Marilyn Monroe

Still best-known as the tragic blonde screen siren who mixed in the highest circles of American society and made a profound and lasting impact on modern culture and fashion, Marilyn Monroe was also a singer of some renown. She's fondly recalled sexily singing "Happy Birthday Mr President" to John F Kennedy in 1962, but her distinctively sultry vocal style had already made a big impact in several of her films, dating from three songs in the 1948 movie Ladies Of The Chorus. One of her most famous movies Gentlemen Prefer Blondes in 1953 featured her singing four songs, most famously her seductive rendition of Diamonds Are A Girl's Best Friend; while Some Like It Hot in 1959 included probably her most famous track, the ultra-sensual I Wanna Be Loved By You. It ultimately resulted in a series of compilation albums, including Essentials and The Very Best Of Marilyn Monroe. Marilyn herself, who died at the age of 36 in 1962 apparently from a drug overdose, inspired one of the most famous pop songs of the last 50 years - Elton John's Candle In The Wind.