- Injured in a 2006 horseback riding accident that broke her ribs, punctured a lung and caused nerve damage. She made a full recovery within a year.
- Met her husband, Dr. Robert Malloy, in 1974 when he came to treat her sick horse. They married two years later in an outdoor ceremony at their home near Big Sur in California. She has two stepchildren.
- Having claimed publicly in 2012 that she was "raped as a child", she clarified in a 2021 interview with "The Guardian" that it was actually in her early teens, by multiple boys in the back seat of a stranger's car.
- Columbia gave her a studio-mandated makeover that capped her teeth and bleached her hair. She was also required to lose 15 pounds before going on-camera.
- Was diagnosed bipolar in 2001.
- As a starlet with Columbia Pictures, she resisted pressure to change her name to Kit Marlowe. Years later that name was used for the character she played in Falcon Crest (1981). She did agree to change her first name from Marilyn to Kim, as the public associated her given name with Marilyn Monroe.
- On 7/24/2000 she watched her memento-filled house in Eagle Point, OR, go up in flames. A deputy fire marshal said that the blaze was probably the result of a tree that fell across an electrical power line. Included in the loss were scripts from some of her movies as well as her computer, which contained her long-gestating autobiography. However, spared were her menagerie of animals, including horses and llamas, and neither she nor her husband was injured. She later said that the fire was a sign that she shouldn't be writing an autobiography.
- Visited Sammy Davis Jr. in hospital shortly before his death.
- Raises horses and llamas in Oregon.
- On 10/19/2010 she was diagnosed with breast cancer and began cancer treatment.
- Though their marriage only lasted 10 months, she and Richard Johnson remained friends up until his death in 2015. They sparked reconciliation rumors in 1971 after spending the Christmas holiday together.
- Was the original choice to play Marion Wormer in National Lampoon's Animal House (1978).
- Got a $400 scholarship to the Art Institute of Chicago.
- Her star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame is located at 6332 Hollywood Blvd.
- Is portrayed by Terri Lynn in Rita Hayworth: The Love Goddess (1983)
- Went on a personal strike in 1957 protesting her salary of $1,250 per week.
- Appearing at public events more frequently as of late, and engages with fans on Facebook. She has no interest in acting again, however.
- In Popular (1999), the main girl's bathroom in the high school is called "The Novak", which holds all the pictures of the homecoming queens. The name is inspired by the time when movie stars would donate money to schools (often an alma mater). The writers found out that she donated money to a school in the Santa Monica area (where the school in the show is set), so they named this room after her.
- Considered suing Hungarian music band Kill Kim Novak.
- For a scene in Picnic (1955) in which she had to cry, she asked director Joshua Logan to pinch her black and blue off screen, telling him, "I can only cry when I'm hurt".
- She was so shy as a youngster that her mother persuaded her to join a youth group, where she overcame her shyness. After leaving college she did modeling work, appearing in a national adverting campaign tour that ended up on a Hollywood set, where she learned the rudiments of acting.
- In 1995 she was chosen by "Empire" magazine as one of the 100 Sexiest Stars in film history (#92).
- In an interview with Stephen Rebello in the July 2005 issue of Movieline's "Hollywood Life", she admitted that she had been "unprofessional" in her conduct with director Mike Figgis on how to portray her character in Liebestraum (1991).
- Was considered for the role of Jean Harlow in Harlow (1965) but the role ultimately went to Carroll Baker.
- Lived in a curfewed dormitory where no men were allowed when she first moved to L.A.
- In late 2001 her home in Oregon was robbed of more than $200,000 worth of firearms and tools. Three men were arrested and charged with burglary, theft and criminal conspiracy.
- Daughter of Joseph A. Novak and Blanche Kral. One older sister, Arlene Malmborg.
- Has appeared in two films that have been selected for the National Film Registry by the Library of Congress as being "culturally, historically or aesthetically" significant: The Man with the Golden Arm (1955) and Vertigo (1958).
- Totaled two cars in 1966--one in an August 26 accident and another on December 6.
- Became a step-grandmother in 2010.
- Auditioned for the role of Caroline Meredith in The 10th Victim (1965).
- 1953 Deb Star.
- In Italy, most of her films were dubbed by Rosetta Calavetta. At the beginning of her career, she was also dubbed by Dhia Cristiani. Lydia Simoneschi and Rita Savagnone also lent their voice to Novak at some point, in The Man with the Golden Arm (1955) and Kiss Me, Stupid (1964) respectively.
- Has never talked publicly about Sharon Tate, to whom she was reportedly unkind.
- Ex-stepmother of Sorel Johnson.
- Announced in November 2023 that she will delete her Facebook profile soon, calling the social media service "autocracy". Two months later she announced that she changed her mind and will stay on Facebook.
- Born at 3:13 am.
- Mentioned in Jack Renews Driver's License (1964).
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