Blonde is based on the 2000 novel by
Joyce Carol Oates, a fictionalized take on
Marilyn Monroe's life that draws on facts, rumors, backstage accounts, and speculation rather than serving as a strictly factual biography. The novel, like
Andrew Dominik's film adaptation, is a work of fiction that explores Monroe's mythology and inner world in a stylistic way, departing from the traditional conventions of a biography. Oates was not directly involved in the production, but Dominik consulted her and she publicly praised the film.
