Interview with Amy Gaskin, author of “Marilyn Forever! Marilyn Monroe—A Symbol of Hope”

2026 marks the 100th anniversary of Marilyn Monroe’s birth and it’s been the occasion of a number of book releases. One of those new books is Amy Gaskin’s Marilyn Forever! Marilyn Monroe—A Symbol of Hope (Roche, 2026). Gaskin is a photographer and her book includes photos and interviews of people around the world who are inspired by Marilyn Monroe. Gaskin was kind enough to do an interview with us about her new book.

How do you describe your book to someone who hasn’t read it yet? 

The book is a portrait of Marilyn and the way she inspires as told through the eyes of people whose lives are impacted by her today.  It is a collection of interviews and photographs not available anywhere else —  with people who are influenced by her or actually knew her personally. It is a book that shines light on how we are inspired, find hope and meaning.  It’s an unlikely story, which I think makes it even more interesting.

What do you hope your book will achieve in the world? Do you have an ideal reader?

The book seems to appeal to anyone who has a curious and open mind.  So many have a preconceived notion about Marilyn - whether they are a fan of hers or know little about her.  This book shows how she inspires today.  I’ve also had many, upon seeing my book, choose it because there is something inside it that they personally relate to.  For some, it’s stories about overcoming odds, for some, it’s about the cancer connection, for others it’s a love of beautiful photography and special books.  It is a physically beautifully made book using the finest papers and Italian craftsmanship.

I would love for this book to open doors to speak about how we have hope, find connection and overcome adversity.  The topic is inspirational.

I know this year was the 100th anniversary of Marilyn Monroe’s birthday, so the book is timely in that way. Are there other ways you think this is the right time for it?

I feel our world is very divided right now.  The themes in Marilyn Forever! are unifying and uplifting.  Stories of persevering to do things we hadn’t dreamed possible.  Stories about giving everyone a chance.  The themes here are something we can all agree on.

How did you first become interested in Marilyn Monroe?

I knew very little about her before beginning this project.  I happened upon her crypt when I found wet lipstick marks on it during the pandemic when we were shut down, afraid to touch our groceries!  I was curious and began to interview people at her grave.

When did you become interested in the many people who admire Marilyn Monroe?

I became interested in them as soon as I met them. I listened to their stories about how she inspires them personally, in their lives.  People are relating to who she was as a person, rather than her stardom.  I had never heard this angle before.

Your book covers the range of people who look to Monroe for inspiration and hope. Are there other contemporaries of hers who you think play a similar role or played a similar role at one point?

I am not aware of any.

You’re a photographer and journalist, so I have a couple of questions that engage the photography side. How do you explain why photographs of Marilyn Monroe are so popular and so enduring? Is there a way that she appears on film or that she engages the camera that is unique to her?

I believe who she was as a person was at the heart of every image. I’ve always believed that who someone is as a person will come through in the camera — certainly over the many years and decades of images of Marilyn. I haven’t seen “bad” photos of her.  She was truly professional and skilled. I believe her popularity today, in large reason, comes from her inclusivity of all types of people. People want photos of those they feel a connection with. People connect to Marilyn — for much deeper reasons than I had previously realized.

In many ways, without photographs we might have forgotten Marilyn Monroe. Yet there’s also an argument that the real Marilyn has been overshadowed by the image we have from films and photographs. How do you square that and how do her fans square that?

Those who visit her grave and who are prominently featured in my book have taken the time to get to know her personal story.  This is not about her fame, or her beauty.  It’s about how she was kind and inclusive to all kinds of people.  It’s about how she navigated the studio system as a woman in Hollywood.  It’s about how she had her intelligence underestimated. Many things can be true at once.  She was beautiful in photos and she was also had many attributes as a person.  Her beauty, they would say, is much deeper than the photographs we have of her.

You call Monroe a “symbol of hope.” How would you explain the hope she represents? 

One of the most striking aspects of the project that people tell me is that Marilyn continues to resonate with people from vastly different backgrounds, races and ethnicities. 

These aspects of Marilyn’s influence across so many seemingly different backgrounds were some of the most profound. What shines through, I was told many times, is her humanity.  They feel she is relatable because she went through many of the same things that people today continue to experience.  Upon finding the interview where jazz singer Ella Fitzgerald said,  “I owe Marilyn a real debt. She was an unusual woman — a little ahead of her time.  And she didn’t know it,” I found this incredible. 

It is her humanity and seemingly small acts of kindness that make her very relatable. So much of what she did at the time, she may have not thought was remarkable.  For instance, seeking out children to be photographed with in an orphanage who are Black.  But it is important to also remember that these acts of kindness were during a short life which ended in 1962. When we look at that period in history, we can see that Marilyn chose to be inclusive, when others were not. 

Marilyn had friends in the gay community.  She didn’t treat them differently.  This was told to me on many occasions as a reason that people today resonate with her.  She was open to all kinds of people and respectful.  This was something I heard many times from those I interviewed.

What do you think Monroe would make of her lasting fame?

Of course I never knew her, but I would have to imagine that she would be astonished.

Is there anything you were hoping I would ask that I did not ask?

I’m happy to share more about the Australia angle and her as a symbol of hope for cancer and body positivity.

The cover of the book is not about “look-alikes.” The group in the cover image all have a connection to cancer and see Marilyn as symbol of overcoming the odds in the face of adversity.

The Australia portion was one of the most difficult to document.  As I traveled to Australia, I knew that on the day of the swim I would find many dressed as Marilyn, and expected them, of course, to be joyful.  I felt that joyful images would be somewhat expected.  I wanted to document the reasons why they are doing the swim.  To document this, I traveled to Australia well in advance of the actual event.  I went into cancer hospitals in Australia, with people in the Marilyn community.  I documented chemotherapy and surgery visits, visits with families struggling with the disease.  I got to know many members of this community on a very profound level. Those that are included in the book are representative of so many people I was privileged to meet.  They  represent the determination to persevere.

Having spent so much time with people dealing with cancer made the day of the swim that much more profound.  I had documented the reasons they were swimming.  There are other groups that have tried to break the record for most Marilyns, etc. But those are purely publicity stunts.  This is the original group, making this swim for a profound reason.

One cancer survivor, Rachel, shared this with me. “The Swim is so significant because it brings likeminded people from all walks of life together to have hope and support each other. And be comfortable as you are, because that’s what Marilyn was. What’s special is the friends that you make along the way. I’ll never forget one of the girls I met and was having a good chat with. She passed away several years later from cancer. You have the hope that we'll all survive, but we don’t. There's no rhyme or reason. You just learn to appreciate that you're still alive.”

Another woman, Maria, who is featured in the book, was in a late stage of cancer.  She was troubled by the idea that she might not live to see her grandchildren grow up.  The Australia chapter is dedicated in her memory.

The community of people in Australia is so loving and supportive of each other.  It is truly an honor to document them.

I can share with you an ironic anecdote:  I had spent weeks in hospitals and in homes with people as they dealt with the effects of cancer.  I knew them well, by the time the swim day came.  What I was not completely prepared for was the irony of how everyone would look nearly the same wearing their sunglasses and blonde wigs!  Over 500 of them!  It was nearly impossible to find those whom I had been documenting in such a huge crowd, now all dressed alike as Marilyn!  Thankfully, some of them came to find me!  We laughed about it later.

I believe that the joy that comes through in these photos is heightened by the depth of what we see them going through. This joy relates to real life difficulties.  There is nothing random or lighthearted about it.  And it’s all the more remarkable that Marilyn inspires them to persevere, have hope, and find community in each other.

In the end, these images contributed a very joyous aspect to the book as a whole.  They are also easily misunderstood.  The people on the cover are not Marilyn “look-alikes.”  They see her as a symbol of hope to fight cancer and are raising money by dressing as her and swimming in the ocean for charity.