Welcome to Flashback Friday, in which each week we will take a look back at classic beauty icons. This week we honor the gorgeous and incredibly talented Marilyn Monroe.

With the change of hair color and name (born Norma Jeane Mortensen) the orphan who was bounced around fosters became a Hollywood treasure.

The Hollywood icon whose talents included actress, model, and singer became a major sex symbol during the 1950's. With her platinum blonde locks, glowing beauty, and a curvaceous ripe figure that drove all the men wild, Ms. Monroe was deemed a sex goddess.

Marilyn Monroe was featured on the cover of the very first issue of Hugh Hefner's Playboy magazine. The beauty must have made quite an impression because Hugh Hefner has reserved the crypt next to hers.

Ms. Monroe is a true representation of Old Hollywood at its finest, and remains a pop culture phenomenon. Marilyn Monroe captivated the public with her sensual, glamorous good looks, and her classic movie star appeal.

With her full lips and flirtatious eyes, films such as "Gentleman Prefer Blondes," "The Seven Year Itch," and "How to Marry a Millionaire" brought the actress mainstream notoriety and blasted the small beauty into instant fame.

The white halter dress she wore in the film The Seven Year Itch," hugged the actress' curves in all the right places and exposed the gorgeous, full legs of the beauty and let the world know that real women have curves.

Combined with her blonde curls, bright red lipstick, dramatic eyelashes, and high-arched brows, Marilyn created a signature look and became an instant iconic fashion symbol.

Her clothes were often tight fitting, daring, and revealing, add that to her type cast of playing the typical ditzy blonde, paired with an overload of sex appeal, it was what catapulted her to international sex symbol status.

The star's sexy clothes and flighty blonde character defined her stardom and set her apart from the typical Hollywood actresses of her time.

Hollywood has evolved since Marilyn's time in the spotlight, but her legendary look and her style that was both classic and unique, continues to live on and carry the spirit of Old Hollywood from one generation to the next.