Marilyn Monroe was a NOT a dumb blond bimbo.

She was a savvy business woman. Fox, the movie studio she had a contract with was forcing her to do stupid, low level films that she hated. Marilyn Monroe broke her contract and fled Hollywood to study acting with Lee Strasberg at the Actors Studio in New York. She set up her own production company, Marilyn Monroe Productions. She was such a huge box office draw, Fox agreed to her terms, giving Marilyn Monroe approval of the director as well as the option to act in other studios' projects. The first film under the new contract was Bus Stop, for which she received critical acclaim and was nominated for a Golden Globe.