Marilyn Monroe
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Last Updated: 10/10/25
Real Name: Norma Jeane Mortenson
Born: June 1, 1926
Died: August 4, 1962 (aged 36)
Height: 5' 5"
Grade: C-
Actress/Movie Star: 0%-100%
Prime Years: 1952-57 and 1959
Most Famous Film: The Seven Year Itch (1955)
Most Infamous Film: The Misfits (1961)
Masterpiece: None
Outstanding: Don't Bother to Knock (1952)
Honorable: Clash by Night (1952), Niagara (1953), and Some Like It Hot (1959)
Opinion:
I'm in agreement that Marilyn Monroe is the biggest movie star ever in history. There's nobody who can hold a
candle to her, not even Elizabeth Taylor. However, when it comes to acting, that's a different story. Marilyn
Monroe usually stunk at it because she never did theatrical work yet always had great screen presence. I
understand she tried so hard to improve herself by taking classes and watching others act.
Regardless, it's impossible to not notice her, no matter how small her role may have been. I consider
Don't Bother to Knock to be Marilyn Monroe's greatest film because that's who she was in a nutshell.
Confirmed:
Grandfather on the mother's side was an alcoholic painter of houses and trolley cars and became mentally ill,
prone to mood swings and violent outbursts. He died in a state hospital at age 43 because of syphilis.
His widow was always in and out of relationships with men, abandoning her children, a trait that would
be passed down to her daughter who also suffered from depression and mood swings.
Was born in Los Angeles, California, to a negative film cutter and her supervisor who happened to be married to
somebody else. Norma Jeane's last name (actually misspelled on the birth certificate as "Mortenson" when it
should've been "Mortensen") was the last name of her mother's second ex-husband; it was eventually changed
to Baker which was the last name of her mother's first ex-husband.
Straightaway, was given up to an extremely religious foster family, but her mother remained nearby, rarely
visited, and paid for her upbringing, having been mostly influenced by the flapper lifestyle of movie stars. At
age 1, her grandmother went crazy one night, breaking into the adoptive family's house, and was sent away to a
hospital, dying there a month later.
Liked to playact and wanted to be a movie star right from the start. Became sexually inquisitive because of her
strict upbringing, having been told many times that interest in the human body was sinful. Fantasized herself
being naked in front of God. Had been confused since age 3 about who her father was and sought him in many male
figures all her life.
Adopted a dog before age 7 that was soon killed by a neighbor because of the incessant barking, causing her to
grieve heavily. As a result, was taken back by her mother, eventually revealing who her true father was,
causing her to fantasize about being rescued by him; later, would dream of having sex with him without letting
him know that she's his daughter. Was quickly sent away to live with an English couple, so her mother could
upgrade their living status from a tiny apartment to a huge house.
After mission accomplished, mother threw herself on the stairs in 1933 and was placed in the state hospital
(this would become more regular going forward) where she was diagnosed as a paranoid schizophrenic. That summer,
was sent to theatres and watched movies all day, deciding on Jean Harlow as her favorite actress and Clark Gable
as her father (ironically, they would star together in the final film of their careers: The Misfits).
In 1934, the court declared Norma Jeane's mother as "insane incompetent." As a result, had to be placed in
a series of foster homes. This was when she was sexually abused for the first time, claiming to have been raped
at age 8 and then developed a stutter, and there had been other incidents as well. In 1935, was sent to an
orphanage where she stayed for two years (she made up a lot of stories about her awful stay there, but none of
them had been confirmed). Returned to foster homes that continued the sex abuse, and her life finally
stabilized in 1937 after being taken in by her aunt.
Grew up in a Christian Science household which meant suffering from pains in her reproductive system, hence the
future miscarriages and endometriosis. Hit puberty at age 12 that made her physically beautiful. In 1941,
aunt started having health problems which forced Norma Jeane to move out, and an idea was produced for her
to marry a man to ensure stability in her life. As a result, dropped out of high school at 10th grade and
changed her last name to Dougherty.
Husband enlisted in the merchant marines during WWII and was shipped to the Pacific, leaving her, at age 17,
to work in an aircraft factory, folding and inspecting parachutes. During the fall of 1944, was selected for
photographs by the Army to boost morale which marked the beginning of her career as a model. Had to make a lot
of changes in how she looked, and eventually, it worked, appearing in hundreds of magazine covers, even
internationally.
In 1946, got the call from Hollywood and did a screen test that blew everybody away, having been offered a movie
contract. Was renamed by a casting agent as Marilyn after an actress named Marilyn Miller, and Norma Jean
came up with Monroe because it's her mother's maiden name. Decided to divorce her husband while he was overseas.
Did limited work in bit parts on screen for years. Took advantage of the casting couch, especially with much
older men including studio moguls, to move up the Hollywood ladder and developed a whorish reputation.
Starting in 1948, took acting lessons from Natasha Lytess who would end up being ubiquitous on the set as her
personal director and coach in twenty films for the next seven years. Lytess was hated by many in the profession
and was finally cut out of Marilyn Monroe's life after declaring her as a fraud. As a result, made the switch to
Paula Strasberg. Took singing lessons from others at the same time. For better or worse, met talent agent Johnny
Hyde at a party, and he had her to submit to plastic surgeries that greatly helped advance her career.
Appeared in two important pictures in 1950 that generated the most attention: All About Eve and
The Asphalt Jungle. At the end of the year or so, met Arthur Miller for the first time and felt
intellectually stimulated to improve her mind and followed his suggestion of various books to read. By 1952,
started appearing in much more substantial roles for pictures such as Clash by Night and
Don't Bother to Knock. This was the point that her fame rose meteorically, especially when a calendar
featuring a mysterious blonde in the nude had been around nationally which was later confirmed by Marilyn
Monroe herself.
Spotting Marilyn Monroe in a newspaper as she held up a baseball bat, Joe DiMaggio wanted to meet her one day,
and they hit off instantly. In 1953, was made a huge superstar by Niagara, establishing her
image that would endure until her death and then beyond. However, that sort of role ended permanently by
making the transition to "dumb blonde" in Gentlemen Prefer Blondes.
Married Joe DiMaggio at the beginning of 1954 while refusing to do The Girl in Pink Tights because she
demanded respect from 20th Century Fox which continued to treat her like a disposable starlet. Their marriage was
abusive and lasted only ten months as DiMaggio wanted her to retire from acting and be a housewife; he was also
a wifebeater. In February, did an USO tour of nine shows in Korea for four days at below 0 degrees Fahrenheit
while wearing a "skintight beaded dress with spaghetti straps which left much of her skin exposed."
Posed in the most famous scene of her career, which took place at 1:00 AM on September 14, 1954, in front of
the NYC's Trans-Lux Theater on Lexington and 52nd Street, when her white dress flew up in the air in
The Seven Year Itch, leading to the legendary spat with Joe DiMaggio and the end of their marriage [it
would be recaptured in Nicolas Roeg's film Insignificance]. After the divorce, Joe DiMaggio continued to
be obsessed with Marilyn Monroe, until his death in 1999, to the point of spending $10,000 on a life-size sex
doll that resembled her.
In 1955, decided to join the Actors Studio and study under Lee Strasberg which did the most damage to her career
in terms of neurotics that included seeing a psychoanalyst. As a result, worked sporadically, was very
unprofessional on the set, and appeared in five more films in total. On June 21, 1956, during the hearings
conducted by the House Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC) in Washington, D.C., Arthur Miller announced to
the surprise of everybody, including the unbeknownst Marilyn Monroe, that he would marry her, so they did the
following day.
Was humiliated and hated by Laurence Olivier during the making of The Prince and the Showgirl yet blew him
off the screen, causing him to be deeply jealous. Arthur Miller would label Marilyn Monroe a "pitiable, dependent,
unpredictable waif" and a "whore" and felt ashamed to be her husband. After The Seven Year Itch, Billy
Wilder refused to work with Marilyn Monroe again but was forced to take her on again for Some Like It Hot
in order to secure the much-needed financing. Went too far during the filming that did the most damage to her
overall reputation.
Had been seriously considered for the role of Holly Golightly in Breakfast at Tiffany's and was Truman
Capote's preferred choice over Audrey Hepburn but did The Misfits instead. At the end, her marriage
to Arthur Miller headed for divorce, a threat made greater by starting an affair with Yves Montand (who was
still married to Simone Signoret) while filming Let's Make Love. Was admitted into two psychiatric
hospitals in February 1961 and stayed there for a month. By November, met JFK for the first time, and they
began to have an affair. Would do the same with RFK a few months later, and both were occurring simultaneously.
Demonstrated difficulty getting out of the bed consistently, causing trouble for Something's Got to Give,
and was ultimately fired. The film was never finished, signaling the last work of her career. It was eventually
remade as Move Over, Darling with a new cast. Had it been Marilyn Monroe instead, she was going to be
the first mainstream star to appear nude in a film. Therefore, Jayne Mansfield received the honor for doing so in
Promises! Promises! the following year. After the famous night on May 19, 1962, when she sang
"Happy Birthday" to JFK, was slowly faded out by him because he received an ultimatum from Jackie that would
threaten his re-election chances. Died from an overdose of barbiturates.
Was constantly unpredictable in behavior and late to the movie set because of stage fright and insecurity.
Performed a weird handshaking ritual before being ready to do a scene, and takes with her would usually last
from twenty to fifty and sometimes more. Drank heavily, had severe insomnia, and took barbiturates regularly such
as amytal and nembutal. Suffered from low self-esteem, depression, bipolar, nightmares, and suicidal thoughts.
Didn't trust people, was unable to form relationships, and had an extreme fear of abandonment. Was often disliked
and hated by many in Hollywood and elsewhere for looking cheap, dressing in poor taste, and speaking improperly.
The black dot on her cheek was actually painted on a mole, and her natural hair was curly brown that was
later dyed as plantinum blonde. Would stare at the mirror for hours and hours wherever and sometimes in the nude.
Rumors: May have worked as a call girl in the late 40's to make ends meet and was taken advantage of by
certain people for sex. Was ordered to be murdered by JFK and RFK to shut her up from going pubicly about their
affairs, hence the suicide as a cover-up. Frank Sinatra helped out and told Joe DiMaggio to stay away when he tried
to intervene. Had been promised by JFK that he would divorce his wife and marry her in time for the second term.
Was the only one of all mistresses in JFK's life that bothered and angered Jackie.