Alice Eaton meets up with professional impersonator and St Albans resident Pauline Bailey to find out what life is like as one of the world's leading ladies

THERE'S no mistaking Pauline Bailey as I hurry to our meeting point under the clock tower in St Albans' town centre.

Perched daintily on a nearby wall, she is instantly recognisable and, for her, this is an occupational hazard.

Pauline is a professional Marilyn Monroe lookalike, earning a crust jumping out of giant cakes and whispering Happy Birthday to surprised party guests.

Her resemblance to the Hollywood star is remarkable, from the pretty upturned nose and full mouth to the distinctive square arch of her eyebrows. The only giveaway is a slight Cockney twang, a throwback to her upbringing in south London.

But despite the obvious similarities, her chosen career came as something of a surprise.

"I was working in a rather boring job processing invoices - I had left school at 16 so my prospects weren't that good," explains Pauline, who has lived in St Albans for the past eight years.

"Then when I was about 16 I bleached my hair blonde and people started stopping me in the street telling me I looked like Marilyn Monroe. I couldn't see it but when it started happening more and more, I decided to call up an agency. They signed me up and it went from there."

With her fate decided, Pauline started genning up on Marilyn, collecting books on her and watching every film and documentary she could get her hands on. Now, being Marilyn comes naturally.

"I know everything there is to know about Marilyn but I am careful to keep myself separate from her. It is important to have your own independence when you do this type of job."

Pauline is certainly in demand, making a full-time living as an impersonator. Her main work is for birthday parties and corporate functions, and over the years she has made numerous television appearances and magazine campaigns. She has performed her party piece - the Happy Birthday routine - for the likes of Nick Faldo, Terence Conran and Professor Stephen Hawking.

Unlike many in her line of work, hers is a full-time job.

"I am very lucky because Marilyn is such a popular character and is very versatile, as I can do a lot of the classic songs too. If you are a lookalike for someone like Grant from EastEnders, the work is limited. I am able to make a good living out of it so, in a way, she sort of saved me."

And as our obsession with celebrity increases, demand for impersonators continues to grow; there are four or five Marilyn Monroe lookalikes alone working in the UK, although Pauline only knows of one other who is also full-time. She is, however, perfectly aware that, like Marilyn, her time will eventually run out.

"I don't want to go from Marilyn to Bet Lynch to Barbara Cartland," she laughs.

"I realise, as she died young, that I can't go on forever but I think I will know when people are no longer happy with me."

One of Pauline's closest friends in the business is Sophie Loren lookalike Elaine Holgado.

"We sometimes do the same event and have great fun together," says Pauline.

"We were doing a three-day cruise for BP when we got stuck in the lift. We started waving for help but people just waved back and then started to take photos. I thought we were going to die in there but eventually someone got us out!"

It can take Pauline up to two hours to transform herself into her alter ego and she has a large wardrobe of outfits to help her achieve the perfect look.

"I have copies of the beautiful pink dress from Gentlemen Prefer Blondes and the white dress from The Seven Year Itch. I also have some of my own 1950s dresses as I like to put my own interpretation on the act. I have actually been collecting vintage clothes since I was 16, long before it became fashionable. Back then, people didn't like the idea of wearing someone else's old clothes!"

Pauline has even had the chance to wear some of Marilyn's original outfits.

"I modelled quite a few of her dresses for a catalogue for Christie's when they were being auctioned off," says Pauline.

"I have worn the bikini from The Misfits, her top from Bus Stop and the dress she wore to sing I Want To Be Loved By You in Some Like It Hot. The craftmanship on that dress was amazing. It had part of a bra built in which gave you a wonderful lift. I was actually a bit frightened as I knew it was worth a lot of money and I was scared I was going to rip it."

And contrary to popular belief, Pauline says that Marilyn was never actually a size 16.

"Some of her outfits are tiny and are actually hard to get into. At her biggest, she was 35-23-35 but the idea that she was ever a size 16 is a complete myth."

Very occasionally, Pauline breaks out into Marilyn's trademark whisper that is so good, it is a little eerie and it's easy to imagine how effective Pauline's performance must be when she is in all her finery. Still, she remains resolutely modest about her connection to the movie legend.

"I impersonate her to the best of my ability but no one could compare to her."

To hire Pauline for an appearance costs from £400. To find out more, visit www.marilyngirl.com

9:14am Friday 30th November 2007

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