Marilyn Monroe was famous for portraying blond bombshell characters, but there was so much more to her than that. In fact, she wasn't even naturally blond. Born Norma Jeane Mortenson on June 1, 1926, and later called Norma Jean Baker, Monroe was actually a curly-haired redhead.
And while she was beautiful no matter what hair color she had, a modeling agency in the '40s convinced her to go blond, insisting that it would help her succeed in the film industry. From there, she would quickly become one of the most iconic pop culture figures ever.
Before she became the Marilyn Monroe we know, Norma Jeane Mortenson had a whole life before the celebrity life. She first married Jim Dougherty when she was just 16 years old. She was a known bookworm and had a collection of 400 books.
Marilyn Monroe got a nose job in 1950 that lifted her nose ever-so-slightly. She also added cartilage to her chin for a stronger jawline. Marilyn Monroe used her grandmother's last name to create her stage name. She made it her legal name in 1956.
In John Huston's The Asphalt Jungle, Monroe plays a gangster's moll. The story centers around a jewel heist in a midwestern city. The film was well-received and earned four Academy Award nominations. It currently holds a 97% on Rotten Tomatoes.
Marilyn Monroe has regarded her role in the film as one of her best performances. There are two stories about how she got the role. One is that she was suggested by the MGM talent department, and John Huston thought she was perfect, and another suggests that MGM forced her into the role.
Clash by Night, a 1952 noir film, was the first of Marilyn Monroe's films, and she was credited before the film's title. Although she was billed fourth in the cast list, it was her first major billing. The film was based on the 1941 play of the same name and is divided into two acts, just like the play.
Around the time of filming, garmentless calendar photos of Monroe surfaced, which proved a distraction thanks to reporters hounding the young actress for photo opportunities. Monroe also had an acting coach on set with her that she refused to act without, however, only on the condition that the coach stop trying to direct her.
By 1953, Marilyn Monroe was becoming one of the biggest stars in Hollywood. In 1953, she had a total of three films released, which meant some heavy bank for the actress. The first of her films to come out that year was the Technicolor film noir Niagara. It was with this film that she developed her signature makeup look and became established as a sex symbol.
The two other films that came out that year were the musical comedy Gentlemen Prefer Blondes and How to Marry a Millionaire. All three films combined earned $25,000,000, her most successful year in film. In December 1953, she became Playboy's first "Sweetheart of the Month."
Niagara was the first film in which Marilyn Monroe received top billing. However, even though that was the case, since she was a stock actor under 20th Century Fox, she ended up making even less money than the guy putting on her makeup. The revealing costumes in the film and the morbid nature of the film itself led many to call the film immoral, but that certainly didn't affect her career.
The famous walking scene with Marilyn Monroe in which her character crosses a cobblestone street is the longest walk in cinematic history, using 116 feet of film. Marilyn Monroe was also pushing boundaries when she insisted on being naked for a shower scene, a scene that had to be darkened enough so that she could not be seen. It should also be noted that the film is the only one where Monroe plays a villain and the only one in which she dies.
The film Gentlemen Prefer Blondes has one of the most iconic dance numbers of all time to the song Diamonds are a Girl's Best Friend. For the musical number, the original idea was for her to be dressed in bands of black velvet and numerous rhinestones, as is she were a woman-sized necklace. However, this was deemed too revealing and replaced with the pink dress.
Monroe allegedly dealt with a great lack of respect while making the film. She was also paid a mere $500 per week and told bluntly that she was not the star of the film. In response to this, she said, "Well, whatever I am, I AM the blonde." It's also worth noting, she added in the line, "I can be smart when it's important, but most men don't like it."
Some accounts suggested that Marilyn Monroe never wanted to meet her future husband, Joe DiMaggio, fearing he would be the stereotypical arrogant athlete. But they hit it off quickly and eloped. On January 14th, 1954, Marilyn Monroe married famous baseball star Joe DiMaggio. Thereafter, they had a honeymoon and a business trip (for him) to Japan.
DiMaggio, however, would prove to be controlling, jealous, and physically abusive. A violent fight was even witnessed on the set of The Seven Year Itch. In October of 1954, Monroe filed for divorce. They were married for only nine months, and afterward, DiMaggio went through therapy. After Monroe died, DiMaggio would claim her body and arrange her funeral.
After her marriage to DiMaggio in January, in February 1954, Monroe traveled to Korea on her own to participate in a USO (United Service Organizations) show. There, she sang songs for over 60,000 servicemen over the course of four days, during the Korean War.
Upon returning to the US, she was met with greater success. She earned Photoplay's "Most Popular Female Star" prize, settled a new contract with Fox with a $100,000 bonus and also got her starring role in The Seven Year Itch based on the Broadway play of the same name.
This photo from the set of The Seven Year Itch is one of the most famous images of Marilyn Monroe. The film, like the play, is about the steady decline of a seven-year marriage. The iconic white dress in this photo was sold at an auction for $4.6 million.
Director Billy Wilder wanted to shoot the film in black and white as he preferred, but Marilyn Monroe's contract with Fox called for all of her movies to be shot in color, as she thought she looked better. Monroe's struggles with depression and alcoholism caused her to forget her lines, sometimes requiring 40 takes for a scene.
While not her most famous production, Marilyn Monroe starred in a western starring Robert Mitchum. The film, set in 1875, has Marilyn Monroe playing a dance hall singer named Kay. She had second billing for the role. However, Monroe was forced to do the role due to contractual obligations even though she did not like the script.
During lunch on the set of River of No Return, Monroe would go underneath the set and pet Bandit the raccoon and speak to his owner, Ralph Helfer, about animals. Monroe was a well-known animal lover and owned nine pets over her lifetime.
On June 29th, 1956, Marilyn Monroe married Arthur Miller just months after legally changing her name to Marilyn Monroe. He had just left his wife of 16 years. They briefly met in 1951 and had an affair, and they had been in contact since. Marilyn Monroe was 30 years old when they finally wed. For Miller, she converted to Judaism to be closer to him and his family.
Having expressed a distaste for Hollywood, she stayed out of the public eye until 1960, when Miller wrote the script for The Misfits, which she would star in alongside Montgomery Clift and Clark Gable, with John Huston directing. During the filming, however, their relationship unraveled, thanks to substance abuse that affected her private and work life. They divorced in 1961, shortly before the movie premiered.
In 1959, Some Like It Hot, one of the most critically beloved comedies of all time, was released. In addition to Monroe, the film also stars Jack Lemmon and Tony Curtis as two musicians dressed as women to escape the mob. The film won one Oscar for costume design and received five other nominations.
During the movie's making, Monroe had great difficulty remembering her lines. So much so that it took 47 takes to say "It's me, Sugar" correctly. But this wasn't the only instance; Billy Wilder would write her lines down on a blackboard or paste them in drawers for one particular scene. Nevertheless, despite the director's frustrations with her, her co-star Jack Lemmon got along with her splendidly.
After a period of solitude, Marilyn Monroe returned to the public eye in the spring of 1962. She famously performed for President John F. Kennedy on May 19th, singing "Happy Birthday, Mr. President" at Madison Square Garden. Her outfit for the occasion drew much attention—a nude-colored dress covered in rhinestones. Rumors of an affair between JFK and Monroe have been brought up numerous times over the years, even after her death.
While nobody knows the whole truth of the rumors, biographer Donald Spoto in Marilyn Monroe: The Biography has said, " All we can say for sure is that the actress and the President have met four times, between October 1961 and August 1962, and it was during one of those meetings, that they called to a friendly relation of Marilyn from a bedroom. Shortly after, Marilyn confided this sexual relation to her close relatives, insisting about the fact that their affair ended there."
Marilyn Monroe died on August 4th, 1962, in the Brentwood neighborhood of Los Angeles. Her housekeeper lived with her then and noticed the lights were still on in her bedroom at around 3:00 am. The housekeeper then called Monroe's psychiatrist who quickly arrived at the house and broke down the door. She was found on the bed, unconscious, and a physician declared her dead at 3:50 am.
A toxicity report showed that she had died from acute barbiturate poisoning. Empty bottles had been found near her bedside. An accidental overdose was ruled out because the amount in her system was several times over the lethal dosage. While most people believed it was a clear case of suicide, over the years, conspiracy theories have insisted there was foul play involved.
