Lindsay Walker

March 21, 2003

COM 290

Marilyn Monroe

Norma Jeane Mortenson was born on June 1, 1926 in Los Angeles, California. She lived in an orphanage throughout her preteen years, due to her mother’s mental illness, until ending up with some family friends, the Goddard’s. They had to move when she was 16 and they couldn’t afford to take her with them, so she married her 21 year-old neighbor, Jimmy Dougherty on June 19, 1942. He went to World War II in 1944 and Norma Jeane worked at the assembly line at the Radio Plane Munitions factory, where a photographer saw her. He stated that she was a “photographer’s dream” and helped her sign a modeling contract. One thing led to another and within two years, she was on the cover on popular magazine and had an escalating career in the public eye. Norma Jeane divorced Dougherty in June of 1946 and signed her first studio contract with Twentieth Century Fox on August 26, 1946. Soon after, she dyed her hair blonde and changed her name to Marilyn Monroe, using her grandmother’s last name.

Marilyn’s first movie was “The Shocking Miss Pilgrim” in 1947. This led to many more films, but it was 1953’s “Niagara” that delivered her to stardom. This helped her obtain the lead roles in popular films such as “Gentlemen Prefer Blondes” and “How to Marry a Millionaire”. Marilyn married baseball superstar, Joe DiMaggio on January 14, 1954, but DiMaggio could not handle his wife’s sex appeal. The couple divorced nine months later on October 27, 1954 due to “conflict on careers”. In 1956, Marilyn started her own motion picture company called Marilyn Monroe Productions. She wanted to move away from her shallow blonde image and be seen as a multidimensional

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woman. On June 29, 1956 Marilyn attempted her third marriage with playwright Arthur Miller. He wrote the lead female part in his film “The Misfits” especially for her. But no different from the first two, the marriage ended on January 20, 1961. Sadly on August 5, 1962 Marilyn Monroe died in her sleep at her Brentwood, California home at the young age of 36.

Although she lived a short life, Marilyn had many accomplishments. These include making more than 30 films, leaving one unfinished called “Something’s Got to Give” and recording 31 musical albums. She was crowned Miss California Artichoke Queen in 1947, Playboy’s “Sweetheart” of the Month in Decemeber of 1953, and “Best New Actress of 1953” by Photoplay magazine. Also, Marilyn received a Golden Globe for “Best Actress in a Comedy” for Some Like it Hot in 1959 and in 1962 she was named the “Female World Film Favorite” by the Golden Globes. After she died, the world continued to remember Marilyn. On June 1, 1995 she appeared on a 32 cent commemorative postage stamp and her Hollywood Walk of Fame Star is located on 6901 Hollywood Boulevard. In 1999, she was named “Sexiest Woman of the Century” by People magazine and “Number One Sex Star of the Twentieth Century” by Playboy magazine. Today, the name “Marilyn Monroe” is synonymous with beauty, sensuality and effervescence and she will never be forgotten.

Works Cited

Marilyn Monroe’s Official Website. (n.d.) Retrieved March 16, 2003, from

http://www.marilynmonroe.com.html