Originally published on 06/18/24

When it comes to 1950’s Hollywood, few stars still shine as brightly as the late and great Marilyn Monroe some 62 years after her passing. While she is perhaps best known for her films Gentlemen Prefer Blondes (1953), The Seven Year Itch (1955) and Bus Stop (1956), Monroe was also the first person to pose for Playboy magazine, enhancing her place in history as a sex symbol for all of America.

Often misunderstood in Hollywood, Monroe had a tendency to push back against the way things were normally done and — not surprisingly — was criticized by the press and ridiculed by much of the industry for it.

Admittedly diva-ish at times, and something of a perfectionist, this starlet broke ceilings — glass and otherwise — and cultural stereotypes in a way that changed Hollywood forever. All it took was persistence, stubbornness, wit and determination.

All of these qualities were proven by how she never let people tear her down based on the way she looked. In fact, Monroe once famously said, “Imperfection is beauty, madness is genius and it’s better to be absolutely ridiculous than absolutely boring,” which is something moviegoers saw Monroe live every second of her glamorous and very tragic life.

The early life of Marilyn Monroe

Marilyn Monroe was born Norma Jean Mortensen on June 1, 1926 in Los Angeles to Gladys Pearl Baker and an unidentified father. Because her mother struggled with mental health issues, Norma was put into foster care until age 7, at which point Gladys, feeling stable enough, purchased a house in Hollywood and took Norma to live with her. Unfortunately, she fell into mental crisis shortly after and custody of Norma was given to the state of CA. 

Glady’s friend, Grace, was given custody, but she married two years later and sent Norma to an orphanage, where she stayed for two years. Then it was back with Grace until things changed again as Grace and her husband were planning on moving and didn’t want to bring her along. In order to stay out of the foster system, Norma, who was 16, married boyfriend Jim Dougherty.

By 1946, though, things with Norma and Jim weren’t working out and they got divorced, with Norma nonetheless continuing to nurture her interest in acting, while using modeling as a stepping stone. 

Marilyn’s early career

As time when on, Marilyn was certainly getting used to being in front of the camera, and soon after was offered her first short-term contract with 20th Century Fox, followed later by Columbia pictures. It was while at Fox that they decided to use the stage name “Marilyn Monroe,” and Columbia where they modeled her after Rita Hayworth, dying her hair that signature platinum blonde. For her part, she always looked up to another blonde bombshell, Jean Harlow. 

The start of her acting career

Between 1951 and 1953, Marilyn began to achieve her dream of becoming a popular actress in films like Monkey Business and Don’t Bother to Knock. Then, eventually, her face — and body — were on posters and billboards everywhere. By 1953, she was the face of Hollywood, starring in films like Gentlemen Prefer Blondes and How to Marry a Millionaire, comedies which cast her as a “dumb blonde” archetype. 

How Marilyn became a star

To help fine tune her acting skills, Monroe worked with German actor and coach Natasha Lytess while simultaneously taking ballet and voice classes. She scored a few small roles in minor films before being offered a long-term contract with Fox and, in 1948, was given her first starring role in the move Ladies of the Chorus. It was also the first film in which she danced and sang. 

The Playboy photoshoot

In 1953 Monroe was asked to pose for the cover and centerfold of the first issue of Playboy. 

“I feel a double connection to her [Monroe], because she was the launching key to the beginning of Playboy,” Hugh Hefner told CBS Los Angeles in 2012. “We were born the same year.”

However, the two never met. “She was actually in my brother’s acting class in New York,” Hefner said of Monroe in 2011. “But the reality is that I never met her. I talked to her once on the phone, but I never met her. She was gone, sadly, before I came.”

Marilyn’s breaking point

Given her success, her contract with Fox meant that she was being underpaid in the industry compared to other actors. This and feeling typecast frustrated her. This led to her taking herself more seriously as an actress and demanding to star in more serious roles. However, Darryl Zanuck, the head of Fox, disliked Marilyn and felt she wouldn’t be a box office draw in more dramatic roles. 

The ‘Seven Year Itch’

After refusing a role in the film The Girl in Pink Tights alongside Frank Sinatra, Monroe was suspended from 20th Century Fox — which didn’t end until March of 1954, when she received a settlement from the studio including a starring role in 1955’s The Seven Year Itch. 

Also that year, Marilyn married Joe Dimaggio, a retired baseball player from the New York Yankees whom she had been dating for the previous three years. It’s said that Dimaggio was a very jealous man, which led to her filing for divorce a short nine months later.

Marilyn Monroe’s production company

The following years were very successful for Monroe’s career, with her choosing to leave Hollywood and start Marilyn Monroe Productions (MMP) on the East Coast with photographer and friend Milton Greene. When she talked about what led her to do so, she said she was “tired of the same old sex roles. I want to do better things. People have scope, you know.”

Life in the late 1950’s

Though she faced ridicule in the late 1950’s, Monroe continued to work, attending workshops and pursuing acting lessons. It eventually paid off with Fox offering her a new seven-year contract that met both her monetary and creative demands. Her strong will was a notable characteristic and, as she said herself, “A wise girl knows her limits, a smart girl knows that she has none.”

During this time, she began a relationship with a playwright Arthur Miller. They married in 1956 and she converted to Judaism, at which time Egypt banned all of her films.

‘Bus Stop’

Also in 1956, Marilyn starred in the first movie under her new contract, the drama film Bus Stop. The critical acclaim she received finally dispelled the view that she was just a “dumb blonde” actress.  Nominated for her first Golden Globe Award, she proved to everyone that she was right to believe in herself.

She went on to receive many other nominations throughout her career and eventually won the Golden Globe for Best Motion Picture Actress in Comedy or Musical for her starring role in Some Like it Hot (1959).

Marilyn Monroe and JFK

On May 19, 1962, Monroe filmed a very sultry and seductive video of her singing “Happy Birthday” to former president John F. Kennedy. This led many to believe that the two were having an affair, with rumors she was seeing Bobby Kennedy as well.

“It was pretty clear that Marilyn had sexual relations with both Bobby and Jack,” biographer James Spada said. Spada also confirmed that JFK and Monroe were introduced by actor Peter Lawford in 1952.

However Jerry Blaine, a former Secret Service agent for Kennedy, said “He [JFK] probably thanked her for singing. But they weren’t alone. [I] never saw any evidence of an affair … but I don’t know what happened behind closed doors.”

Marilyn Monroe’s mental health and death

Unfortunately, it was well known through all that had happened in her life and career that Monroe struggled with her mental health. She battled depression, anxiety and substance abuse issues for much of her life. In 1962, she passed away from an overdose at just 32-years-old.

Although her life was short, the effect Marilyn had on the world lasted for generations to come. Many don’t think of her untimely and unfortunate death when they hear her name. Instead, we see an image of her beautiful bright smile, knock-out bod, eyes full of wonder, fabulous blonde hair — and, of course, that strong, ferocious will.

Link to original: https://www.firstforwomen.com/gallery/entertainment/marilyn-monroe-life-172722