Date of Birth: June 1, 1926
Place of Birth: Los Angeles, California, USA
Died: August 5, 1962
Place of Death: Los Angeles, California, USA
Classification: Artists & Entertainers
Having had a chaotic, even abusive childhood, Norma Jeane Mortenson would become one of the most widely idolized entertainers in the world. She would be known as none other than Marilyn Monroe.
Even today, the actress and model’s early life, career, and death are brimming with scandal and controversy. In the Marilyn Monroe biography, written by Fred Lawrence Guiles, the writer claims that Monroe believed her real father was Charles Stanley Gifford. She expressed her views on sexuality and was even photographed for Hugh Hefner’s Playboy Magazine.
A photographer for YANK Magazine, a publication dedicated to servicemen abroad, discovered Marilyn working in a factory. After a short time, she was given a chance to act for 20 th Century Fox and was given two six-month contracts that saw her gain no real screen time.
However, over the next five years, Monroe would come to star in films such as How to Marry a Millionaire and Gentlemen Prefer Blondes, where she acted as a gold-digging, air-headed blonde. In her film The Seven Year Itch, the scene where Monroe’s dress blows in the wind showing her under garments has become embedded into the iconic memory of post-World War II America.
As she sang and kept busy in more films, she was nominated for and won several Golden Globes awards. She was also recognized abroad and won awards in England, France, and Italy. In her last public appearance, she sang Happy Birthday to President John F. Kennedy on television.
Marilyn Monroe was involved with different men and relationships during her star-spun life as one of Hollywood’s most famous figures. And, in 1954, she married Joe DiMaggio. But, the brunt of Marilyn’s acting and singing performances took time from them to foster a long-lasting relationship. Marilyn’s roles in the sexiest films of the day enraged DiMaggio, so after less than a year, the couple was divorced. Next, she began seeing playwright Arthur Miller. Eventually converting to Judaism, Monroe married Miller in 1956. Their relationship also became strained. They too were later divorced.
In 1962, Monroe’s maid discovered her body. Marilyn had died of an overdose of sleeping medication. She left over half of her estate to her friend Lee Strasberg
