Marilyn Monroe (1926 – 1962) American actress, singer, model

Life & Career

Monroe was born in Los Angeles, “California” and was named “Norma Jeane Mortenson”, by her mother “Gladys Baker Mortenson”. There is no such specific existence of Monroe’s biological father, but many speculate her mother re-married Martin Mortenson, after Monroe’s birth. Being a single parent, Gladys had a tough life, she worked in the daytime and kept her daughter with neighbours.

Everything was going well until her ill luck of getting diagnosed with a mental disease. She was admitted to Norwalk State Hospital in 1935. For her mother’s illness, Monroe found had to stay with one of her close aunts named Mackee where she found a stable home. One fine day, her aunt McKee tied the knot between 16-year-old Monroe with her neighbour “Jim Dougherty”, who was a 21-year-old bright boy. Both got married on “June 19, 1942”.

Another turning point in Monroe’s life took place when her husband, Dougherty, had to join the Merchant Marines' army as Americans witnessed the involvement of World War II. Dougherty had to shift to Shanghai one year later. Monroe was all alone once again and took a job at a “Radio Plane Munitions factory”, and there she was discovered by a renowned photographer “David Conover” who was in charge of capturing the photos of women who were putting their efforts into the World War II. David Conover was impressed with Monroe’s photograph and showed her pictures to a commercial photographer named Potter Hueth.

Monroe started gaining fame as her photos were also liked by “Emmeline Snively”, the head of “Blue Book Modeling Agency” which was quite a reputed modelling agency in Los Angeles of that era. He offered Monroe a lucrative opportunity for a full-time modelling career, and also offered her a 3-month modelling course at his school. Monroe agreed at this opportunity to start focussing on her modelling career, and from then she didn’t have to look back.

Marilyn Monroe

Death and Funeral

Marilyn Monroe breathed last at her residence in Los Angeles on “August 5, 1962”. She was found naked lying on her bed, with an apparent overdose of drugs on her side table. She was the talk of the town amongst Hollywood executives for quite a long period of time after her death. It is said that after death, Marilyn Monroe’s body was shifted to “Westwood Village Mortuary” for an autopsy. Despite many controversies regarding Monroe’s death, she became one of the top American actresses.

Screen Persona and Reception

Monroe bore a significant public image as an actress in her society and at the end of her film career, she had complete control over it. She worked hard on different publicity strategies, nurtured friendships with gossip columnist figures like-” Sidney Skolsky and Louella Parsons”, and controlled her iconic image uses. Besides, she was often compared to another iconic blonde 1930s film star “Jean Harlow” Monroe followed Harlow from her childhood days and considered her as her idol, wanted to enact in her biopic, and also mimicked Harlow’s hairstyling.

Monroe's screen persona revolved around her blonde hair and the type of castes that were involved in it, which included dumbness, sexual atrocities and ambidexterity. Monroe typically used childlike voices in her films, and she claimed that she used such voices for utter entertainment and to create innocent and parodying moments in the film.

Legacy

Even after Marilyn Monroe's death, her enraging performances along with her personal history of struggle continue to allure the public's imagination. The paradigmatic image of Monroe standing over the subway gate in “The Seven-Year Itch” is an unforgettable capture and one of the distinguishable portraits in the landscape of modern culture. Along with “Michael Jackson”, “Elvis Presley”, and “Elizabeth Taylor”, Monroe also became a prominent figure and was called a “celeb”—The entertainment industry gave this name in context to the perished celebrities whose various properties continue to bring about the adequate amount of revenues posts death of any celebrity. Monroe appeared in a 2011 ad along with “Grace Kelly”, “Marlene Dietrich”, and “Charlize Theron” for “Christian Dior's perfume J'Adore” in a digitally generated image.

Filmography

There are several popular films in which Marilyn Monroe has acted, and the following are some of them −

• “Seven Sirens (1946)”

• “Dangerous Years (1947)”

• Scudda Hoo! Scudda Hay! (1948)

• “Ladies of the Chorus (1948)”

• “Love Happy (1949)”

• “A Ticket to Tomahawk (1950)”

• “The Asphalt Jungle (1950)”

• “All About Eve (1950)”

• “The Fireball (1950)”

• “Right Cross (1951)”

• “HomeTown Story (1951)”

• “As Young as You Feel (1951)”

• “Love Nest (1951)”

• “Let's Make It Legal (1951)”

• “Clash by Night (1952)”

Conclusion

Marilyn Monroe was a famous model turned American actress who acted in numerous Hollywood films. She got her first modelling break from a renowned photographer, David Conover. She died a tragic death of a drug overdose and was found naked lying on her bed. Furthermore, she had a very powerful personality and everyone cherishes her acting skills to date.

FAQs

Q1. What is the educational background of Marilyn Monroe?

Ans. She went to University high school in “Los Angeles, California” but dropped out at 15. But she did not continue with any higher studies.

Q2. Was Marilyn a model before coming to the films?

Ans. Yes, She took up modelling as a career before she came into films. This happened when Dougherty and her husband had to join the Merchant Marines' army as Americans witnessed the involvement of World War II and had to shift to Shanghai one year later. Monroe was all alone once again and took a job at a “Radio Plane Munitions factory”, and there she was discovered by a “David Conover” who was in charge of capturing the photos of women who were putting their efforts in World War II. He motivated Monroe to pursue her career as a model.

Q3. Was there any myth about the actress which she did not bear?

Ans. One of the biggest myths about Monroe was that she was dumb and fragile. There were even rumours that she could not act. But she was far away from all these speculations, although she didn’t have formal education, and was very sensitive about that. But the gossip about her could not tilt her, as she had a powerful and demanding personality.