Jane Fonda first met Marilyn Monroe while they were both studying under acting master Lee Strasberg in the 1950s. "She glowed!” Fonda recalls, “There was a glow coming out of her that was unbelievable! It came from her skin and her hair and her being. I've never seen anything like it."

However, Fonda also revealed in an interview with David Letterman that Monroe’s personality was nothing like the vivacious bombshell portrayed in film and photos — instead, she was timid and terrified of being a fraud. In fact, Monroe would sometimes show up to events hours late, because the thought of performing in front of so many people would make her physically ill.

Fonda and Letterman agreed that had Monroe lived today, she might have found more help and resources for coping with the tremendous fame and attention. Ultimately, though, Fonda still remains awed by Monroe: "It was like she was carrying a light inside her. There was something incredible about her […] I loved her.”