A Difficult Childhood

She was born on June 1, 1926, in Los Angeles as Norma Jeane Mortenson, although during her childhood she often used her mother’s surname, Baker. Her mother, Gladys Pearl, worked in the film industry as a film editor, while the identity of her biological father, Charles Stanley Gifford, was not definitively confirmed until DNA tests were conducted in 2022 [3,10,15].

However, the future star’s childhood bore no resemblance to the Hollywood dream and was filled with uncertainty, poverty, and fear. Her mentally unstable mother, Gladys, suffered from schizophrenia and spent most of her adult life in various institutions for the mentally ill [4,10,32].

Little Norma Jeane thus repeatedly moved from one children’s home to another and lived with numerous foster families. In this extremely unstable environment, she faced terrible traumas and experienced sexual abuse even before her tenth birthday [1,4,14,32].

Marriage as an Escape

Her only escape from this harsh reality was the dark movie theaters, where she tirelessly devoured films and admired the platinum-blonde stars of the time, such as Jean Harlow. To avoid being sent back to an orphanage as a teenager, she married a young laborer named James Dougherty—who was five years her senior—immediately after her sixteenth birthday in 1942 [4,10,14,15,32].

During World War II, she worked in an ammunition factory while her new husband served in the army. It was while performing this monotonous work in 1944 that she was discovered by chance by military photographer David Conover, who immediately recognized her enormous potential and encouraged her to pursue a career in modeling [4,11,32].

Norma Jeane soon underwent a radical makeover: she straightened her hair, dyed it blonde, and signed a contract with the Blue Book modeling agency. Her charming face and attractive figure quickly began to grace the covers of dozens of men’s and lifestyle magazines [15,32].

The World’s Biggest Movie Star

After her divorce from Dougherty in 1946, she threw herself wholeheartedly into conquering her dream of Hollywood. She signed her very first acting contract with 20th Century Fox and rebranded herself as the enchanting Marilyn Monroe [1,4,10,14,32].

Her early acting career, however, was far from easy, and after a few minor roles, she often found herself out of work. To make her mark in this tough, male-dominated world, she did not hesitate to use her feminine wiles and forged strategic relationships with influential producers [4,5,15,17,32].

A major turning point in her burgeoning career came in 1950 thanks to two important, albeit minor, roles in the films *The Asphalt Jungle* and *All About Eve*. Critics and general audiences alike immediately took notice of her unmistakable sex appeal, self-confidence, and innate comedic talent [4,5,10,15,32].

Her true meteoric rise came in 1953, when the hit thriller *Niagara* definitively established her as a Hollywood sex symbol. The subsequent blockbusters *Gentlemen Prefer Blondes* and *How to Marry a Millionaire* turned her into an absolute, world-class sensation [4,10,14,15,32].

A legendary cinematic moment was born in the 1955 comedy *The Seven Year Itch*. The photograph of a smiling Marilyn in a white dress, lifted by a strong breeze from the subway in sweltering summer New York, became perhaps the most famous pop-culture image of the last century [1,10,23,30,32].

To prove that she was not just a comical “dumb blonde,” she began studying acting intensively under the famous Lee Strasberg in New York. Her compelling dramatic performance in the film *The Bus Stop* (1956) surprised all her doubters and earned her well-deserved recognition [10,14,18,20].

Successes and Flops

She reached the creative peak of her career in the legendary comedy *Some Like It Hot* (1959), where she fully showcased her genius. This brilliant film, directed by Billy Wilder, ultimately earned her the prestigious Golden Globe Award [10,14,20,30,32].

However, not all of her ambitious film projects reaped nothing but fame and success. The film *The Prince and the Showgirl* (1957), in which she starred alongside the great Laurence Olivier, received a rather lukewarm reception from critics at the time [11,15,18,20].

The film *Let’s Make Love* (1960) fared similarly poorly, drawing sharp criticism from experts for its tediousness and slow pace. Her very last completed film was the drama *Mustangs* (1961), which was a massive commercial flop at the time of its release [7,14,15,32].

In 1962, the film studio fired her from the set of the promising film *Something’s Got to Give*. The main reasons were her constant health problems, addictions, and extreme tardiness, which left the film forever unfinished [7,14,19,32].

A Turbulent Personal Life

Her bitter private life was just as turbulent and complicated as her Hollywood career. Marilyn was married a total of three times, but none of these highly publicized marriages brought her the peace and family happiness she longed for [1,11,21,29].

After her long-ago divorce from Dougherty, she married the then-baseball legend Joe DiMaggio in 1954. However, this tumultuous marriage lasted only nine months, as the conservative DiMaggio found it very difficult to tolerate her revealing outfits and her status as a sex symbol [1,14,16,21].

Her third and final husband, whom she married in 1956, was the intellectual and acclaimed playwright Arthur Miller. This union of two very different worlds also did not last, and the couple divorced in early 1961 after numerous disagreements [1,14,15,16,22].

In addition to her husbands, a long list of her exceptionally famous lovers is also shrouded in legend. She reportedly had passionate but brief affairs with movie stars such as Marlon Brando, Frank Sinatra, and the French actor Yves Montand [1,2,15,16,21].

There were also rumors of her affairs with Charlie Chaplin Jr., Milton Berle, and even the famous director Elia Kazan. Furthermore, some biographers suggest a possible lesbian relationship with her beloved longtime acting coach, Natasha Lytess [1,2,16,21,22].

A Death Shrouded in Mystery

However, the greatest mystery to this day surrounds her rumored affairs with then-President John F. Kennedy and his brother Robert. Her iconic and exceptionally seductive rendition of “Happy Birthday” to the president himself in 1962 only fueled these wild rumors [1,2,10,16,24].

Marilyn Monroe’s death came as a shocking and unexpected event on August 5, 1962. The famous actress was found dead in bed at her home in Los Angeles at the age of only 36 [1,7,8,18,32].

Her naked body was discovered in the middle of the night by her housekeeper, Eunice Murray, and the psychiatrist who had been called to the scene, Dr. Ralph Greenson. The room was locked from the inside, and empty bottles of strong prescription sleeping pills were scattered everywhere [7,15,18,25].

The official coroner’s report listed the cause of death as probable suicide due to acute barbiturate poisoning. The enormous amount of medication in her blood undoubtedly far exceeded a lethal dose [1,7,8,10,15,18].

Almost immediately, however, dozens of wild conspiracy theories emerged that categorically rejected the depression-and-suicide theory. Many still believe today that it was a premeditated political assassination intended to silence her forever [10,11,17,26].

The main suspects in these conspiracy theories were the Kennedy brothers themselves, who were allegedly afraid that their intimate affairs and state secrets would be exposed. Other theories blamed the Mafia, the CIA, the FBI, or even her attending physician, Dr. Greenson, for her death [7,10,17,18,26,27].

Legend

Due to constant media pressure, the case was officially reopened in 1982 by the Los Angeles District Attorney’s Office. However, investigators found absolutely no credible evidence of murder and fully confirmed the original conclusion of suicide [9,12,17].

Marilyn’s tragic death only served to massively enhance her already immense status as a modern pop-culture goddess. As an unforgettable icon who embodied feminine charm and beauty, she has forever left her mark on world history [13,23,31].

The artist Andy Warhol immortalized her face in his iconic Pop Art works. In doing so, he definitively confirmed the fact that, after her death, Marilyn became more of a commercial symbol than just an ordinary actress [13,23,28].

With her full, hourglass figure, she radically changed society’s perception of female beauty. She boldly challenged the prevailing ideals of unhealthy thinness and inspired countless women to celebrate their own bodies [23,31].

Her legendary look—with platinum hair and red lips—is still eagerly emulated by fashion designers to this day. She has visually inspired many modern superstars, including Madonna, Lady Gaga, and actress Ana de Armas, who portrayed Marilyn in the 2022 biopic *Blonde* [5,6,23,30].

Although the film industry of her time often demeaningly typecast her as a “dumb blonde,” Marilyn was a highly educated and determined woman. She boldly founded her own production company and fought against the unjust system of the major Hollywood studios [10,23,29].

Marilyn Monroe’s legacy lives on in full force today in books, films, and fashion around the world. The powerful myth of a sensitive yet tragically broken soul hidden behind the mask of the greatest sex symbol continues to fascinate even today’s generations [10,23,29,32].

List of References

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[6] Marilyn Monroe's Husbands: Inside Her 3 Marriages https://www.today.com/popculture/popculture/marilyn-monroe-husbands-rcna45580

[7] Riese & Hitchens 1988, p. 270; Solomon 1988, p. 139; Spoto 2001, pp. 435–445, 456; Churchwell 2004, p. 266; Banner 2012, pp. 353–356, 361.

[8] Kormam, Seymour (August 18, 1962). "Marilyn Monroe Ruled 'Probable Suicide' Victim." Chicago Tribune. Retrieved October 21, 2015.

[9] The Los Angeles Times (August 8, 2005). "Death of a star still an enigma". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved July 5, 2024.

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[25] Margolis, Jay and Buskin, Richard. The Murder of Marilyn Monroe: Case Closed. Skyhorse, 2016.

[26] Velocci, Carli. “7 Conspiracy Theories About Marilyn Monroe’s Death From Murderous Kennedys to UFOs,” June 1, 2017, https://www.thewrap.com/7-theories-marilyn-monroe-death/.

[27] Genzlinger, Neil. “Donald Spoto, Biographer of Hitchcock and Many More, Dies at 81.” The New York Times, February 17, 2023, https://www.nytimes.com/2023/02/17/books/d onald-spoto-dead.html.

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