Marilyn Monroe, who was born Norma Jeane Mortenson on June 1, 1926 in Los Angeles , California, and later baptized as Norma Jeane Baker, grew up as a fatherless child. She had a very difficult childhood. Her mother, Gladys, developed psychiatric problems and was placed in a mental institution while Norma Jeane was a young girl. She bounced from foster homes to orphanages for many years, until in 1937 a family friend and her husband decided to let her come and stay with them for a undetermined amount of time. Grace and Doc Goddard took Norma Jeane into their home for many years. She was a shy raven haired beauty, but not quite the popular girl. In 1942, for financial reasons, Doc and Grace were unable to take care of Norma Jeane. She was abandoned once again. When facing life in foster homes again, she decided to marry a marine, Jimmy Dougherty, on June 19, 1942. She was only 16 years of age. While Jimmy was on leave for the marines, Norma Jeane was working in a munitions factory in Burbank where she was discovered by a photographer. She soon had a reputable modeling career. And was finally getting the attention she had always felt she deserved.
Norma Jeane was driven to be the best at whatever it was she was doing. And she always knew she wanted to be a star, and that she was going to be the best star she can be. She and Jimmy divorced soon after he returned home. That same year, 1947, she signed her first movie contract. Although it was a small part it was her start to a Hollywood life. With the movie came a new image. She dyed her hair blonde and began calling herself by a different name, Marilyn Monroe.
It wasn't until 1950 before her acting career started, after she had a small part in The Asphalt Jungle. In the same year she played Claudia Caswell in All About Eve starring, Bette Davis. But it wasn't until she starred in Niagara, in 1953, that her career really took off. She played a married woman plotting to kill her husband with her lover. Now an emerging sex symbol, she was paired with Jane Russell in the musical comedy Gentlemen Prefer Blondes. The two platinum haired women were a hit After that Marilyn starred in several comedic roles, such as How to Marry a Millionaire , There's No Business like Show Business. With her soft and alluring voice and hour glass figure, Marilyn became an international star.
The bubbly blonde actress moved to new york were she studied at the Actors' Studio. She had several more hit movies that not only portrayed her beauty but also her voice.She even starred opposite Clark Gable in The Misfits(1961). In 1962, Marilyn was dismissed from Something's Got to Give—which would have also starred Dean Martin— for missing so many days of filming. According to an article in The New York Times, the actress claimed that the absences were due to illness.
This was only the beginning of her fall from grace. Her professional and personal life seemed to be going down hill fast. Two of her last movies left many disappointed. Let's Make Love (1960) and The Misfits (1961) were box office disappointments, and she was fires from her last project. And her personal life was even worse. She married the great baseball player Joe DiMaggio in 1954, but it only lasted nine months. She also married play writer Arthur Miller from 1956 to 1961. And of coarse there were all those rumors that she was involved with President John F. Kennedy and/or his brother Robert around the time of her death. In fact one of my favorite songs that she ever sang was the seductive Happy Birthday Mr. President song she sang to President JFK in front of hundreds of people, including his wife, Jackie Kennedy, at Madison Square Garden in 1962.
Her lyrics stunned the nation. Everyone had heard the rumors and this iconic beuty comes on stage infront of thousand Americans and sang
Lyrics | Marilyn Monroe lyrics - Happy Birthday Mr President lyricsShe was quoted saying this about what the people thought of her.
“When it comes down to it, I let them think what they want. If they care enough to bother with what I do, then I'm already better than them.”
― Marilyn Monroe
The dress she wore that night became the most expensive dress in the world when it was sold at Christie's Auction House in 1999. It was sold for $1,150,000.
In 1960 Marilyn was awarded her Hollywood Walk of Fame Star, given to her by the Hollywood Chamber of Commerce. The address of her star is 6774 Hollywood Boulevard. Many of her fans go to her star daily to take pictures. Many people are delighted to have just stood in the same place she once stood. The star is a remembrance of a happy time when Marilyn was on top of the world.
At only 36 years of age she was found dead in her Hollywood home. There were so many rumors to the actual cause of her death. An empty bottle of sleeping pills were found by her bed on her night stand. There has been some speculation over the years that she may have been murdered, but it was officially ruled as a drug overdose. Some believe she was assassinated for having an affair with one of the United States greatest presidents in history. No one will ever really know the true cause of her death, but the impression she left on the world will last forever.
She is buried at Pierce Bros. Westwood Memorial Park, along with several over famous people who have died through the years. Her grave stone is one of the most visited of the Hollywood Hills.
During her career, her films grossed over $200 million. And after her death her movies are still just as popular. I could not tell you how many times i watched How to Marry a Millionaire. And she is still portrayed as one of the most iconic beauties of all time. Several of my favorite quotes came from her.
“I'm selfish, impatient and a little insecure. I make mistakes, I am out of control and at times hard to handle. But if you can't handle me at my worst, then you sure as hell don't deserve me at my best.”
― Marilyn Monroe
another one of my favorites is
“Imperfection is beauty, madness is genius and it's better to be absolutely ridiculous than absolutely boring.”
― Marilyn Monroe, Marilyn: Her Life in Her Own Words
“A wise girl kisses but doesn't love, listens but doesn't believe, and leaves before she is left.”
― Marilyn Monroe
