In 1961-62 Nygårds worked as an assistant to the American photographer Bert Stern. One day in June 1962 they were in Los Angeles to take pictures of Marilyn Monroe for Vogue Magazine. The assignment involved a four-day photo session at the Bel Air Hotel. As Monroe was at the time shooting the film "Something's got to give" where she portrayed a Swedish maid, she was interested in having Nygårds practice her pronunciation with her. Since they both got on well, Monroe made an exception and let him take a nude picture of her. She set the scene and the occasion, Nygårds captured the moment and the picture was spontaneous. According to Gary Cole, picture editor of Playboy, this is the last picture of Monroe taken by a professional photographer.