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Norma Jeane Mortenson was born on June 1st, 1926 in Los Angeles, CA. Her mother, Gladys was in and out of mental institutions for most of her childhood while her biological father remains unclear. In all, Norma was in 12 different foster homes throughout her childhood.
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Gladys, her mother, was institutionalized at the Norwalk State Hospital for Mental Diseases in 1935.
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At 15, she dropped out of high school because she said it wasn’t for her.
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When she was 16 she lived with a family that eventually had to move away but couldn’t afford to take her with them. Not wanting to go back to foster care, Norma quickly found a 21-year-old factory worker named James Dougherty.
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In 1945 when she was 19, Norma started her career as a model when she was discovered by a photographer by the name of David Conover while she was working in a factory. Some of the photos of her even began to appear in several Military magazines.
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After seeing some of the photoshoot photos, a photographer named Potter Hueth became interested in her and wanted her to sign with him for modeling. He knew she could become one of the next big models with a few changes. So she dyed her hair blonde and changed her name to Marilyn Monroe because he said Mortenson was too easy to mispronounce.
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In 1946 Monroe did a screen test with Twentieth Century Fox and signed her fist movie contract.
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After just 4 years of marriage the couple divorced when Doughtery joined the U.S. Merchant Marines.
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In 1946 Monroe did a screen test with Twentieth Century Fox and signed her fist movie contract.
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In 1948 Monroe appeared in the film Scudda Hoo! Scudda Hay! but had only one line. The next August, her contract eith Twentieth Century Fox ended and they didn't renew it.
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In 1949 she met a man named Johnny Hyde who became her mentor and soon her lover. Hyde was the Vice President of the William Morris Agency and he got her to sign with the agency in that same year.
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Tom Kelley, a photographer oin return for $50. She was broke and agreed to do the photoshoot.
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Marilyn's nude photos were released in 1952. These photos threatened her career and caused a huge controversy. Monroe paniced and told the press about her childhood and how she was broke when she did it. The public loved her even more.
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Finally in 1953 Marilyn got her big break, earning a role in the film, Niagara she found her claim to fame. Although she was overjoyed to have received this part, one thing that frustrated her was that her studios often made her play the “dumb blonde” role and she wanted to be taken more seriously as an actress.
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Marilyn met the famous retired baseball player, Joe DiMaggio when she was 25 and he was 37. The got married soon after meeting.
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After only 8 months of marriage, Monroe filed for divorce form DiMaggio claiming he was “mentally cruel” to her and they divorced.
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Monroe got a part in the film Bus Stop and it was a hit.
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Marilyn married the playwright for her movie, Arthur Miller.
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Marilyn had her first miscsrriage
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At the Golden Globe awards in 1960 she finally had something to show for all the work she’d put into her films the past ten years. She was awarded “Best Actress In A Comedy” for her role in the 1958 movie Some Like It Hot.
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Marilyn and Arthur divorce.
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At Madison Square Garden, Marilyn attended the early birthday celebration of John F. Kennedy and sang “Happy Birthday Mr. President”. There was a rumor that Monroe and Kennedy got romantically involved, even having an affair with him while she was still married to Arthur Miller.
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On August 5th, 1962, she was found dead in her Brentwood apartment from drug overdose. The verdict was that she had committed suicide overdosing on sleeping pills given to her by her psychotherapist. However there were several theories that claimed Monroe's romantic involvement with President Kennedy had something to do with her death.
