By continuing to use our site, you agree to our Private Policy and Terms of Use.
Watch: Drunk History Explores the Friendship Between Ella Fitzgerald and Marilyn Monroe
Gabourey Sidibe and Juno Temple star as the iconic BFFs.
On the latest episode of Drunk Herstory History, delightfully toasted future national treasure Tymberlee Hill recounts the special friendship between two icons of the 20th century--Marilyn Monroe (played by Maleficent and HBO's Vinyl's Juno Temple) and Ella Fitzgerald (Empire and Difficult People's Gabourey Sidibe).
A half-in-several-bags Hill--having thrown up once, maybe twice--describes how Marilyn became a fan of Ella's and in turn helped Ella break into the segregated Mocambo club back in 1955. While Ella wasn't the first black performer to play the Mocambo, the booking effectively changed her life and the two women became friends until Monroe's untimely death in 1962.
Their friendship was the subject of a 2008 play by Bonnie Greer, but I doubt it was as fun--or as openly drunk--as Tymberlee Hill's retelling of it.
Check it out below:
