Marilyn Monroe was such an iconic, legendary figure that it’s difficult to imagine finding another actress to portray her in a believable way. Mira Sorvino, Michelle Williams, and Catherine Hicks have all played the charming superstar, but now a new movie based on the book Marilyn Monroe: The Untold Story is set to air on Lifetime, and the lead actress was announced this week.
Kelli Garner, who starred on the brief series Pan Am, has taken on the role of Monroe for the four-part mini-series. Susan Sarandon is set to play Monroe’s mother Gladys, but it’s not clear how far into the starlet’s past the series will delve.
“Marilyn is both the personification of sex, whose first marriage ironically collapses because of her frigidity, and a fragile artist who seeks the approval and protection of men. But after tumultuous marriages with Joe DiMaggio and Arthur Miller, she realizes she has the strength to stand on her own. She becomes the face and voice of an era, yet wants most of all to be someone’s mother and someone’s little girl. She’s the Marilyn you haven’t seen before, the artist who, by masking the truth with an image, gives her greatest performance,” Lifetime said in a statement.
Garner’s film credits include Lars And The Real Girl, The Aviator, and the upcoming Horns, starring Daniel Radcliffe. Lifetime will air the mini-series sometime next year.