10 questions · Society & Everyday
Norma Jeane Mortenson is born in Los Angeles in 1926 and grows up in a difficult childhood; her mother is mentally ill, and the girl passes through foster homes and orphanages. As a young woman she works in a munitions factory, where a photographer discovers her. The model Norma Jeane soon becomes "Marilyn Monroe": a new name, dyed-blonde hair and the start of an unparalleled career. In the 1950s Monroe rises to become Hollywood's biggest female film star. In comedies such as 'Gentlemen Prefer Blondes', 'The Seven Year Itch' and 'Some Like It Hot' she plays, with fine comic timing, the naive, glamorous blonde: a role that became a cliché and, at the same time, a trap. The scene in which her white dress billows up over a subway grating is one of the most famous images of the 20th century. Behind the radiant facade, Monroe struggles for recognition as a serious actress. She moves to New York, studies at the renowned Actors Studio, and founds her own film production company; an unusually self-determined move for a female star of the era. Her marriages, including to the baseball star Joe DiMaggio and the playwright Arthur Miller, are under constant public scrutiny. In 1962 Marilyn Monroe dies at just 36 of an overdose of sleeping pills; her death is generally regarded as a probable suicide and is still surrounded by speculation. She became an icon: a symbol of glamour, but also of the loneliness behind fame.
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film star / actress
She became the symbol of Hollywood glamour.
💡 Did you know? Monroe became the world's best-known film icon of the 1950s: the very image of Hollywood glamour.
Norma Jeane
"Marilyn Monroe" was a stage name she took at the start of her career.
💡 Did you know? As Norma Jeane, Monroe grew up in orphanages and foster homes before becoming a global star.
Some Like It Hot
The 1959 comedy is regarded as one of the best films in cinema history.
💡 Did you know? The comedy „Some Like It Hot“ (1959) is regarded by many as one of the best films of all time.
the billowing white dress
The scene of Monroe's white dress billowing over a subway grate became one of the most famous images in film history.
💡 Did you know? It is one of the most famous images of the 20th century.
studied at the Actors Studio
She wanted to break out of the "naive blonde" cliché.
💡 Did you know? Monroe wanted to be more than a blonde glamour girl and seriously studied acting in New York.
her own production company
Unusually for the 1950s, Monroe founded her own production company to gain more control over her roles.
💡 Did you know? She wanted more control over her roles: rare for an actress in the 1950s.
Joe DiMaggio and Arthur Miller
Both marriages were under constant public scrutiny.
💡 Did you know? Her marriages to the baseball star Joe DiMaggio and the playwright Arthur Miller were constantly in the spotlight.
aged 36 (1962)
Her death is regarded as a probable suicide and is still surrounded by speculation.
💡 Did you know? Monroe died in 1962 at just 36 of a pill overdose: her early death still fuels speculation today.
Foto: Los Angeles Times · CC BY 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons
Marilyn Monroe
Marilyn Monroe (1926 to 1962) was an American actress and probably the most famous film idol of the 20th century.
💡 Did you know? Behind the radiant image, Monroe struggled with self-doubt and loneliness: her wish to be taken seriously as an artist often went unfulfilled.
1926
Born: 1 June 1926 in Los Angeles
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