A Marilyn Monroe lookalike and model says critics have called her ‘fake’ and even sent death threats over her looks.
Leylah Dobinson, 23, from Hastings, East Sussex, an Instagram model and content creator, has more than 20,000 Instagram followers and says she has always been inspired by Monroe’s natural beauty and personality.
When she was 15, she won Hastings Carnival Queen and her mother told her, ‘You could be the next Marilyn Monroe, my girl’.
Leylah Dobinson, 23, from Hastings, East Sussex, an Instagram model and content creator, says she’s had death threats after posing up as her idol Marilyn Monroe
Leylah Dobinson has had critics call her a ‘narcissist’ online, but now ignores the messages – she is pictured on a beach photoshoot wearing a blue dress similar to one Marilyn Monroe was photographed wearing in 1948
The Hastings model, who was crowned Hastings Carnival Queen when she was 15, said she has always ‘loved dressing up’ even as a little girl. She is pictured wearing a red dress on a photoshoot.
She always loved dressing up since she was a little girl, where she would put on lipstick and heels.
The content creator takes inspiration from the iconic Hollywood star, who famously had a 0.7 waist to hip ratio – often dubbed the ‘golden ratio’ for females by scientists. Her famous curves and blonde hair made her a global icon, before her death in 1962. She starred in 29 films between 1941 and 1961 before her apparent suicide at the age of 36.
However, Leylah claims to ‘love Marilyn’s look’ but doesn’t want to ‘be her’. She wears red lipstick and dons vintage style outfits that show off her curves, as well as sporting a curly bleach blonde hairstyle.
The model has said this has left her victim to mean comments from trolls who say she is ‘fake’, a ‘narcissist’ – and she has even received assault and death threats.
Posting on Instagram to her 20,000 followers under the handle @missleylahlinda, Leylah regularly posts her modelling shots alongside pictures of her with curled blonde hair and red lipstick – Monroe’s signature style
Leylah is pictured in a satin cowl neck red dress, with Monroe-esque curly hair and fire engine red lipstick
But, instead of letting the mean comments get to her, Leylah has said the abusive messages have only pushed her on to work harder.
She said: ‘It’s happened multiple times where unknown accounts will message me saying ‘you deserve to be dead’ or ‘you’re ugly’ but it doesn’t bother me.
‘It just pushes me to do more – without the haters I wouldn’t get anywhere anyway. Normally I don’t even open them
‘You feel so overwhelmed that someone can think that in their head and send that to you. They’re saying these horrible words and it can affect you mentally.
‘It’s not a nice thing to read, but it just makes me stronger and makes me want to do even better in life. It’s sad that it affects people and gets people down when they receive these messages.’
The Hastings model says she has always enjoyed dressing up in heels and makeup, even from a young age.
In 2014 she won the crown for Hastings Carnival Queen which she says was the starting point for boosting her confidence and throwing herself into the limelight.
In 2019, she began taking her modelling career more seriously and soon earned her first paid modelling shoot in 2020.
Posting on Instagram to her 20,000 followers under the handle @missleylahlinda, Leylah regularly posts her modelling shots alongside pictures of her with curled blonde hair and red lipstick – Monroe’s signature style.
‘My mum would say ‘you could be the next Marilyn Monroe my girl’ and when I was Hasting’s Carnival Queen eight years ago it was where I gained my confidence and started to love the beauty and modelling.’
Seeing double? The Hastings model often gets told she looks like Marilyn Monroe ‘when she has her hair curled’ and her mum told her she could ‘be the next Marilyn’. The pair both have a curvy figure and blonde hair
Seeing double? The Hastings model often gets told she looks like Marilyn Monroe ‘when she has her hair curled’ and her mum told her she could ‘be the next Marilyn’. The pair both have a curvy figure and blonde hair
She notes how the iconic actress and model became her key inspiration and has helped her realise her dream to be famous.
In regards to the abusive messages, Leylah believes that it shows how far she has come.
She said: ‘I’ve always been quite a confident, strong-minded person so receiving these messages has made me realise how far I’ve got with my modelling now – it’s actually irritating people -which I love, it’s annoying people which means I’m getting noticed.
‘I think it’s a jealousy thing as well.
‘I’ve received messages that say Marilyn was ugly so when someone sees a beautiful person, they can’t say something good because it makes them feel better to say something negative.
‘When you’re reading horrible words, visually you’re seeing that and thinking how can someone say such horrible things to you, so yeah it does upset me in a way but I just try and let it go over my head.
‘Personally, I feel sorry for the people that send them and just want to say that I wish them the best in life and ask what they get out of it.
‘To other people who receive cruel messages I’d just say don’t worry about it, it’s okay to do what you want in your life so be happy and don’t worry about what people think of you – there’s never going to be another you so own it.
‘It all started off when I was small – I always loved dressing up and putting on lipstick and heels and everything.
Pretty in pink: ‘It all started off when I was small – I always loved dressing up and putting on lipstick and heels and everything. ‘I started doing modelling and now I’m starting to do influencing as well – everyday people come up to me when my hair is curled and say I look like Marilyn
‘I started doing modelling and now I’m starting to do influencing as well – everyday people come up to me when my hair is curled and say I look like Marilyn.
‘I think ‘why not?’ I’m natural and now I’ve got my blonde hair back it’s got a bit of attention and I’ve always wanted to be in the limelight anyway – I love being around people and meeting new people.
‘It’s always been my dream and passion to become a model, to be in the limelight – it’s my dream to be famous and I know I’ll make it one day.
‘Marilyn has always inspired me because of her natural beauty and who she was as a person, everyone loved her for who she was.
‘I don’t want to fully be her, she inspires me as a person – when someone says you look like as much of an icon as her it’s a compliment and I might as well use it and see where it goes.’