Marilyn Monroe's Unlikely Defender: Ayn Rand

When Marilyn Monroe died -- over half a century ago, on August 5th, 1962 -- of an apparent suicide, it was Ayn Rand who came to her defense, savaging popular culture for treating Marilyn Monroe with insufficient respect. Per the Atlas Society, "While the two could be viewed as different as night and day, at least physically, it was Rand who seemingly 'got' Monroe, not only her cinematic charms but also how she was a bright soul battered by the world. A takedown, it seems in hindsight, that contributed to her death. Ayn Rand penned an essay about Monroe that appeared in the Los Angeles Times, and it reads as if she had a window to the screen legend's wounded psyche."