Marilyn Monroe LifeStory

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Marilyn Monroe's lifestory

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Death and aftermath
When: 05 August 1962
Where: WORLDWIDE
She was in the middle of work on her latest film, ironically titled Something's Got to Give. Something did. On the night of August fourth, 1962, Marilyn Monroe died of a sleeping pill overdose. Rumours have flown ever since. Affairs with the Kennedys, Mafia involvement in her death, murder, a cover-up, a conspiracy. Her death was listed as a probable suicide. Whatever the truth about that night, Marilyn Monroe was dead, at the age of thirty-six. Her light had shone brightly for many years, and it was extinguished suddenly. The world, in shock, began a search for answers that continues to this day. Answers that will never be found. And so the world spins on without her. There is much more to her story than the bare bones I have outlined here. Her humour, as attested to by the people who knew her, her compassion for all living things, her desire to be loved, her wish to have children. All of these things are difficult to see in the glamorous woman we know as Marilyn Monroe. But she was human. Beneath it all, she was a little girl who hurt just like anyone else. Perhaps that is the most important lesson to be learned from her life and her death. Illusions are just that. We must always try to see the person beneath them.


"Happy Birthday" to President Kennedy
When: May 1962
Where: UNITED STATES
In May of 1962, Marilyn made another memorable performance, but it wasn't for a movie. She sang a breathless version of "Happy Birthday" to President Kennedy at Madison Square Garden.


New Marriage and career growth
When: from 1955 to 1961
Where: UNITED STATES
In 1955 Marilyn persued her goal of becoming a serious actress. In New York, she studied at the world famous Actor's Studio, under the tutelage of Lee Strasberg. She had left behind the glamour of Hollywood for a while, and focused on improving her acting ability. In the summer of 1956, two things happened. Marilyn married playwright Arthur Miller, and her latest film, Bus Stop, was released. The Miller marriage would last longer than any other. Marilyn was also during this time period forming her own production company with longtime friend Milton Greene. Marilyn Monroe Productions would only make one film, 1957's The Prince and The Showgirl, filmed in London and co-starring the great British actor Sir Laurence Olivier. While in London, Marilyn met the Queen. Marilyn tried throughout the Miller marriage to have children, and was disappointed by her miscarriages. She didn't make another film until the 1959 hit Some Like It Hot. This comedy was Marilyn's biggest hit; she won a Golden Globe Award for it. The next year Marilyn made two more movies; Let's Make Love, with Yves Montand, and The Misfits, written by Arthur Miller with a part for Marilyn. The Miller marriage, however, was on its last legs. Marilyn's co-star on The Misfits, Clark Gable, died of a heart attack shortly after filming ended. When the gossip columns blamed Marilyn's lateness to the set of the film for his death, she was heart-broken. In early 1961, Marilyn and Arthur were divorced. Marilyn was on her own, and she would never complete another picture.


Divorce
When: October 1954
Where: UNITED STATES
In early October of 1954, Marilyn filed for, and was granted, a divorce. Marilyn was now among the most famous women in the world. She was a huge box-office draw and a money-maker for Twentieth Century Fox, the studio to which she was under contract. She was also underpaid. Her battles with the studio during this time period paved the way for future stars.


Honeymoon
When: March 1954
Where: WORLDWIDE
While the DiMaggios were honeymooning in Japan, Marilyn was invited to perform for the American troops stationed in Korea. She gladly accepted, and would later remember it fondly as one of the best times of her life. The second notable thing was the filming of the famous skirt-blowing scene for Marilyn's film, The Seven Year Itch. With numerous New Yorkers looking on. Marilyn stood over a subway grating while gusts of air blew her skirt over her head. It was dubbed "the shot seen round the world". To this day it is the most famous image of Marilyn. By all accounts, Joe was not impressed, and some say a great fight ensued.


Marriage
When: January 1954
Where: UNITED STATES
In 1954 Marilyn married Joe DiMaggio, in January. But though the public loved it, the marriage was as doomed as Marilyn's first marriage. Joe was a conservative man who found it difficult to understand the need for Marilyn to flaunt her body. Marilyn would not give up her career. The marriage lasted only nine months.


New films success
When: from 1953 to 1954
Where: UNITED STATES
Marilyn was now making a lot of films. Niagara, Gentlemen Prefer Blondes (which included the song she is best known for - Diamonds Are A Girl's Best Friend), How to Marry a Millionare (alongside Betty Grable and Lauren Bacall), River of No Return, and There's No Business Like Show Business. These films were released in 1953 and 1954.


Appearance on the covers of magazines
When: 1952
Where: UNITED STATES
In March 1952, Monroe faced a possible scandal when one of her nude photos from a 1949 session with photographer Tom Kelley was featured in a calendar. The press speculated about the identity of the anonymous model and commented that she closely resembled Monroe. As the studio discussed how to deal with the problem, Monroe suggested that she should simply admit that she had posed for the photograph but that she should emphasize that she had done so only because she had no money to pay her rent. She gave an interview in which she discussed the circumstances that led to her posing for the photographs, and the resulting publicity elicited a degree of sympathy for her plight as a struggling actress. She made her first appearance on the cover of Life magazine in April 1952, where she was described as "The Talk of Hollywood". Stories of her childhood and upbringing portrayed her in a sympathetic light: a cover story for the May 1952 edition of True Experiences magazine showed a smiling and wholesome Monroe beside a caption that read, "Do I look happy? I should â€” for I was a child nobody wanted. A lonely girl with a dream â€” who awakened to find that dream come true. I am Marilyn Monroe. Read my Cinderella story." It was also during this time that she began dating baseball player Joe DiMaggio. A photograph of DiMaggio visiting Monroe at the 20th Century Fox studio was printed in newspapers throughout the United States, and reports of a developing romance between them generated further interest in Monroe.


First film and early career
When: from 1947 to 1952
Where: UNITED STATES
Her first film was Scudda-Hoo Scudda-Hay. She played a leading role in Ladies of the Chorus, an hour-long B-movie in which she showed a new talent, singing two numbers: "Every Baby Needs a Da-Da-Daddy" and "Anyone Can See I Love You". More bit parts followed, in mostly forgettable films. Some were less forgettable than others, most notably The Asphalt Jungle and All About Eve, where Marilyn worked with Bette Davis. Her first leading role in a feature film came in Don't Bother to Knock. It was released in 1952. By this time Marilyn was already well-known and was being romantically linked to retired baseball legend Joe DiMaggio.


Divorce
When: 1946
Where: UNITED STATES
In 1946, Norma Jeane got a divorce, a new name, and set herself on the path to a new career as an actress. The name was Marilyn Monroe. Marilyn dyed her hair blonde. It would take years to reach it's final platinum colour. She appeared in a number of movies, with small roles over the next few years.


First success
When: 1944
Where: UNITED STATES
In 1944, while working at a parachute factory, a new model was discovered, and Norma Jeane Dougherty's face began to appear on numerous magazine covers. Her rise to stardom had begun.


Marriage
When: June 1942
Where: UNITED STATES
Norma Jeane married James Dougherty in June of 1942, when she was just sixteen. He was older, something common to all of her husbands. The marriage was not, from most reports, particularly unhappy, but it was doomed to failure. Norma Jeane had higher aspirations than just being Mrs. Dougherty.


Farther figure
When: 1933
Where: UNITED STATES
Throughout her life, Marilyn Monroe denied that Mortensen was her father. She said that, when she was a child, she had been shown a photograph of a man that Gladys identified as her father, Charles Stanley Gifford. She remembered that he had a thin mustache and somewhat resembled Clark Gable, and that she had amused herself by pretending that Gable was her father. In 1933, Gladys bought a house and brought Norma Jeane to live with her. A few months after moving in, however, Gladys suffered a mental breakdown, beginning a series of mental episodes that would plague her for the rest of her life. In My Story, Monroe recalls her mother "screaming and laughing" as she was forcibly removed to the State Hospital in Norwalk. Norma Jeane was declared a ward of the state, and Gladys' best friend, Grace McKee, became her guardian. It was Grace who had told Monroe that someday she would become a movie star. Grace was captivated by Jean Harlow, and would let Norma Jeane wear makeup and take her out to get her hair curled. They would go to the movies together, forming the basis for Norma Jeane's fascination with the cinema and the stars on screen.


Birth
When: 01 June 1926
Where: Los Angeles, California, UNITED STATES
Monroe was born in the Los Angeles County Hospital on June 1, 1926, as Norma Jeane Mortenson (soon after changed to Baker), the third child born to Gladys Pearl Baker, nÃ©e Monroe (May 27, 1902 â€“ March 11, 1984). Monroe's birth certificate names the father as Martin Edward Mortensen with his residence stated as "unknown". The name Mortenson is listed as her surname on the birth certificate, although Gladys immediately had it changed to Baker, the surname of her first husband and which she still used. Martin's surname was misspelled on the birth certificate leading to more confusion on who her actual father was. Gladys Baker had married a Martin E. Mortensen in 1924, but they had separated before Gladys' pregnancy. Several of Monroe's biographers suggest that Gladys Baker used his name to avoid the stigma of illegitimacy. Mortensen died at the age of 85, and Monroe's birth certificate, together with her parents' marriage and divorce documents, were discovered. The documents showed that Mortensen filed for divorce from Gladys on March 5, 1927, and it was finalized on October 15, 1928.

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