You’ve probably never met someone who epitomises Hollywood more than the musician Glüme Harlow – I hadn’t. The self-proclaimed “Walmart Marilyn” was raised in the City of Angels and at the young age of six began her child acting career. She had watched a biography movie of Judy Garland and was fascinated by the fact Garland had managed to buy her family a home. Glüme thought that would be a great way to help out her own family who were struggling.

As you can imagine, while it was a thrilling childhood – Glüme loved being around adults and the glamour of the costumes and sets – it didn’t feel like a childhood at all. She was homeschooled and fed a menu of drugs to keep her awake for auditions and sleepy at night to rest. After narrowly losing out on the part of Hannah Montana to Miley Cyrus, Glüme decided to focus her efforts on music instead. As an adult, she now suffers with a heart condition called Prinzmetal angina, along with lupus, PoTS and chronic anaemia, as a result of the medications she had to take as a child.

Her new avant-pop album, Main Character, explores growing up in LA, the difficulties of having a stage mom as a parent, and re-parenting yourself. “I named it Main Character because I was not – my mom was. The irony was that I was always supposed to get the lead role but in my life I never was,” she told me. It guest-stars Rufus Wainwright on “Child Actor” and Sean Ono Lennon on three songs. On the intermission and reprise we hear Glüme and her younger self speaking together, something she felt was important to include and immensely cathartic.

Despite these difficulties, Glüme says she will never leave LA, so who better to give Dazed a tour of Hollywood? Glüme took me to her favourite spots, secret places she occasionally visits when she wants inspiration or tells close friends to go when they visit town.

THE BEVERLY HILLS HOTEL

Glüme suggests that if you can’t stay at the hotel, just go for food and cocktails at the bar. Make sure you order her favourite, a Shirley Temple – no alcohol with a cherry on top – and take a drive around the area. “There’s so much good history around here. People think of Beverly Hills and write it off because they think it’s basic and stereotypical,” she says, driving us away from the hotel. “It reminds me of another time. Audrey Hepburn lived here, all of the Old Hollywood stars stayed here. There’s something unique about it. The whole entertainment capital of the world started right here. It definitely still feels like magic.”

MARILYN MONROE’S HOUSE, 508 N PALM DRIVE

This home of Glüme’s idol is basically as it was when she lived in it – even the colours are the same. “You can see her little rose garden outside and it totally feels like Marilyn Monroe’s rose garden – it’s less a garden and more of a fun little idea,” Glüme says, playing with the roses. “The weird thing about it was that she got a lot of her inspiration from Jean Harlow, who lived two houses down – that had to be on purpose. This house has an interesting energy because her and Joe DiMaggio’s marriage was a little scary. He was the most loyal to her but was abusive. She’s one of those passionate people who cares a lot but his anger was out of control. She didn’t stay married to him long but she was really happy here at first. It was her first attempt at having a family home and really wanted kids.”

JEAN HARLOW’S HOUSE, 512 N PALM DRIVE

After you’ve seen Marilyn’s home, walk the two doors down to Jean Harlow’s house. Rita Hayworth also lived here, so it’s doubly interesting to see. “I feel like Jean started the whole blondes have more fun thing – Jane Mansfield, Dolly Parton, everyone dipped into it,” says Glüme. “She died really young – really avoidable too. This house is really gorgeous – it has a crazy industrial fence choice now in front of all this beautiful art deco. Marilyn gravitated to Jean because she didn’t really have a feminine role model, so she used femininity as kind of a costume and I feel like Jean was the same way. I feel that way too because my mum didn’t give me any guidance on how to be a woman so I’m like OK, Marilyn is a woman.”

THE MAURETANIA

Glüme once heard a secret from an old photographer in Hollywood. He told her that she looked a lot like someone he had photographed here. “He said, ‘It’s a little tricky to tell you who because it was an awkward situation. The Kennedys owned the building but I photographed her there,’ and then he made an ‘I shouldn’t have told you that face’,” Glüme recalls. “Turns out it’s this place right here. From what I gather, this is where Marilyn and Kennedy had some of their affair, which is controversial to say but here we are.” Originally the building was bought by the Tin Man from The Wizard of Oz, because once again, lightning always strikes twice in Hollywood, making it the perfect place to gather a lot in just one place.

HOLLYWOODLAND

This is the realty company that sold all the original Hollywood real estate when the movie business moved into LA. “It looks very Snow White and at the time that was fashionable: everything was like a storybook. The Hollywood sign used to be Hollywoodland and they took the ‘land’ down. The big sign on the hill was advertising all the properties,” Glüme says. Don’t miss the little stone underpass leading up to the building. “Apparently it’s good luck to make out in there so I bring guys here,” she adds. The Beachwood Café opposite is supposedly Harry Styles’ favourite, or at least it was before the dozen fans we saw sporting his merch started mooching around waiting to spot him.

THE HOLLYWOOD SIGN

If you’re going to come to Hollywood, then you have to be a tourist and get your photo to prove it happened. “A piece of real estate advertisement is now one of the biggest landmarks in the world,” Glüme laughs, as she gets on her knees to pray to it. “All of the vintage Tumblr girls have the Hollywoodland signs on their page. I come here all the time. Apparently, The Weeknd and Lana danced on the ‘H’ – I don’t know how they managed it but I like everything with Hollywood, I like the idea.”

Main Character is out now.

Photography ANDREA RIBA, hair LUX LAWLESS