Film

Marilyn, Brando, McQueen: Inside the Star-Studded Archives of “Life”

The magazine intimately chronicled the lives of Hollywood’s biggest stars, as shown in a lavish new two-volume ode to the golden age of film

Steve McQueen and Marilyn Monroe in "Life" magazine portraits, as taken from the new Taschen book "LIFE. Hollywood"
By The Editors
During the golden age of Hollywood, stars like Marilyn Monroe, Marlon Brando and Elizabeth Taylor shone so bright that their visages are still etched into our minds, and plastered throughout our streaming queues, decades later. But it’s not just directors who are responsible for bringing these actors into the homes and hearts of Americans; from 1936 to 1972, Life magazine, a household staple, not only featured over 200 Hollywood covers, but intimately chronicled the lives of the industry’s biggest names, photographing their glamorous goings-on from the set to the afterparties to their own bedrooms. In LIFE. Hollywood, a lavish new two-volume photobook from Taschen, over 600 of these images — more than half previously unpublished — are brought together in brilliant fashion alongside illuminating stories. Here are 10 of our favorites, from Marilyn to Steve McQueen.
PHOTO: TI Gotham, Inc. © Life Picture Collection, Meredith Operations Corporation
Marilyn Monroe, 26, photographed at her home. Photo: Alfred Eisenstaedt, Hollywood, 1953.
PHOTO: TI Gotham, Inc. © Life Picture Collection, Meredith Operations Corporation
Marlon Brando as Napoleon during filming for Désirée. Photo: Loomis Dean, Hollywood, 1954.
PHOTO: © Philippe Halsman / Magnum Photos / Agentur Focus
Elizabeth Taylor, 16, in one of a series of portraits. Photo: Philippe Halsman, New York, 1948.
PHOTO: © Philippe Halsman / Magnum Photos / Agentur Focus
Alfred Hitchcock with actors from The Birds. Photo: Philippe Halsman, Universal Studios, 1963.
PHOTO: TI Gotham, Inc. © Life Picture Collection, Meredith Operations Corporation
Ingrid Bergman during the filming of Stromboli. Photo: Gordon Parks, Stromboli, Italy, 1949.
PHOTO: TI Gotham, Inc. © Life Picture Collection, Meredith Operations Corporation
Marlene Dietrich entertaining American soldiers during WWII. Photo: George Silk, Germany, 1945.
PHOTO: TI Gotham, Inc. © Life Picture Collection, Meredith Operations Corporation
Marilyn Monroe in L.A.’s Griffith Park before she hit it big. Photo: Ed Clark, Hollywood, 1950.
PHOTO: TI Gotham, Inc. © Life Picture Collection, Meredith Operations Corporation
Brigitte Bardot on location for Viva Maria! Photo: Ralph Crane, Mexico, 1965.
PHOTO: John Dominis
Steve McQueen on a camping trip in the Sierra Madre Mountains. Photo: John Dominis, Santa Barbara County, California, 1963.
PHOTO: TI Gotham, Inc. © Life Picture Collection, Meredith Operations Corporation
Grace Kelly outside her apartment in Manhattan. Photo: Lisa Larsen, New York, 1956.
PHOTO: Mark Seelen
The new two-volume photobook LIFE. Hollywood is available now from Taschen.

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