Lisa Rosman

There may be no stronger evidence of the latent American longing for a monarchy than our national tendency to worship Hollywood celebrities like they're royalty. And, as with all royal families, the children of these kings and queens loom as symbols of their generations solely by virtue of their birth......

For the last 10 years, I've kept the same postcard in my writing space. In it, Marilyn Monroe, clad only in dungarees and a string bikini top, bench-presses free weights, her legendary moue knit in concentration rather than seduction. Until I found that picture, the Marilyn myth never engaged me......