The world's most famous Marilyn Monroe impersonator says she feels “bittersweet” about the 70th anniversary of the first ever edition of Playboy.
Hugh Hefner became an instant success after using Marilyn’s naked pictures for his inaugural cover and centrefold – despite having never met her.
It launched his mammoth career as a publishing mogul who earned millions and before his death he controversially made sure he would be buried beside Marilyn.
And for these reasons, Suzie Kennedy, who has performed as a lookalike to the Hollywood screen legend for 27 years, has mixed feelings about the iconic Christmas anniversary.
READ MORE: Playboy Playmate of the Year who dated Hugh Hefner’s son now has very different career
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Speaking to Daily Star, she said: “It is so bittersweet for me this whole Playboy thing. I will tell you why because Marilyn Monroe was never ashamed of her body which I love.
“I love that she was never ashamed of her sexuality and she was never ashamed when they tried to shame her about those nude pictures. But what makes me sad is that it made Playboy and it made Hugh Hefner and he never paid her.
“He never even met her or gave her the grace… and on top of that he is buried next to her and it is like he benefited from her liberation. She was never ashamed of what she did – so it is bittersweet for me.
“Women should not be ashamed of anything they have done in their lives or of their bodies but it is sad that a man had to capitalise from it and make money from it.”
Colour photos of Marilyn’s naked body ended up on Playboy years after she posed for snapper Tom Kelley when she was broke and yet to become a successful actress and model.
And she was later quoted as saying that Tom only paid her a measly $50 modelling fee when she signed away her rights to the racy snaps that went on to help generate fortunes.
The landmark cover showed Monroe on top of an elephant at Madison Square Garden alongside the teasing words: “First time in any magazine, FULL COLOR, the famous MARILYN MONROE NUDE.”
Then, a piece insider he mag read: “There were actually two poses shot au naturel back in ‘49, just before the gorgeous blonde got her first movie break. When they appeared as calendar art, they helped catapult her to stardom. We’ve selected the better of the two as our first Playboy Sweetheart.”
But despite Playboy becoming a cultural phenomenon, Marilyn felt like she never got the deserved recognition for her role in it.
Writing in her book, Marilyn: Her Life in Her Own Words, she said: “I never even received a thank you from all those who made millions off a nude Marilyn photograph.
“I even had to buy a copy of the magazine to see myself in it… I admitted it was me who posed for that nude calendar even when the Fox executives became nervous and believed this would cause the ruination of any films I would appear in and also the end of my movie career.
“Of course they were wrong. The fans, my public, cheered when I admitted it was me, and that calendar and that Playboy first-issue publicity helped my career.”
Marilyn sadly died at the age of 36 back in 1962 and Hefner said he did not get the opportunity to meet her in person after he only moved to California after her death.
He said: “She was actually in my brother’s acting class in New York. But the reality is that I never met her. I talked to her once on the phone, but I never met her. She was gone, sadly, before I came.”
Despite acknowledging that he never had a personal relationship with her, he still splashed out $75,000 for a crypt beside her at Westwood Village Memorial Park Cemetery.
Speaking to the Los Angeles Times, Hefner, who died aged 91 in 2017, said: “I’m a believer in things symbolic. Spending eternity next to Marilyn is too sweet to pass up.”
Her legacy meanwhile is being continued by Londoner Suzie Kennedy who has spent almost three decades impersonating her.
And you can read part one of our exclusive interview with her here where she opened up about stalkers, odd sex requests and the men who want to conquer her because of her remarkable likeness to Marilyn.
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