“Becoming Marilyn & Becoming Elvis” at the Centro Cultural de Cascais

The Centro Cultural de Cascais in Portugal presents an exhibition featuring photographs from the early years of Marilyn Monroe and Elvis Presley: Becoming Marilyn & Becoming Elvis – Photographs from the MUUS Collection.

In 2026, the centenary year of Marilyn Monroe’s birth, Cascais joins the global celebration of one of the greatest icons of the 20th century. The same year also marks the 70th anniversary of Elvis Presley’s media breakthrough: his first album, first film, and the rise of the King of Rock and Roll. The exhibition is divided into two distinct yet complementary sections:

“Becoming Marilyn” revisits the images that André de Dienes (1913–1985) created over the course of a decade around Norma Jeane Baker: from their electrifying first meeting in November 1945, when she was only 19 years old and a completely unknown model, long before the platinum blonde hair and the myth she would become, to the nighttime sessions during years marked by insomnia and depression, where vulnerability becomes palpable. The photographs trace the transformation of young Norma Jeane into Marilyn Monroe, the most photographed star in the world.

“Becoming Elvis” reconstructs, through the lens of Alfred Wertheimer (1929–2014), two weeks in the life of a 21-year-old named Elvis Presley: the trips between Memphis and New York, romantic encounters, and behind-the-scenes moments from his first television appearances on the Stage Show. Despite the dizzying speed of his rise, Wertheimer managed to capture more than 2,500 photographs during those days: images of rare intimacy and humanity that would become impossible only months later once fame fully took hold.

Becoming Marilyn & Becoming Elvis is on view from May 16–September 6, 2026. The exhibition was produced by MUUS Collection in collaboration with Terra Esplêndida and the D. Luís I Foundation.