When we think of the 1950’s, the ladies that usually come to mind are Audrey Hepburn and Marilyn Monroe. Many women, all over the world, pick one of these flawless icons to idolize. Both of these women came from rough backgrounds and had fathers who abandoned them. They worked their way to stardom with their acting careers and have become the faces of the 1950’s. In terms of public image, both symbolized femininity in their own ways and popularized the “hourglass” and “thin” look. The iconic image of each woman is associated with a dress. Audrey’s dress being a black column gown and Marilyn’s dress being a white, pleated sundress. Audrey was a style icon and Marilyn was better known as a sex icon. Although they have many similarities, they…show more content… She grew up in California, in a rather rough environment. She was constantly in and out of orphanages and foster homes throughout the majority of her childhood. Her mother had severe psychiatric problems and her father abandoned her. Marilyn was very determined to get out of the legal system as quickly as possible. She did so, by marrying her boyfriend, James Dougherty, at the mere age of 16. The couple moved to Burbank, California, where Marilyn would soon have her beauty discovered by a famous photographer. She was extremely passionate about modeling and becoming successful. After three years, her modeling sparked an interest in a director in Hollywood. He offered her an acting contract in 1946 and so began her acting career. Marilyn’s marriage began to fizzle out as she focused more on her acting career. She eventually, divorced her husband, changed her name, and dyed her hair bleach blonde. She was determined to live up to Hollywood’s expectations of a celebrity. So much so, that she completely changed who she was. Ms. Monroe’s acting career really took off in the 1950’s. She gained a lot of attention from a small part in John Huston’s crime drama, The Asphalt Jungle. That same year, she impressed all of Hollywood with her performance as Claudia Caswell in All About Eve. She soon became one of Hollywood’s most famous actresses. She thought she…show more content… She had two brothers and spent most of her time with the boys and her nanny. Her father was very heavily involved in pro-German propaganda. Her mother strongly disagreed with her father and did not want Audrey around him. Audrey was sent off away from home to a fashionable boarding school in England. During much of World War II, she studied in The Netherlands. At the time, The Netherlands were being punished for their resistance, Nazis let the people starve. Among those people, was the future beauty icon of the world, Miss Audrey Hepburn. She was extremely malnourished and was often very sick. Despite these horrible conditions, Audrey danced. She adored dancing and believed it brought a peace over her when everything else around her was crumbling. She would dance to raise money for the resistance and illegally carry secret messages in her ballet shoes. After the war, she dreamt of pursuing a career in theater. At the age of 22, she went to New York and starred in her first Broadway production. Only two years later, she wooed Hollywood and made her way to star in the very popular 1953 movie, Roman Holiday. Audrey received her first Oscar for her role as Princess Ann in this movie. After becoming one of Hollywood’s most popular box-office attractions, Miss Hepburn made another award worthy performance in Sabrina in 1954. However, she is most widely known for her role in as Holly Golightly in