Natasha Lytess was a German actress, writer and Drama Coach. She started her professional career with stage and moved to Los Angeles. She had hoped for a bright acting career, but her accent and unfeminine appearances limited the roles she could play.
Lytess was an acting coach and a good friend of Marilyn Monroe. During her time as a drama coach for Columbia Pictures, she was shown Monroe’s screen test and convinced the head of Columbia Pictures to hire Monroe for a six-month contract.
Lytess and Monroe remained close friends from 1948 to 1956, and she worked with Monroe for more than 20 films before their partnership came to an end. She is rumoured to have had more than professional feelings towards Monroe, which developed, according to Monroe and other actresses that studied under Lytess, into an overbearing obsession. Eventually, Monroe ended her relationship in 1956 by sending a telegram that she didn’t need Natasha’s services anymore.
The following photos show Marilyn Monroe during a lesion with her acting coach Natasha Lytess in November 1948.
