Marilyn Monroe (birth name: “Norma Jeane
Mortenson”) was born on June 1, 1926. She was an American model, singer and
actress. Marylin became a major sex symbol, starring in a number of
commercially successful motion pictures during the 1950s and early 1960s.
Childhood
Marilyn
Monroe was born in the Los Angeles County Hospital. She was the third child
born to mother Gladys Pearl Baker. Her certificate written father Martin E.
Mortensen is said to have left Gladys before Marilyn was born.
Gladys
was mentally unstable and financially unable to care for the young Norma Jeane,
so she placed her with foster parents Albert and Ida Bolender of Hawthorne,
California. Since then young Marilyn could not settle to one foster home and
fate let her move from one parents to other.
Early
Life
Gladys's
best friend, Grace McKee, was one of her early foster parent and became her
guardian. Grace used to motivate young Monroe that someday she would become a
movie star. Grace let Norma Jeane wear makeup and got her hair curled. They
used to visit movies together, forming the basis for Norma Jeane's fascination
with the cinema and the stars on screen.
During
1942, Marilyn Monroe finally settled with her aunt Ana Lower. Here she met
James “Jim” Dougherty and they both married soon. It was during World War II,
when James was called for military duties and Marilyn stayed as housewife.
Education
In
1948, during her film projects with Columbia Pictures, the head drama coach
Natasha Lytess became her acting coach for many years. Later in 1951, Monroe
enrolled at University of California, Los Angeles, where she studied literature
and art appreciation.
Career
While
James was serving nation, Norma took a job at Radioplane Munitions Factory.
Here she got a chance to appear in a photo shoot for Yank, the Army Weekly
magazine. Noticing her work, she got a chance to work with The Blue Book
Modeling Agency; this is where she got her brunette hairs bleached to Golden
Blonde which we recognize her by now. Her on-screen work started at 20th
Century Fox, this is where she got her named changed to a permanent “Marilyn
Monroe”.
With
20th Century Fox Monroe appeared as side role in musical comedies – The
Shocking Miss Pilgrim and You Were Meant for Me. Later she worked with Columbia
Pictures where she got the major breakthrough with “Ladies of the Chorus”. But
because of poor performance of this movie Monroe struggled to find work later.
During
1950, her major success came with “The Asphalt Jungle” and “All About Eve”.
Later in 1952, Monroe got her sex symbol image from “Niagara”. But her success
story began with her performance in “Gentlemen prefer Blondes” and “How to Marry
a Millionaire. Since then she never looked back.
At
the End
On
August 5, 1962, Monroe was found dead at her Los Angeles home in California.
Autopsy reports suggested the cause of death to be "acute barbiturate
poisoning".
