Marilyn Monroe

About Marilyn Monroe

Marilyn Monroe (1926-1962) remains a defining figure of 20th-century popular culture, recognized for her iconic status as an actor, model, and singer. Her indelible influence on cinema and global celebrity culture is reflected in her high ranking of #172 on the Pantheon Historical Popularity Index, which aggregates influence across diverse historical contexts and languages. As a quintessential American icon, her legacy stems from a unique blend of vulnerability and overt glamour that captured the public imagination during a pivotal era in entertainment history.

Despite this established historical importance, the 2025 Wikipedia pageview data suggests a significant modern overattention bias. Monroe accrued approximately 4.3 million views last year, resulting in an Attention Gap of +8x-meaning her current internet attention is eight times greater than what might be expected based purely on her historical rank. Interestingly, this attention is notably higher than that received by Bruce Lee, a fellow actor ranked much higher in historical importance (#314 vs. #172), who garnered 8.4M views in 2025. This places her in the category of figures whose enduring, perhaps mythologized, modern relevance far outstrips the measured historical weight assigned by the HPI.

Furthermore, the data indicates a recent softening in digital interest, with her 2025 view count declining sharply by 43.4% year-over-year, and a -8% momentum shift comparing Q1 to Q3 of the year. This downward trend in current search traffic warrants continued monitoring against her static, high historical benchmark.