Dixie Evans (August 28, 1926 " August 3, 2013), born as Mary Lee Evans, was an American burlesque dancer and stripper. Evans is probably best remembered for her burlesque parody as Marilyn Monroe. Evans entered show-business as a model and later chorus girl before becoming a star dancer. By the early 1950s she was a headlining burlesque star on the West coast when approached by producer Harold Minsky with a promise of steady work in his chain of theaters if she adapted her stage persona to that of then-rising star Marilyn Monroe. At first Evans objected but soon agreed. Like other strippers of the time period (including Lili St. Cyr and Jennie Lee), Evans was extremely well known in nightclubs and was largely under-paid. Evans's Monroe-burlesque act was the dancer's gimmick. Several other dancers also parodied female stars and noted historic women. Her acts parodied Monroe's films and known aspects of Monroe's life.
In real life Evans was three inches bigger in her breast than Monroe: Evans (est. 40-26-34) and Monroe (est. 37-24-35). According to the reporters, Evans looked very like Monroe and in some side-by-side photos you can't tell the two apart. Arline Hunter, another pin-up and glamour model who moved into burlesque, also capitalized on a strong resemblance to Monroe.