The Blonde

Do blondes have more fun? It was Clairol that first posed the question, but the answer never really mattered-just being a blonde made you special. In this celebration of the Golden Age of golden hair, Barnaby Conrad III, author of the best-selling The Martini, pays tribute to a cultural icon that changed the world. The worship of blondeness started with Jean Harlow's wise-cracking platinum vamp; overnight, blonde became the hair color of choice for the adventurous woman, and the ticket to top billing in Tinseltown. Stars like Marlene Dietrich, Mae West, Veronica Lake, Julie Christie, Brigitte Bardot, Eva Marie Saint, Grace Kelly, Kim Novak, and Jayne Mansfield each in her unique way advanced the mystique of light-colored locks. When brunette Norma Jean transformed herself into the golden Marilyn Monroe, the ultimate dye was cast. Combining fashion photography and literary excerpts with a witty and admiring text, The Blonde revels in the myth and magic of the blonde ideal. An appendix of post-Marilyn blondes including Sharon Stone and Cameron Diaz shows how the legacy lives on. Left unresolved is the conundrum of why gentlemen, who prefer blondes, so often marry brunettes.