates, Blonde boldly reimagines the life of one of Hollywood’s most enduring icons, Marilyn Monroe. From her volatile childhood as Norma Jeane, through her rise to stardom and romantic entanglements, Blonde blurs the lines of fact and fiction to explore the widening split between her public and private selves. 

Andrew Dominik wrote and directed the movie and defiantly defended its NC-17 rating. Though not based on Monroe’s real-life story, it could provide a signature role for de Armas. Her performance as a fictional icon is already generating comparisons to Lady Gaga in House of Gucci

de Armas received endorsements beyond the Gaga comparisons. Jamie Lee Curtis said she was shocked when she saw de Armas as Marilyn Monroe for the first time.

Jamie Lee Curtis said it was “shocking” to see de Armas as Monroe: “She was Marilyn”

Jamie Lee Curtis might be one of the only people alive with a thread connecting her to Monroe. Her father, Tony Curtis, starred with Monroe in Some Like it Hot, the 1959 Billy Wilder comedy.

de Armas and Jamie Lee Curtis both appeared in Knives Out in late 2019, which was around the time Blonde first started filming. Curtis had a chance to see de Armas’ first photos and a short video of her portraying Monroe, and Curtis was blown away, reports Elle.

“She showed me a picture of her as Marilyn. My father was in ‘Some Like It Hot,’ and I have a lot of photos of my father and Marilyn. It was a couple of still pictures and one video of her moving through space with no audio. But it was so shocking because she was Marilyn.”

Jamie Lee Curtis describes seeing Ana de Armas as Marilyn Monroe for the first time

Between the Lady Gaga comparisons and Curtis’ enthusiastic endorsement, de Armas’ turn as Monroe could be a career-defining role. Her future is looking bright, too, as she adds more behind-the-scenes work to her resumé.

What movies has de Armas been in? The list keeps growing, and so do her behind-the-scenes roles

Related

‘Blonde’: It Took 5 ‘Incredibly Challenging’ Wigs to Transform Ana De Armas’ Dark Hair Into Marilyn Monroe’s Platinum Locks

Not only is de Armas frequently acting alongside stars such as Evans, Craig, and Gosling, she is earning starring roles and working more behind the scenes.

de Armas not only stars in Ghosted (where her birthday celebration included Evans and Fireball shots), but she also executive produced the project. Her IMDb page lists Ballerina as her next project in the works. For the John Wick offshoot, she led the charge to hire a female scriptwriter, Emerald Fennell, for the movie, as she told Elle. 

de Armas shocked Curtis with her transformation into Marilyn Monroe. Fans shouldn’t be surprised to see de Armas remain in the spotlight for years to come.

For more on the entertainment world and exclusive interviews, subscribe to Showbiz Cheat Sheet’s YouTube channel.