Scarlett Johansson covers the September issue of Harper’s Bazaar Australia, and I think she covers the American edition too, although Bazaar hasn’t released that cover yet. ScarJo did a photo shoot with Karl Lagerfeld, styled by Carine Roitfeld, and these are the two pics we have – the Australian cover and the editorial photo.
Carine Roitfeld did something extremely boring – she made a short list of all of the women she thinks are “living icons” and she made a slideshow of them. You can see it here. ScarJo is the top lady – she’s described as a “modern Marilyn” because of course she is – but Carine also included Lily Collins (the hell?), Dakota Fanning, Gabourney Sidibe and Zoe Kravitz. Blah. I get so tired of people comparing ScarJo to Marilyn. She helps it along too – she always says “yes” to being styled like Marilyn Monroe. It’s boring.
Also – ScarJo is still active in New York City politics, as always. Scarlett has thrown her support behind Scott Stringer for NYC Comptroller. Lena Duham is supporting Stringer too. You know who else is running for Comptroller? Eliot Spitzer.
Photos courtesy of Harper’s Bazaar.
Declared a Modern Day Marilyn.
Ok Harper’s Bazaar, now you’re reaching.
Especially when the styling is refreshingly original and not in the pin-up aesthetic in the least. I actually LOVE the cover.
I’m not a big fan of hers but I too really like this styling; it’s different and strong. Great cover. And I am quite surprised by this unusual black background!
The second photo looks awkward.
Me loves the cover as well.
I have such a huge girl-crush on ScarJo. Always have and always will!
No one is a “modern day Marilyn” Harper’s. There was only one. Comparing anyone else is just ridiculous. When Norma Jean died the Marilyn Monroe character she created died with her. Can’t it just be left alone?
I agree. I have nothing against SJ, but I see no similarity at all. Marilyn was unique. I can’t think of any present day woman with Marilyn’s combination of charisma and vunerability.
Marilyn Monroe was drug-addled and completely unprofessional by the end. She’s dead people, get over it.
Harper staff are smokin crack!
This is just laughable b\_/LlSh! T
LOL@ Carine Roitfelds list of icons they are hardly iconic, more a list of most irrelevant.
Same goes for ScarJo, she doesn´t have a portion of the impact Marilyn had.
Marilyn Monroe was a superstar; charming and captivating, beguiling and alluring. She was massively massively popular. No one cares about ScarJo. She’s got a solid career, sure… but Marilyn? It’s such a stretch to compare them in any way but the physical, and even then, Scarjo can’t charm the masses with one smile. She’s yet to do it, and we’ve seen her smile a million times.
+1
This is plain romantacism. If Merylyn had lived in our age, the interwebs would have loathed her. Time has sanitized her exploits and glamorised a woman whose look wasnt nearly as original as non-cinephiles seem to think, who infantilised her voice and speech patterns for male audiences, slept with any available married man, famewhored her way into tabloids with her “pap shots”, had only her comic timing to count as a talent, had one single monotonous look etc etc.
are you kidding? time has only made things worse (for us, not marilyn) look at the way we’re glamorising reality tv….kim kardashian, ugh. At least Marilyn had some talent.
Moon, you do realise that Marylyn was the original sex tape girl? Her reel was played at Hollywood parties for years until one of her husbands reportedly bought it off some famous producer. And those nude pics that people today consider Art were in her day just smut. A tool to get attention.
Maybe in afew decades, the world will look back on Kardashian with the same nostalgia.
+1
@Monty
Her name really isn’t that hard to spell
+1
GoodNames
Pardon me, my reading disorder occassionally rears its head, especially where spell check is no help. But for someone who could barely write my own name until I was nine, I am doing fairly well. So whats your excuse? Were you born douchey or was it something you just kind of grew into?
@Monty
Congratulations on overcoming your reading disorder. I hope you get some help for your anger, self-pity and self-righteousness next.
GoodNames
That the best you can do. I spent grade school sharing classes with bullies far more witty than this. You do have them matched on the viciousness though.
And this attitude that even as you lash out at a stranger over a condition they cant help, it is infact YOU who is the victim is typical of playground bullies. But thanks for the sarcastic congrats and please accept my equally contemptous congrats for never lquite growing up. The Peter Pan of the schoolyard bullies, whoever raised you must be so proud.
Somethings changed since you last roamed the yard, we learnt to fight back! So run along and do what bullies do when confronted………skulk off muttering about how put upon and offended you are.
Poor you.
This is no place for spelling/grammar Nazis. Many of us are not native English speakers and others are struggling with dyslexia.
@Monty Your posts are very well written and we all knew what you meant to say. Dont let one person break you.
Maria
Thanks! She couldnt “break me” if she tried. I know people who act like this are sad on the inside but I also know that if we dont stand up to them they just dont learn (and they say I am the one with the learning disorder *boom). I appreciate the support, thanks girl.
You write very well Monty. Everyone makes spelling mistakes theres no need for anybody to act superior merely because they can spell a dead actresses name.
Anyway, I agree with the initial sentiment on this thread. She was trashy as hell but time and death has rehabilitated her image. I have also seen time rehabilitate Jolie, Ryder, Moss and many others. People eventually forget the trash I suppose.
What is a comptroller??? She is so boring. She seems like she would be no fun to hang out with.
a) A word that always makes me think of the Fat Controller from Thomas the Tank Engine.
b) Accounting-boss position in a business or government. Bit like Chief Financial Officer. (I looked it up on wiki, because I was pretty sure “something to do with cartoon trains” was wrong.)
All the noes
No way…everyone knows Lindsay is the new Marilyn and she will be the first to tell you.
ha, good one
She looks great. I really love both photos.
Photoshop gone wild on that cover.
and please: CLOSE YOUR MOUTH.
I do like the cover. She looks awesome.
Marilyn had that extra special indefinable “something.” Call it charisma, maybe. But whatever it was, she had it. Scarjo does not. Scarjo has a nice career, which is pretty good for someone that is not especially pretty imho and is most certainly an average actress at best. The comparison is an insult to Marilyn’s memory.
Yeah, Scarjo is Marilyn just like Bieber is McCartney.
ITA about the charisma, but to me, Marilyn’s vulnerability and softness is what keeps people fascinated with her. Yes, she was sexy, and today, sexiness is often used as a billy club to the masses, but with Marilyn, there was an undercurrent of tentativeness about it-much like a teenage girl who developed very early and had to grapple with the unwanted attention and aggressiveness that creepers put out in the main street window, and yet, Marilyn pressed on. Marilyn was interesting that way. And while Marilyn emulated Jean Harlow, Marilyn had enough sense not to copy Harlow too closely. Harlow was of a different time, a tougher time, so she was tougher and smart alecy- and yet, she possessed vulnerability and charm too, only her vulnerability was rooted in her inability to have her wants and desires for her life taken seriously.
ScarJo comes across as cold, period. She may be voluptuous, but she’s not compelling or welcoming. And sometimes, I find her cheekbones to be too high, and most of her red carpet appearances have been fails.
Personally, I think that ScarJo is more comparable to Lana Turner aka the Sweater Girl. Not only was Lana overrated, in terms of talent, she played the field a lot with questionable men, like ScarJo. Hopefully, ScarJo won’t allow her personal life to spin out of control to a degree that her child had to kill her lover of the moment because she didn’t the strength or sense to kick him to the curb.
The pics are great!
Marilyn is tired and over though.
Has she ever taken a photo with her mouth closed?!
I find her to be boring and nothing to write home about. Definitely not at all like Marilyn.
What is that she’s wearing in the top photo? I want it!
Looks like the dress Katy Perry wore at this years Met Gala.
I know – I love that dress. Not sure I could carry it off though. Maybe I could just hang it on my closet door and pet it occasionally.
I suspect you might need the same hair-style to pull it off … so a LOT of hairspray and/or your own personal wind-machine.
So I’m voting with Ms Eyre, it’s unwearable, but I might like to own it anyway.
Dolce & Gabbana Fall 2013 Collection
http://nowfashion.com/24-02-2013-dolce-gabbana-ready-to-wear-fall-winter-2013-milan-show-3464.html
Marilyn had that sweetness, the contagious smile. When I look at a picture of Marilyn I HAVE to smile back, she looked like a friend and a kindred soul to all.
ScarJo? When I look at a picture of her my eyes roll automatically and that’s the end of it haha.
Marilyn was a very troubled woman. Married and divorced 3X. Died at 36. That’s a “kindred soul”? MM is iconic yes,but there were many problems behind that smile.
I think her difficulties make her MORE kindred, meaning close to the heart, easy to feel a closeness with. She was molested at a young age and it colored her whole life and decisions. It’s not her fault and it doesn’t take away from her sweet spirit that shone through it all. I read her autobiography so I know about her terrible early life.
If they’re talking about the overbleached transvestite singer Marilyn who boned Gavin Rossdale, then I can certainly see the resemblance!
As for the other “living icons”, I suspect Carine Roitfeld has a large undiagnosed brain tumour…
I think the thread should have been about that “Living Icon” list.. I don’t understand the reasoning behind the selections.
I know people get tired of the same names being mentioned on list; but really there is a reason some name are always brought up. I know there is a need to propel a new generation into that category, but you can’t MAKE them happen. They just have to happen on their own.
That slideshow was WTF.. but it was her opinion. so
That cover is stunning. Both pictures are beautiful.
Yes, Scarlett is very pretty. But she bores me to tears. I don’t get the hype around her at all.
She is captivating and drop dead gorgeous. Not sure what she thought she was doing with that idiot Sean Penn.
Magazines though… They are always so over the top
Uh, no….Marilyn Monroe was a household name for years (and on some level still is) and the talk of the town among celebrities and fans alike. It wasn’t just her movies that made her a legend, but her insanely troubled life and escapades. In many instances, people felt sorry for her and wanted to “save” her…that was a part of her appeal. And, yes in 2013 along the New Jersey Boardwalk (Wildwood Crest for me) crazy, artistic Marilyn t-shirts, scarves, and hoodies are STILL being sold and are popular. God knows what type of reference they have but my point is: where will Scarjo’s face & or persona be 50+ years after her death? Will they be putting her post-mortem on the cover of vanity fair and still selling books about her? As I said before, uh, no…
I worked on a film once and was asked to find out how much it would cost to use Marilyn Monroe headshot. $10,000. Pricey but ok. The sad part is that the money went to a law firm in New Jersey. I could easily be wrong but it seemed that there was not a person but a company that is compensated. I bet that is a gravy train that never ends and the principals get lovely bonuses.
Alot of families of famous dead people sell the rights to license the images to companies that can fully merchandise them. The law firm represents the company or owners and protect the copyright from infringement and collect and distribute the royalties. The law firm itself isn’t the owner of the rights or the ultimate beneficiary of the royalties.
The t-shirts being sold on the boardwalk in Wildwood and Seaside NJ are of a bastardized Marilyn turned ‘ratchet’ with tattoos all over her and with her holding hand guns. Its sold to a demographic that also idolizes and buys the Scarface T’s and merchandise. Her image has been co-opted and perverted far from its original by now.
Yes, as I said…God knows what the reference is (I’m a 30 y/o mommy so I’m out of the loop). However, her respective image and therefore memorabilia are also major sellers at reputable shows across the world. My point is, I’m confident in saying that SJ’s image or personal story won’t have the marketability that Monroe’s does to this day. I doubt there will be a law firm in Jersey filtering cash to a beneficiary on a regular basis when her photo is used in a film, that’s for sure. I also forgot to mention that MM had that massive “IT” factor. SJ has what I would call a fair it factor…meaning, she can carry a role with talent & charisma, but she wasn’t nearly on MM’s level regarding “presence”.
No….just no.
+100000. Absolutely not.
Why the F does anyone always need to be the “new someone”? She’s no new Marilyn, there will never be new Marilyn. However, she’s very originally Scarlett Johansson both in good and bad. Jeeeeez…
I’m neither a fan of these “new someone” labels. I feel it’s totally pointless!
LOL is there a bigger and longer and highger ladder for that reaching?
Ho hum, another day, another media outlet trying to convince us some only moderately pretty woman is a goddess. Yesterday it was Aniston, now this.
Oh, for the days when actual fashion models graced the covers of magazines…
Yes, 100 per cent; oh for the days of Naomi, Christy,Linda,Yasmeen,etc. – but since fashion mags are now part of entertainment conglomerates, they’re used as advertisements for celebs, fashion is secondary;
Seconding, Tapioca, not only does Ms. Rotfield have a large undiagnosed brain tumor to conceive that list, but she must be smoking the best weed on the planet. Lily collins, the poster girl for nepotism!; Phil must have paid Carine off.
Nope. Marilyn had talent.
She is pretty and all, but she has a serious problem of mouth-breathing and this is all I can see in all of her photo-shoots lately. Who told all these girls that it was nice to look like a fish?
For me the iconic actresses of our Time are ( i don’t Like all of them):
Meryl streep
Helen Miren
Julia Roberts
Nicole Kidman
Cate blanchett
Angelina Jolie
Tilda swinton
Peneloppe Cruz
Don’t laugh, but I would add Jennifer Aniston to that list. Not the greatest actress, but certainly one of the most recognizable and most scrutinized on a personal level.
I agree. JA has a better shot of being remembered in years to come than SJ, imo.
They’re just having a laugh with that comparison.
Marilyn Monroe is a Hollywood Legend & Pop-Culture Icon who is still talked about 50yrs after her death.
Scarlett Johansson is a former-ingenue who is grasping at a dead woman to try to stay relevant.
I love the dresses in these photos.
Oh man. I think they did her a disservice not because there is anything wrong with Marilyn or with Scarlett. I just don’t understand why they need to compare the two. If I was her I’d be a bit pissed off just because its one of those things where someone says something about you and you know its not true and everyone else knows its not true but you can’t really be the one who says “No I am not” without making it all kinds of awkward.
I bet her publicist came up with that idea.
That comparison is insulting to Marilyn Monroe
I dumped Vanity Fair for good when they had the spread on Tiger’s mistresses. Now I can add Harper’s to the pile because this woman is no Marilyn and the comparison is ludicrous. ScarJo is, IMO, not even attractive.
is that a compliment or are they predicting she will die a mysterious death?
I absolutely love Scarlett and her career. She seems thoughtful and deliberate with what she does. Marilyn Monroe was never allowed that much agency over herself or her image, and she never had the opportunity to fully develop into her own woman. She was an incredibly tragic woman-child. Scarlett Johansson seems like she’s been in the driver’s seat in her own career since she was a kid, and she’s still incredibly young! I know most of you just see boobs and lips when you look at her, but I have huge respect for her. She could’ve gone the vapid hot chick route, but she frankly didn’t. I would say she’s more Katherine Hepburn or Lauren Bacall than Marilyn.
I agree. I don’t actually think much of her talent as an actress (she’s kind of hit-or-miss). But I find her articulate and thoughtful in her interviews, not an obnoxious egomaniac, or a vapid twit.
Child stars, especially, sometimes get so used to people kissing their asses from a very young age that they become arrogant, silly little people (James Franco, Natalie Portman, Miley Cyrus). Scarlett doesn’t have the same annoying attitude. She neither pretends to know everything there is to know in the universe nor acts like a complete idiot.
Her “problem” is that she is one of the rare women in Hollywood who actually have feminine curves (or have them left after Hollywood is through with them). People automatically file a curvaceous woman away as ‘skanky,’ no matter her actual personality. To say nothing of the fact that, next to the androgynous crowd that usually make up Hollywood women, her figure really stands out–and it gives assholes a chauvinistic way to define her.
+1 to all of this.
Totally agree. She’s feminine, articulate and engaging.
LOL no. Especially because I can’t think of one movie Scarlett was even in off the top of my head. She doesn’t really make hits. Marilyn was iconic and a legend.
Yes Ms. Monroe had her issues but that won’t stop people from admiring her. It reminds me of people like Elvis, MJ & John Lennon. They all had problems in their personal lives but their impact was that great that people are willing to look aside their issues.
Elvis had a drug problem and was cheating on his wife. Some actually accused him of being a racist and stealing blacks music.
MJ was addicted to drugs and was accused of child molestation. He also was the poster child for the tabloids.
John Lennon wasn’t the best husband to his first wife but hey.
Its all about the impact and the people I just named including Marilyn Monroe all had troubles in their lives but they were fascinating to the public and I think thats what makes them iconic and legendary.
Those people all had trouble in their lives. (And comparing the trouble they had is very strange, imo: being a not-great husband is not like being a drug addict is not like child molestation. Also, being murdered is not like dying of a drug overdose.) But they were professional and in control of their careers. Marilyn Monroe was neither of those things.
I don’t want to diss Marilyn Monroe. She was a woman who had problems and also made a mark for herself. But I am sick and tired of her being basically the only Hollywood icon any actress is supposed to look up to. There are so many iconic, brilliant actresses, and here we are stuck with a woman with a little-girl voice and an air of helplessness who died before she could get old as the sina qua non of Hollywood femininity. We need some more Bette Davis, Ginger Rogers, Lucille Ball, Elizabeth Taylor, Vivian Leigh, Katharine Hepburn, and far more. Not this constant Marilyn worship that blocks out all other women.
Wonderfully well said, Emily C.
Well Vivian Leigh had mental problems later in life and Elizabeth Taylor married 8 times and sounded like she had an alcohol problem.
If I were her, I would be insulted to be compared to Marilyn Monroe in anything but looks. She was unprofessional and her life was a total disaster. I think Scarlett Johannson’s life is much better than Marilyn’s was, and she will live much longer, barring unforeseen accidents. She is in control of her life and career in a way Marilyn wasn’t able to be.
+1 If I was a serious actress nowadays, I find being compared to Marilyn as an insult. Yes, she her life was intriguing but that’s its. She’s not an iconic because she was talented she was an icon because she was beautiful and tragic.If she was an actress today she would be on par with JA because the public’s obsession with her private life and would have given Blohan & Bynes a run for their money as tabloid train-wreck of the year.
I would much rather be the new Elizabeth Taylor or Katherine Hepburn because although they private life would probably be remembered more than their acting careers, it’s no denying they had talent.
I find MM & SJ soooo other hyped. But since MM was bring something new to the Hollywood game I kinda understand. SJ has not been in a memorable performance EVER so I don’t get the hype. However this is a great cover. Love it.I just wish she would stop mouthbreathing. Not high fashion,not sexy
Lindsay lohan weeps
So does this mean they foresee her offing herself in the near future?
I’ve never gotten her appeal. Maybe men see something in her that I don’t. Her face always looks like she’s trying really hard to be serious. Maybe she’s like Amber Heard and is trying to convey that she’s an artist.
Scar Jo is so so beautiful and such a great actress.Thank God that the internet wasn’t around when Marilyn was alive.If she had to read the terrible stuff people today say about her when she’s dead I can imagine how bad she would’ve gotten it then.Marilyn wasn’t perfect and made alot of mistakes but considering she was abandoned as a baby and grew up in an orphanage where she was molested by countless foster parents,she did the best she could.
If Scarlett makes the right film choices and stays out of the clubs then she could absolutely be a legend one day.I have such a girl crush on her.
Romy, Monroe wasn’t abandoned as a baby, she did not grow up in an orphanage, and there is actually – as a matter of FACT – no evidence that she ever was molested by any of her foster parents. That’s a story that she liked to tell – along with some other stories – but that doesn’t necessarily makes it true.
There IS evidence – including Monroe’s words – that some of her female caregivers were extremely supportive of her and encouraged her to make the most of her attractiveness.
No, her childhood wasn’t perfect by any means, but – unfortunately – many, many, many have had childhoods far worse than hers. (Among film stars, have a look at Barbara Stanwyck’s childhood. Now HAT’s a tragedy.)
THIS!!!—>”Also – ScarJo is still active in New York City politics, as always. Scarlett has thrown her support behind Scott Stringer for NYC Comptroller. Lena Duham is supporting Stringer too. You know who else is running for Comptroller? Eliot Spitzer.” i cant stop laughing & the very reason i love this site!!!
there is nothing marilyn about this girl she’s too indyish and intelligentish to be a drugged out sext up marilyn anyway, and SJ should be grateful
that said
we won’t remember her in a 5 decades like we do MM no comparison
I don’t get the ScarJo hype, never did. The next Marilyn? By what delusional stretch of the imagination? There will never be another Marilyn and there never could be – not in this day and age. In the end, even Norma Jean found it hard to be Marilyn Monroe. Imagine a Hollywood starlet today, doing drugs, repeat marriages and having an affair with a sitting President with a much-loved First Lady. The closest thing we have to a Marilyn today – in terms of a hyper-sexual woman – is Angelina Jolie. Now imagine if Angelina was still doing drugs. And imagine if Angelina had an affair with Barack Obama. Imagine in this day and age of Twitter and social media if she would be glamorized the way Marilyn was. No – she would be pilloried and called a homewrecker and a slut. Marilyn was glamorous because we, as a nation, were still innocent. Innocence has been lost and with it the possibility of another Marilyn Monroe.
Bravo, Laurie! Excellent and enlightening comment.
This is by far one of the best comments on this thread. Very interesting and IMO very accurate analysis.
Ok, ok. What gets me disappointed is to see so many comments from insults to Scarlett. Marilyn will always be Marilyn. On your way to work, to socialize and always will be known as an icon. But what the magazine meant really is that Scarlett has traces (not physically, maybe a little) like those of Marilyn. THE WAY TO ACT. She will not ever replace Marilyn. But criticize Scarlett with things like: “cheekbones too large, or breathing problems …” Oh, please! All have their flaws and qualities, and stay that way criticizing Scarlett, not going anywhere. Marilyn did not have a big way before becoming famous, she learned later. And look there: an icon. So what’s the problem if Scarlett become someone influential in a few years? You are so irrational, selfish and sorry, hypocrites. More value for the arts that you have.
blech and yawn. that’s all i got.
The more photoshoots I see of her where she’s supposed to be gorgeous and glamarous the less I think she actually is. It’s like she gets more and more physically unattractive every time I see her. I don’t hate her as a person, but boy is she overrated in the looks department…
Uh…no. Just no.
Lily Collins and Zoe Kravitz on the list too? Now I know this is a joke. Terrible actresses who get their roles through Hollywood nepotism. I’ll pass thanks.
Katy Perry already wore that dress and was photographed in it.
I believe Marilyn Monroe is seriously overrated. And Scarlett Johansson, overrated almost beyond (my) comprehension. Not to mention that I see absolutely no similarity between them.
That being said, I believe the media are reading way too much into what was, essentially, just a promotional blurb – one of those things that editors & co. like to say, but nobody, especially not them, really means it.
Wow. I must remember to wear a woolly jumper next time I put on a gold dress. These “fashion people” are surely having us on.
I respect all the actresses of past, many whom trailblazed for actresses these days. Enough with current actresses being compared to Marily, Audrey etc etc …aren’t there any new role models?
Pfffft – if they’re a bit curvey and blond, they’re ‘Marilyn’. If they’re really slender and brunette, they’re an Audrey.
This kinda stuff is just pointing out vague body-shape similarities to pad out boring magazines and articles.
Marylin Manson, I’d say. Can’t stand her.
Just because she has boobs does not mean she can be compared to Marilyn.