BIOGRAPHY
This bio on Marilyn Monroe starts off with a look into the beginning of her life as Norma Jeane with some details not well known to the public. This early information was gathered from various web sites online and the books, My Sister Marilyn by Berniece & Mona Rae Miracle and Marilyn Monroe: Private and Undisclosed by Michelle Morgan.
I am personally more interested in who Marilyn was as a person and where she came from rather than the "icon". Please note that you will not find any information on death conspiracies or the Kennedy's.
Gladys Pearl Monroe (14) married Jasper "Jap" Newton Baker (26) and had two children together, Jackie (Robert Kermit) and Berniece. Gladys and John's marriage ended in 1921 with Gladys having custody of the children. Jap picked up the children on one weekend to spend time with them but took them to Kentucky to live with him instead. Devastated, Gladys used all of her savings and time trying to track down her children and eventually found them in Kentucky with Jap. She found work as a housekeeper for Harry and Lena Ramm Cohen and watched after their 3-year-old daughter, Norma Jean.
Gladys was unable to retrieve her children from Jap and found herself back in California working at Consolidated Film Industries in Los Angeles. She befriended Grace McKee and by 1924 Gladys married Martin Edward Mortensen, a meter man for the Los Angeles Gas and Electric Company. Gladys soon strayed from her marriage with Charles Stanley Gifford, one of the bosses at Consolidated Film Industries. Gifford was newly divorced and was in no state to settle down again but Gladys had fallen for Gifford and walked out on Mortensen in May 1925. At a New Year's party at Gifford's family home, Gladys announced that she was pregnant. This caused some tension within the family and Gifford would not marry Gladys.
On June 1, 1926 in California's Los Angeles General Hospital (in the charity ward) at 9:30am, Gladys gave birth to a baby girl, whom she decided to name after the little girl she took care of in Kentucky, Norma Jean. In respect, she gave her daughter the surname of her last husband, Mortensen. Gladys added an 'e' to Norma Jean and changed Mortensen to Mortenson on the birth certificate. Gladys would later decide that she and little Norma Jeane would use the surname of her first husband, Baker, so that all three of her children would share the same last name.
Norma Jeane was not shipped off to an orphanage, as many people have said in the past. Gladys and Norma Jeane lived in an apartment on Wilshire Boulevard until Gladys moved them to where her mother, Della, lived. Across the street lived the Bolenders, Albert and Ida, who fostered many children before the start of the Depression and would do so for the next 35 years. Gladys and Norma Jeane moved in with the Bolenders and Norma Jeane was left in their care while Gladys went off to work at Consolidated Film Industries and another major film company, RKO. The long commute to and from work and her responsibilities as a single-mother became too hard for Gladys and she made the difficult decision to go back to Hollywood on her own.
Norma Jeane stayed with the Bolenders and had five foster siblings; Lester, Mumsey, Alvina, Noel and Nancy. Lester and Norma Jeane were known as "the twins" because they looked alike and were only months apart in age. Gladys would visit on the weekends until in 1933 when Gladys decided to take Norma Jeane and move into their own home. She had another family, the Atkinsons, move in with them to help with the home. Here young Norma Jeane would see movies and imitate them when she got home, dreaming of becoming a famous actress like Jean Harlow. She would also fit her hands into the prints at Grauman's Chinese Theatre, where she would famously place her own prints in cement in 1953. Gladys told Norma Jeane her father had died in a car crash and claimed Mortensen was her real father (although Gladys knew this wasn't true). Norma Jeane was shown a photograph of her father and the man in the image was Gifford. In Norma Jeane's eyes, he had a striking resemblance to Clark Gable. That was the moment Norma Jeane would pretend that Gable was her father.
On August 16, 1933, Gladys's son, Robert "Jackie" Baker, died of tuberculosis of the kidneys at the age of 15. Gladys spiralled down into depression and in her grief would yell to Norma Jeane, "Why couldn't it have been you?" Gladys was unable to cope with her depression and anxiety and the responsibility of working and taking care of young Norma Jeane. Gladys's state became worse throughout 1934 and she had a complete breakdown in early 1935. On January 15, 1935, Gladys was declared insane and committed to the state institution at Norwalk. Grace McKee became the guardian of Gladys's estate and took care of her possessions and debts. Norma Jeane stayed in her home under the care of the Atkinsons and Grace. One day Norma Jeane went running around the block for fun when some boys stopped to ask her what she was doing. Before she could answer another child said, "Don't bother her. She's just like her mother.. crazy!"
On May 27, 1935, Grace put the house and it's contents up for sale to pay off Gladys's debts. It was legally required for Norma Jeane to be placed in a children's home until Grace's guardianship was fully approved. On September 13, 1935, Norma Jeane was placed in the Los Angeles Orphans Home in the heart of Hollywood, where Norma Jeane would scream, "I'm not an orphan!" Shortly after living with the Atkinsons, Norma Jeane enrolled at the Selma Avenue School. All the other children were there with their parents and one well-meaning teacher asked if her parents were deceased. Confused, Norma Jeane replied, "Yes, ma'am, I think so." Another child overheard, pointed to Norma Jeane and said, "Look, Mommy. That girl's an orphan." Norma Jeane leaned against a wall and cried.
Grace McKee was now married to Erwin "Doc" Goddard and visited Norma Jeane almost every week, bringing her clothes and presents and out on trips to the hairdressers and occassional movie. The orphanage provided many celebrations for the children during holidays and was a fun and happy place, where some movies were filmed and the children were used as extras. Norma Jeane now attended Vine Street School, where other children would point at the children from the orphanage and whisper, "They're from the home." Norma Jeane befriended three boys in her class, until they found out she was from the orphanage and their friendship declined. Time's weren't always bad at school for the orphanage children. They were the envy of the other children one day when they were brought to school in a fire truck with the sirens blaring.
In October 1936, Grace was now in the position to look after Norma Jeane and took her out of the orphanage. Grace and her husband could not afford to take care of Norma Jeane and she was left in the care of Olive and Marion Monroe (Marion was Gladys's brother). After the great flood hit Los Angeles on March 3, 1938, Norma Jeane was briefly placed with Grace's brother, Bryan Atchinson, his wife, Lottie and their daughter, Geraldine. Norma Jeane then moved in with Grace's aunt, Edith Ana Lower (known as Ana). Aunt Ana was very influential to Norma Jeane and supported her dreams of becoming a famous actress. She would encourage Norma Jeane to read lines aloud and never criticized her. Ana had heart problems but never let Norma Jeane know about it. Instead Ana would have inspirational talks with Norma Jeane, saying that loneliness wasn't the worst thing in the world and urging Norma Jeane to always be herself and to stand on her own two feet. Marilyn later said, "I didn't realize that she was preparing me for her death." During her stay in 1939, Grace notified Norma Jeane that she had a half-sister, Berniece, who had no idea she had a half-sister and believed her mother had died. The two would write letter's to each other but Berniece didn't have the room or money to take her in. Due to Ana's health, she couldn't raise a child and in February 1940, Norma Jeane moved back in with Grace and Doc Goddard.
When Norma Jeane moved in with Grace, Grace would ask her neighbor's son, Jim Dougherty, to drive Norma Jeane and Bebe (Eleanor Goddard, Grace's step-daughter) to school. Flirting led to casual dating and in 1942 Grace and her family were to transfer to West Virginia and couldn't afford to take Norma Jeane with them, who was now 16-years-old. She was given two options: get married to Jimmy or go back to the orphanage. Norma Jeane chose to marry Jimmy, who was 21-years-old at the time. They had a normal marriage and Jimmy joined the Merchant Marines and was sent to the South Pacific in 1944. Norma Jeane worked at the Radio Plane Munitions factory in Burbank, California where she mounted propellors, helped make parachutes and worked on painting the side of fuselages.
In June 1946 a photographer by the name of David Conover was taking pictures for Yank Magazine of the women who were contributing to the war effort. Among those women was Norma Jeane, now 20-years-old. Conover used her for the shoot and modeling jobs starting coming her way. Norma Jeane was a very successful model and appeared on the covers of many magazines. She also enrolled in drama classes, studying the work of actresses Jean Harlow and Lana Turner. Jimmy returned home and Norma Jeane had to make another choice: her marriage or her career. Norma Jeane and Jimmy applied for a divorce in June and the divorce was finalized on September 13, 1946. In August 1946, Norma Jeane signed with Blue Book Models and her first studio contract with Twentieth Century Fox. Soon Norma Jeane dyed her hair blonde (at the advice of her modeling agent) and changed her name to Marilyn Monroe (borrowing her mother's maiden name).
With a new look and a new name, Marilyn landed a bit part in 1947's The Shocking Miss Pilgrim and played a series of inconsequential characters until 1950 when she landed a small but noted role in The Asphalt Jungle. Marilyn earned more praise in her performance in All About Eve (starring Bette Davis) and worked steadily in movies, appearing in Let's Make It Legal, As Young As You Feel, Monkey Business and one of Marilyn's darker films (and first leading role), Don't Bother To Knock. In 1953's Niagra, Marilyn was a noted star and landed lead roles in Gentlemen Prefer Blondes and How To Marry A Millionaire.
On September 2, 1952, Marilyn was the Grand Marchall at the Miss America Pageant. The image of Marilyn being driven in the parade and waving to fans became the cover image of the very first issue of Playboy Magazine. On June 25, 1953, Marilyn and her Gentlemen Prefer Blondes co-star Jane Russell, left their prints in cement outside the famous Grauman's Chinese Theatre.
After two years of dating, Marilyn and baseball superstar Joe DiMaggio were married at San Francisco's City Hall on January 14, 1954. Marilyn performed for the service men stationed in Korea during their honeymoon and the attention Marilyn received left Joe jealous and uncomfortable. Marilyn's fame and sex symbol image shadowed their marriage, but it's said that during the filming of Marilyn's infamous scene in The Seven Year Itch (where an underground subway blows her skirt into the air), Joe could no longer handle the way men oggled his wife. They were separated on October 5 and were officially divorced on October 27, 1954, attributing the split to a "conflict of careers". They remained close friends until her death in 1962.
On December 31, 1954 Marilyn Monroe Productions was formed by Marilyn and photographer Milton Greene. The pair first met in 1953 on the Fox lot where Greene had travelled to photograph Marilyn for Look Magazine. They would discuss their partnership throughout 1954 and it would become official just after The Seven Year Itch was completed.
By 1955 Marilyn wanted to shed her "dumb blonde" image and decided to leave Hollywood and flee to New York. She decided to study under Lee Strasberg in his Actor's Studio in New York City. His wife, Paula, would become Marilyn's acting coach back in Los Angeles. Marilyn spent a year away from Hollywood and Twentieth Century Fox threatened to replace Marilyn and bad-mouthed her to the public. They figured if they couldn't have Marilyn no studio should. When Marilyn left Fox they realized they needed her more than anything else. They wrote up a new contract now working with Marilyn Monroe Productions in her next films. This was unheard of at this time and Marilyn got what she wanted: to be recognized as a true actress and noted for her mind. She now had an incredible amount of creative control, including director approval. Marilyn returned to Hollywood on February 25, 1956 and started filming Bus Stop on May 3, 1956. Marilyn Monroe Productions produced both Bus Stop and The Prince and the Showgirl, which showcased Marilyn's talent and versatility as an actress.
Marilyn met playwright Arthur Miller through a mutual friend named Elia Kazan in 1951 and in 1955 they started a public relationship. On June 29, 1956 in White Plains, New York, the couple were legally married. Two days later, the couple had a Jewish ceremony among their friends and family at the home of Miller's agent, Kay Brown. The couple went to England for a "quiet, working honeymoon" where Marilyn was to start filming The Prince and the Showgirl, but instead their "quiet time" was filled with photographers and reporters all trying to get the lastest image and scoop on the newlyweds. Marilyn and Arthur's marriage was tested when Marilyn found a notebook where Miller had written hurtful things about Marilyn's behavior on the set of her film. The couple's relationship improved once they left England and had a quick get-a-way to Jamaica.
The couple tried to start a family together but Marilyn continued to miscarry. One miscarriage happened in 1959, the same time she was filming Some Like It Hot. In the 1960's, Marilyn was now steadily mixing sleeping pills with champagne. The people around her would never know what mood she'd be in. "The Method", was a style of acting where the actor/actress would dig deep into their psyche to use their own personal emotions to play their characters. This was taught to Marilyn at the Actor's Studio and many blame it for her depression, as digging deep in Marilyn's psyche could only bring up past horrors of her mother's mental illness, not having a proper upbringing and of course, no father.
Miller tried to save his wife by writing the part of Roslyn Taber for Marilyn in 1961's The Misfits as a Valentine's gift. However, the couple's marriage was breaking down during the filming of the movie. Marilyn's dream of co-starring with Clark Gable had come true with The Misfits but would sadly be both Marilyn's and Gable's last completed film. On March 8, 1960 Marilyn won further recognition when winning Golden Globe's Best Actress in a Comdey for 1959's Some Like It Hot. Marilyn and Miller divorced on January 20, 1961. Marilyn moved into her last home in Brentwood in February 1962, with the help of Joe DiMaggio. On March 5, 1962 Marilyn won yet another Golden Globe. This time for Golden Globe's World Film Favorite.
Filming began for Something's Got To Give in April 1962. The frequent tardiness and absence of Marilyn on-set caused the film to fall into debt and drastically fall back on schedule. At one point Marilyn was fired and another actress, Lee Remick, was to take her place. Marilyn's co-star, Dean Martin, threatened to leave the movie if Marilyn was not going to be his leading lady.
Marilyn was re-hired and seemed to have a new positive vibe, much different from her previous mood swings in the beginning of filming. Things were looking great for Marilyn at this time. She had celebrated her 36th birthday on-set and those who knew Marilyn closely said she was looking forward to the many plans she had for her future, which may have included adopting a child from Mexico. Marilyn appeared on the cover of Life magazine for the last time on June 22, 1962 and had her last photo sessions with photographer Bert Stern for Vogue magazine on June 23, 24 and 25, 1962. Unfortunetly, Something's Got To Give would be Marilyn's final film and it would be left uncompleted. The film was re-shot after Marilyn's death and re-named Move Over, Darling, with the leading roles now belonging to Doris Day and James Garner.
Marilyn Monroe passed away in her Brentwood home on August 5, 1962 at the age of 36, with her phone in her hand. The explanation of her death still remains a mystery. Some believe it was an accidental overdose while some believe it was intentional and others think it was a murder cover-up by the Kennedy's. Which ever the true explanation is, Marilyn lost her life and the world lost Marilyn. Her ex-husband and long-time friend, Joe DiMaggio, looked after Marilyn's funeral arrangements along with Marilyn's half-sister, Berniece, and did not invite any of her "Hollywood friends", as he believed they contributed to Marilyn's depression and didn't care to help her when she clearly needed to be helped.
On August 8, 1962 Marilyn was laid to rest in the Corridor of Memories, #24, at Westwood Memorial Park in Los Angeles, California. Some say Marilyn and Joe planned to re-marry on that very same day, but Joe and his family kept their respects to Marilyn and never spoke of her publicly again. Before Marilyn's body was entered into the crypt, Joe kissed her forehead and whispered, "I love you. I love you. I love you." Joe sent a dozen roses to Marilyn's crypt three times a week for 20 years and never re-married.
"She was more than just a movie star or glamour queen. A global sensation in her lifetime, Marilyn's popularity has extended beyond star status to icon. Today, the name "Marilyn Monroe" is synonymous with beauty, sensuality and effervescence. She remains an inspiration to all who strive to overcome personal obstacles for the goal of achieving greatness."
- MarilynMonroe.com
For further and more detailed information on the biography of Marilyn Monroe, my personal suggestions are to read the following books: My Sister Marilyn by Berniece & Mona Rae Miracle, My Story by Marilyn Monroe and Marilyn Monroe: Private and Undisclosed by Michelle Morgan.
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