Everyone knows the name Marilyn Monroe. It conjures images of sex, glamour, glittering diamonds and all the trappings of Hollywood’s Golden Age. But who was she really? In Blonde, Ana de Armas breathes new life into the woman behind the star. As Norma Jeane (the icon’s real name), de Armas digs beneath the glossy fairy tale, revealing a series of big bad wolves whose relentless attention and objectification haunted the young actress throughout her tragically short life.

Based on Joyce Carol Oates’ 2000 novel of the same name and directed by Andrew Dominik, Blonde is a reimagined, fictionalized version of the Marilyn Monroe story, more concerned with her inner life and feelings than with real events. Still, Monroe buffs will certainly recognize a few characters along the way — even if their names are never actually mentioned. Get to know a few of them below.

Ana de Armas

Born Norma Jeane but reinvented and rechristened by the studio system as Marilyn Monroe, she wants nothing more than to lose herself in serious acting and find real, lasting love. Instead, she is endlessly mistreated and taken advantage of, even as she becomes the biggest movie star in the world.

Like Norma Jeane, de Armas knows a thing or two about reinventing herself. Hot off a successful acting career in Cuba and then Spain, de Armas made the move to Hollywood in 2014. On her own, and barely speaking English, she started over from scratch — and made it big. A breakout role in Blade Runner 2049 opposite Ryan Gosling led to a Golden Globe–nominated performance in Knives Out alongside Daniel Craig as detective Benoit Blanc. Now the student has become the master. In 2021, de Armas kicked ass opposite James Bond himself (Craig) in No Time to Die, and you may have spotted her saving Gosling’s life in The Gray Man over the summer.

 Left: Bobby Cannavale as The Ex-Athlete in Blonde.

Bobby Cannavale

Norma Jeane’s first famous husband is a retired baseball player, and a fictionalized version of Joe DiMaggio. Though she initially views the romance as a way out of the fishbowl of stardom, his jealous and abusive behavior causes them to separate.

Need a tough guy? Bobby Cannavale’s your man. The Emmy-winning actor has honed his bad boy persona with roles in Boardwalk Empire, Vinyl, and The Irishman, among others. Other notable credits include Thunder Force; Motherless Brooklyn; I, Tonya; and Blue Jasmine. Last year, he rounded out the cast of Nine Perfect Strangers alongside Nicole Kidman, Regina Hall and Melissa McCarthy.

Left: Adrien Brody as The Playwright in Blonde. 

Adrien Brody

Norma Jeane’s second star-studded marriage, to a dramatist loosely based on Arthur Miller, is rooted in mutual intellectual respect. Older and established, The Playwright encourages Norma Jeane to take on the kind of work that challenges her as an artist, but a tragic miscarriage eventually destroys their relationship.

In 2003, Brody became the youngest best actor Oscar winner in history when he took home the golden statuette for his performance as Wladyslaw Szpilman in The Pianist — a record he still holds today. More lighthearted credits include King Kong, The Darjeeling Limited and The Brothers Bloom. More recently, Brody starred as legendary basketball coach Pat Riley in Winning Time: The Rise of the Lakers Dynasty. He also famously wore many layers of clothing in a brief but memorable appearance in Succession’s third season, which earned him an Emmy nomination for outstanding guest actor in a drama series. After Blonde, Brody is set to star in John Trengove’s Manodrome, and will reprise his role as a Wes Anderson muse in the director’s upcoming Asteroid City.

You can follow Adrien Brody on Twitter and Instagram.

Matt Kennedy/Netflix

From left: Xavier Samuel as Cass Chaplin, Ana de Armas as Norma Jeane, and Evan Williams as Eddy Robinson Jr. in Blonde.

Xavier Samuel and Evan Williams

Born Charles Chaplin Jr. and Edward G. Robinson Jr., these two aspiring actors are desperate to forge reputations separate from their more famous silver-screen fathers. On the cusp of fame herself, Norma Jeane lives with them in ménage à trois.

If you didn’t spot Samuel as lead guitarist Scotty Moore in Baz Luhrmann’s Elvis, perhaps you remember him from Eclipse, the third installment in the The Twilight Saga? Samuel played vampire Riley Biers, who teams up with the fearsome Victoria (Bryce Dallas Howard) to wage war on Bella (Kristen Stewart) and the Cullens. As for Calgary native Williams, look for him as the Chevalier of Lorraine in Versailles, the opulent series about the court of Louis XIV.

You can follow Xavier Samuel on Instagram here and Evan Williams here.

Julianne Nicholson

Norma Jeane’s mother is a former actor who feeds her young child stories of her famous, if absent, father. After Gladys is institutionalized following an abusive breakdown, Norma Jeane sees her sporadically — but the scars of the trauma inflicted by Gladys are harder to erase.

Blonde is a reunion of sorts for Nicholson, who stars with former Winning Time and Boardwalk Empire co-stars Brody and Cannavale. Fans of Masters of Sex know her as Dr. Lillian DePaul, while crime enthusiasts will remember her scene-stealing performance in Mare of Easttown alongside Kate Winslet. The role earned Nicholson an Emmy for best supporting actress in a limited or anthology series in 2021. If indies are more your thing, make sure to check out Nicholson’s remarkable turns in Monos, Novitiate or Who We Are Now.

You can follow Julianne Nicholson on Instagram.

Blonde Main TrailerWatched by all. Seen by none.