Schiller, Marilyn & Me

On her final film, Marilyn Monroe gave a young photographer his big break, and this is their story.

“You’re already famous, now you’re going to make me famous,” photographer Lawrence Schiller said to Marilyn Monroe as they discussed the photos he was about to shoot of her. “Don’t be so cocky,” Marilyn replied, “photographers can be easily replaced.” The year was 1962, and Schiller, 25, was on assignment for Paris Match magazine. He already knew Marilyn—they had met on the set of Let’s Make Love—but nothing could have prepared him for the day she appeared nude in the motion picture Something’s Got to Give.

Marilyn & Me is an intimate story of a legend before her fall and a young photographer on his way up. Schiller’s extraordinary photographs and vibrant storytelling take us back to that time with tact, humor, and compassion. With more than 100 images, including rare outtakes from the set of Marilyn’s last film, the result is a real and unexpected portrait that captures the star in the midst of her final months.

The photographer and author
Lawrence Schiller began his career as a photojournalist for Life, Time, and Paris Match, photographing some of the most iconic figures of the 1960s, from Marilyn Monroe to Barbra Streisand, from Ali and Patterson to Redford and Newman. His book projects include five New York Times best sellers, Marilyn & Me, Barbra, and the Pulitzer Prize–winning book, The Executioner’s Song, by Norman Mailer. He has directed or produced 20 motion pictures, including the documentaries The American Dreamer and the Oscar–winning The Man Who Skied Down Everest. Among his films for television, The Executioner’s Song and Peter the Great won five Emmys.