Lawrence Schiller (American, 1936 - )
In celebration of the 100th anniversary of Marilyn Monroe’s birth, we are pleased to offer a selection of photographs by Lawrence Schiller, whose remarkable images capture Monroe during the final year of her life. Made on the set of Something’s Got to Give in 1962, Schiller’s photographs reveal a Marilyn who is at once glamorous, playful, vulnerable, and entirely in command of her image. More than six decades later, these photographs remain among the most iconic and intimate portraits ever made of one of the twentieth century’s most enduring cultural figures.
Schiller is an American photojournalist, film producer, director, and author. His work has been featured in numerous prominent magazines such as Life, Paris Match, The New Yorker, Time, Newsweek, and the Saturday Evening Post. Schiller’s iconic images of celebrities, politicians, and athletes, including Robert F. Kennedy, Richard Nixon, Bette Davis, James Earl Jones, Barbara Streisand, Marilyn Monroe, and Muhammad Ali showcase his technical proficiency.
Schiller also directed several award-winning motion pictures, notably The American Dreamer with Dennis Hopper, The Executioner’s Song with Tommy Lee Jones, and his editorial direction of The Man Who Skied Down Everest (1972) won an Oscar for Best Feature Documentary.
He has produced many books, his most notable being with his friend and colleague, Norman Mailer. Over nearly thirty-five years, the two published Marilyn (1973), The Faith of Graffiti (1974), Oswald’s Tale (1995), Into the Mirror (2002), and The Executioner’s Song (1979), for which Mailer won the Pulitzer Prize. Schiller also co-authored (with James Willwerth) the New York Times number one best-selling American Tragedy (1996) which detailed O.J. Simpson’s trial. Schiller has consulted for NBC News, the John F. Kennedy Library Foundation, The Ray Bradbury Estate, and the Annie Leibovitz Studios.
His latest book Marilyn and Me (2026) was published by Taschen and features photographs from the set of Monroe’s last film.