5. During the filming of The Prince and The Showgirl, Marilyn’s weight fluctuated wildly. So much so, in fact, that her costume designer, Beatrice Dawson, had to make several copies of the same dress in different sizes. “I have two ulcers from this film,” Dawson said, “and they’re both monogrammed MM.”
Now that is a classic Old Hollywood tale! It has all the trappings of the cruel attention that modern Hollywood has when it comes to actresses’ weight, but without even an attempt to care about hiding it! It would be interesting to know just how much “fluctuated wildly” actually means.
It’s difficult to imagine that her weight changed more than a few pounds at a time (not that that should matter). Oh well, such was life back then in glamorous Hollywood! Hopefully, the costume designer was able to figure it all out without causing any real stomach ulcers to form! That would be horrible.
