Marilyn Monroe

Marilyn Monroe
Monroe in 1953
Born	Norma Jeane Mortenson (1926-06-01)June 1, 1926 Los Angeles, California, U.S.
Died	August 4, 1962(1962-08-04) (aged 36) Los Angeles, California, U.S.
Cause of death	Barbiturate overdose
Nationality	American
Other names	Norma Jeane Baker
Occupation(s)	Writer, Filmmaker, actress
Years active	1945–1962
Known for	Gentlemen Prefer Blondes (1953) and The Seven-Year Itch (1955)

Marilyn Monroe (born Norma Jeane Mortenson; June 1, 1926– August 4, 1962) was an American actress, writer, model, singer and filmmaker. Famous for playing comic "blonde bombshell" characters, she became one of the most popular sex symbols of the 1950s.

Between 1946 and 1962, she made 44 movies. Although she was a top-billed actress for only a decade, her films grossed $200 million by the time of her unexpected death in 1962.

Early life

Monroe as a baby

Norma Jeane Mortenson was born on June 1, 1926 at LAC+USC Medical Center in Los Angeles, California, United States. Her father was not known until 2022, when DNA testing revealed he was Charles Stanley Gifford, whom her mother had had an affair with. Her mother, Gladys (Monroe) Baker Mortenson, was mentally unstable and unable to care for her daughter, so when Norma Jeane was about two weeks old, she was sent to live with Ida and Albert Bolender, a devout Christian couple who raised her alongside their adopted son Lester. The Bolenders wanted to legally adopt Norma Jeane, but Gladys refused. Gladys often visited, but Norma Jeane never knew she was her mother. On one occasion, Gladys tried to smuggle her out of the house in a duffel bag, only to be stopped by Ida.

In 1933, Gladys was deemed stable enough to care for Norma Jeane herself. However, after several personal and financial troubles, Gladys had a mental breakdown in front of Norma Jeane, who was forced to watch her flailing and screaming on the floor until the police arrived. Gladys was hospitalized after being diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia, a severe mental condition. After this, Norma Jeane went to live with her mother’s friend, Grace McKee Goddard, and her husband, Erwin “Doc” Goddard. In 1935, Grace sent her to live in the Los Angeles Orphans’ Home Society, though she took her back later. As an adult, Norma Jeane would claim that Doc sexually abused her, or at least tried to. She was sent to live with Olive Monroe, Gladys’s aunt, then around 1939, she went to live with Grace’s aunt, Ana Lower, whom Norma Jeane called “Aunt Ana.” Living with her was a stable environment for Norma Jeane, who was finally loved unconditionally.

Monroe with first husband James Dougherty around 1943

After Norma Jeane's sixteenth birthday, her foster parents had to move from California. To avoid an orphanage or a new foster home, Norma chose to get married. On June 19, 1942, Norma married James Dougherty, her next-door-neighbor. The marriage was strained when he joined the U.S. Merchant Marines during World War II. Norma Jeane began modeling after being spotted by a photographer while working at the Radioplane Company. Dougherty and his family disapproved of her ambitions. When Monroe wanted to become an actress, the contract stated that she needed to be unmarried, so she divorced him in 1946. She offered to continue the relationship unmarried, but he refused.

Movies

Monroe at the beginning of her career in 1947

To enhance her image, she dyed her naturally brown hair blonde and changed her name from Norma Jeane Dougherty to Marilyn Monroe. Monroe began her career with small, supporting parts in movies and as a pin-up model. She gained more attention with roles in All About Eve and The Asphalt Jungle, which both came out in the early 1950s. In 1949, she posed nude for photographers. At first, she hid this from the public for fear of damaging her image, but when the news got out, people became more interested in her. She had a more dramatic role in 1952’s Don't Bother to Knock. Critics liked her performance in this film. She became very famous in 1953 when she had lead roles in the movies Niagara, Gentlemen Prefer Blondes, and How to Marry a Millionaire.

Monroe filming the skirt-blowing scene in The Seven Year Itch (1955)

In 1954, she acted in two films: River of No Return and There’s No Business Like Show Business. At the end of the year, she established her own production company, Marilyn Monroe Productions. This was a very new and radical thing for a woman to do at the time. In 1955 she acted in The Seven Year Itch. For this movie, she filmed a very controversial scene which showed her standing on a subway grate while the wind from the subway blows up her dress, showing her underwear. Her performance in this movie earned her a nomination for the BAFTA Award for Best Foreign Actress.

The next year, she received more praise for her role in Bus Stop, earning a nomination for Golden Globe Award for Best Actress — Musical or Comedy. In 1957, she acted in The Prince and the Showgirl alongside Laurence Olivier. The film was not a very big success and she and Olivier did not get along well. In 1959, she acted in Some Like It Hot, in which she played a band singer named Sugar Kane Kowalczyk. Her performance in this film is widely considered to be one of, if not the best performance she has ever done. While Sugar Kane was written to be sultry and a stereotypical “dumb blonde”, Monroe brought depth to the role by putting humor and sadness behind it. On set, she arrived late a lot of the time and fought with the director Billy Wilder about how she was going to play Sugar Kane. Tony Curtis, who played her love interest, said that kissing her was like “kissing Hitler.” She was nominated again for the Golden Globe, but this time she won. Many expected her to be nominated for an Academy Award for Best Actress for her performance, but she was not, even though the movie received 6 other nominations. Today, the Academy’s refusal to nominate her is considered one of the biggest Oscar snubs of all time.

Monroe on the set of Some Like It Hot with Billy Wilder in 1959

In 1960, she acted in Let’s Make Love, which did not do very well. Her final film was in 1961’s The Misfits. It failed upon release but had been well-regarded in the 21st century. She started filming another movie, Something’s Got to Give, but it was never completed.

In 1962, she sang "Happy Birthday" to President John F. Kennedy. It turned out to be one of her last appearances.

Personal life

Monroe and DiMaggio in 1954

Marriages

Monroe married the baseball star Joe DiMaggio on January 14, 1954. The marriage lasted for nine months. She had met DiMaggio on a blind date, during the filming of the movie Monkey Business in 1952. The marriage was closely followed by the public. DiMaggio retired from baseball, and Monroe became very famous. DiMaggio was sad that his career as a baseball star was ending, and was jealous of Monroe for being admired. He spent most of his time watching television and Monroe found it boring. They separated on October 31, 1954. From 1961, they became friends again. After she died, DiMaggio was very sad and sent roses to her grave every week for 20 years.

Monroe and husband Arthur Miller in 1959

Marilyn married Arthur Miller on June 29, 1956. To marry him, she converted to Judaism. She had met him during the filming of As Young As You Feel in 1951. She was very happy with him and they tried to have children together. Marilyn had three miscarriages, because of her endometriosis. Miller wrote the screenplay for the movie The Misfits. The filming caused many problems between Marilyn and Arthur and they divorced in 1961.

Death

She died early from an overdose of barbiturates on August 4, 1962 in Brentwood, Los Angeles, California, U.S. at 36 years old.

Filmography

• Dangerous Years (1947)
• Scudda Hoo! Scudda Hay! (1948)
• Ladies of the Chorus (1948)
• Love Happy (1949)
• A Ticket to Tomahawk (1950)
• The Asphalt Jungle (1950)
• All About Eve (1950)
• The Fireball (1950)
• Right Cross (1951)
• Home Town Story (1951)
• As Young as You Feel (1951)
• Love Nest (1951)
• Let's Make It Legal (1951)
• Clash by Night (1952)
• We're Not Married! (1952)
• Don't Bother to Knock (1952)
• Monkey Business (1952)
• O. Henry's Full House (1952)
• Niagara (1953)
• Gentlemen Prefer Blondes (1953)
• How to Marry a Millionaire (1953)
• River of No Return (1954)
• There's No Business Like Show Business (1954)
• The Seven Year Itch (1955)
• Bus Stop (1956)
• The Prince and the Showgirl (1957)
• Some Like It Hot (1959)
• Let's Make Love (1960)
• The Misfits (1961)
• Something's Got to Give (1962 - unfinished)

Awards and nominations

Monroe poses for photographers while filming The Seven Year Itch (1955)

• 1951 Henrietta Awards: The Best Young Box Office Personality
• 1952 Photoplay Award: Fastest Rising Star of 1952
• 1952 Photoplay Award: Special Award
• 1952 Look American Magazine Achievement Award: Most Promising Female Newcomer of 1952
• 1953 Golden Globe Henrietta Award: World Film Favorite Female.
• 1953 Sweetheart of The Month (Playboy)
• 1953 Photoplay Award: Most Popular Female Star
• 1954 Photoplay Award for Best Actress: for Gentlemen Prefer Blondes and How to Marry a Millionaire
• 1956 BAFTA Film Award nomination: Best Foreign Actress for The Seven Year Itch
• 1956 Golden Globe nomination: Best Motion Picture Actress in Comedy or Musical for Bus Stop
• 1958 BAFTA Film Award nomination: Best Foreign Actress for The Prince and the Showgirl
• 1958 David di Donatello Award (Italian): Best Foreign Actress for The Prince and the Showgirl
• 1959 Crystal Star Award (French): Best Foreign Actress for The Prince and the Showgirl
• 1960 Golden Globe, Best Motion Picture Actress in Comedy or Musical for Some Like It Hot
• 1962 Golden Globe, World Film Favorite: Female
• Star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame 6104 Hollywood Blvd.
• 1999 she was ranked as the sixth-greatest female star of all time by the American Film Institute in their list AFI's 100 Years... 100 Stars.

Awards and achievements
Preceded by Rosalind Russell for Auntie Mame	Golden Globe Award for Best Actress - Motion Picture Musical or Comedy for Some Like It Hot 1960	Succeeded by Shirley MacLaine for The Apartment

Sources

• Banner, Lois (2012). Marilyn: The Passion and the Paradox. Bloomsbury. ISBN 978-1-4088-3133-5.
• Churchwell, Sarah (2004). The Many Lives of Marilyn Monroe. Granta Books. ISBN 978-0-312-42565-4.
• Rieser, Klaus; Fuchs, Michael; Phillips, Michael (2013). "Thirty Are Better Than One: Marilyn Monroe and the Performance of Americanness". In Rieser, Klaus; Fuchs, Michael; Phillips, Michael (eds.). ConFiguring America: Iconic Figures, Visuality, and the American Identity. Intellect. ISBN 978-1-84150-635-7.
• Handyside, Fiona (August 2010). "Let's Make Love: Whiteness, Cleanliness and Sexuality in the French Reception of Marilyn Monroe" (PDF). European Journal of Cultural Studies. 3 (13): 291–306. doi:10.1177/1367549410363198. hdl:10871/9547. ISSN 1367-5494. S2CID 146553108.
• Harris, Thomas (1991) [1957]. "The Building of Popular Images: Grace Kelly and Marilyn Monroe". In Gledhill, Christine (ed.). Stardom: Industry of Desire. Routledge. ISBN 978-0-415-05217-7.
• Leaming, Barbara (1998). Marilyn Monroe. Three Rivers Press. ISBN 978-0-609-80553-4.
• Meyers, Jeffrey (2010). The Genius and the Goddess: Arthur Miller and Marilyn Monroe. University of Illinois Press. ISBN 978-0-252-03544-9.
• Miracle, Berniece Baker; Miracle, Mona Rae (1994). My Sister Marilyn. Algonquin Books. ISBN 978-0-595-27671-4.
• Monroe, Marilyn (2010). Comment, Bernard (ed.). Fragments: Poems, Intimate Notes, Letters. Farrar, Straus and Giroux. ISBN 9780374158354.
• Riese, Randall; Hitchens, Neal (1988). The Unabridged Marilyn. Corgi Books. ISBN 978-0-552-99308-1.
• Rollyson, Carl (2014). Marilyn Monroe Day by Day: A Timeline of People, Places and Events. Rowman and Littlefield. ISBN 978-1-4422-3079-8.
• Solomon, Matthew (2010). "Reflexivity and Metaperformance: Marilyn Monroe, Jayne Mansfield, and Kim Novak". In Palmer, R. Barton (ed.). Larger Than Life: Movie Stars of the 1950s. Rutgers University Press. ISBN 978-0-8135-4766-4.
• Spoto, Donald (2001). Marilyn Monroe: The Biography. Cooper Square Press. ISBN 978-0-8154-1183-3.
• Steinem, Gloria; Barris, George (1987). Marilyn. Victor Gollancz Ltd. ISBN 978-0-575-03945-2.
• Summers, Anthony (1985). Goddess: The Secret Lives of Marilyn Monroe. Victor Gollancz Ltd. ISBN 978-0-575-03641-3.

Other websites

• The Official Marilyn Monroe Website Archived 2010-09-28 at the Wayback Machine
• Marilyn Monroe on IMDb
• Marilyn Monroe at the TCM Movie Database
• Marilyn Monroe at AllMovie
• Marilyn Monroe at Find a Grave
• Gallery: The Life of Marilyn Monroe Archived 2010-06-19 at the Wayback Machine
• Marilyn Monroe Quotes Archived 2021-12-19 at the Wayback Machine