Jackie Kennedy And Marilyn Monroe Had The Similar Hairdresser

Along with hair-styling expertise, Kenneth Battelle established a rapport along with his well-known shoppers. “He was personal and really discreet, and that is how he attracted each the spouse and the mistress of the president,” creator Giuseppe Longo defined to Individuals. “They totally trusted him.”  All through his life, Battelle maintained ignorance of the alleged affair between Marilyn Monroe and President John F. Kennedy, and he was by no means tempted to revenue from something he did know. “He did not exploit folks,” Joan Conine, Battelle’s sister, informed Syracuse’s Put up-Normal in 2013. 

Battelle designed a bouffant search for Jackie Kennedy, and it turned one of the standard hairstyles of the early Nineteen Sixties. The superstar stylist espoused seems to be that have been delicate and pure, so he was dismayed when Jackie requested extra hairspray, after getting flak for wind messing up her signature fashion throughout a photograph op. Battelle discovered a center floor, telling Self-importance Honest in 2003, “I at all times allowed just a few wisps to fall away to make her look much less ‘set.'” This sensible technique might be seen in pictures the place JFK is tenderly touching the previous first girl’s wayward locks.

Battelle additionally made home calls, like when he visited Monroe’s residence to fashion her hair earlier than singing at JFK’s Madison Sq. Backyard birthday celebration. “[Monroe] mentioned she was terrified of publicity,” Battelle defined, per Individuals. “Since I used to be doing each Marilyn and Mrs. Kennedy on the identical time, I think about it was about that.”