Childhood and first marriage
Marilyn grew up in a family without a father. She still didn’t really know who he was. Her mother first gave her the surname Mortenson, and then changed it to the surname of her first husband.
By the way, the mother of the future actress Gladys Baker was a film editor, and Norma was her third child. But due to the fact that the woman constantly had financial problems, as well as constant depression and nervous breakdowns, the children were often sent to foster families and shelters.
Norma came to strangers for the first time at just two weeks of age. The mother gave it to the neighbors. And after a while she returned and tried to pick up the girl. Since she was having another nervous breakdown, for some reason she placed the child in a duffel bag. The case ended in a huge scandal and Norma lived with neighbors for the next seven years. But then Gladys still took the child for herself, when she bought her own house.
Childhood of a future star
The biography of Marilyn Monroe (Norma Jeane) is bright and controversial. She was born in one of the city hospitals in multimillion-dollar Los Angeles early in the morning. While still in the maternity ward, her mother, Gladys, told the doctors the following information: she did not know who the father of her newborn daughter was. The doctor wrote the baby down as Norma Jeane Mortensen.
Why did we mention the name of the mother of the future star? If you remember what was written about Merlin in her time; If you read what she herself was worried about, you can understand: Monroe was always afraid of mental disorders. This was connected with family legends (some of which had a basis in reality). Norma Jean's grandfather died of organic brain damage as a result of syphilis.
The grandmother of the future star was also not known for her integrity. After the death of her husband, she changed men, justifying herself by the need to arrange her personal life. Even Norma Jeane's mother, Gladys, she actually abandoned to the mercy of fate at the age of 14, simply by getting married. She abdicated responsibility for raising her daughter, giving her to her husband. It is clear that Norma Jeane grew up in conditions where certain foundations and values could not exist in the family.
When the baby was two weeks old, Grandma Della convinced Gladys to give her daughter up to a foster family. The flighty Gladys agreed immediately: she herself was not ready to take on the burden of her mother. So the girl Norma Jean ended up in the Bolender family, who made money by raising other people's children. By modern standards, it was a family-type orphanage.
The adoptive parents did not have any special love for their children, but they treated them well and gave them everything they needed. The future sex bomb spent the first seven years of her life in the Bolendor family. In her memoirs, she wrote that she was raised strictly, under constant prohibitions and fears.
Norma was not particularly liked by her adoptive mother. She considered the girl too silent, hidden and stupid. During one Easter celebration, all the children in the Bolendor family were dressed in dark tunics. Underneath they were wearing light-colored outfits. On command, at a certain moment, everyone had to take off their dark tunics. Only Norma Jeane “hesitated” and did not do this.
Later she recalled that she was the only “dark spot” on the celebration of life. This incident was remembered for a long time by the adoptive mother, who, at the first opportunity, persuaded her husband to give up “a silent creature that makes him nervous.”
When Norma Jeane was seven years old, maternal feelings awoke in her own mother, Gladys. It cannot be said that they had not communicated before. But if earlier their dates were periodic Sunday meetings, now Gladys has decided to take the girl away from her foster parents forever and start raising her herself.
The mother of the future star worked at the “dream factory”. Norma Jeane remembered Gladys' mother's friend, Grace, who became another foster family for her for a time.
Grace also worked at the Dream Factory. She was closely acquainted with many actors of that time. It was Grace who “planted” the idea in the girl’s head that she should become a movie star.
Norma Jeane's life in the family of her guardian also had its “dark spots.” Consider the story when her stepfather tried to rape her at the age of 11. And this was not a one-time incident. At the age of 12, the same story repeated itself with her own teenage cousin. Fortunately, both attempts were unsuccessful: the girl managed to escape.
At the age of 14, Norma Jeane first realized that she had turned from an awkward girl into a seductive little woman. Her rounded shape attracted the attention of many men. And at school Norma was given the nickname “Mmmm Girl.”
It was early maturation that to some extent “played into the hands” of the girl. After all, at the age of 16, she rushed to marry her friend Jim Dougherty. Did she love him? Rather, it was a necessary measure: without getting married, Norma Jeane would have to live in a shelter until her 18th birthday. And in her older friend she saw a partner, an adviser and the best option. Thus ended childhood.
Hollywood and success
A year later, in 1946, Norma was offered to work as an extra at the film company 20th Century Fox. But for this it was necessary to change the first and last name to something more sonorous. After several proposed options, we settled on Marilyn Monroe. The directors came up with the name, and Norma herself chose the surname - she took her mother’s maiden name.
If a bright streak began in his film career, then in his personal life everything was bad. A month after signing a contract with the film company, Monroe's first marriage broke up.
The first success in cinema occurred in 1949, when the film “Chorus Girls” was released. In this film, Monroe not only acted, but also surprised everyone with her singing and dancing. After him, the film studio offered her a seven-year contract and a role in “The Asphalt Jungle.”
At the beginning of 1954, Marilyn married again - to the famous baseball player Joe DiMaggio. But the marriage lasted only 9 months. Di Maggio was a terrible jealous person and often allowed himself to assault the charming blonde, whom men were always after. But despite the constant clashes and quarrels, Di Maggio looked after Marilyn until the end of her life and was her support in the most difficult moments.
Despite the problems in her marriage, Marilyn received another role - in the film “There is no better business than show business”, and in the same 1954 she opened her own film studio “Marilyn Monroe. Production".
Personal life of Marilyn Monroe
The actress was not married for 8 years. Only in 1954 did she marry one of the best baseball players in history, Joe DiMaggio. However, Marilyn's new husband was very jealous and against this background he often raised his hand against the movie star. Because of all this, the marriage did not last long - they divorced in the same year (to be more precise, this marriage lasted about 9 months). But, even despite all Joe’s assault, he loved Monroe very dearly.
In 1950, Marilyn Monroe met Arthur Miller, a playwright. After a short conversation they had to part ways. Their new meeting took place in 1955, after which a romance broke out, and in 1956 they got married. This marriage turned out to be the longest of all the stars had, but not the happiest.
Monroe always wanted a man like Miller, but he considered her childish. On top of that, Marilyn Monroe dreamed of having children, but she either couldn’t get pregnant or the pregnancy was unsuccessful. Monroe and Miller separated in 1961.
There are also rumors of a romance between Monroe and John Kennedy, who was US President from 1961-1963. But they have no official confirmation.
Worldview and friends
Despite her status as a highly paid star, Marilyn always identified herself as a working-class girl.
She advocated for equal rights for everyone, regardless of skin color or origin, which led many to consider her a communist. In addition, in Mexico she had many close communist acquaintances, which clearly did not play into her hands.
Monroe was on very close friendly terms with singer Ella Fitzgerald. It was thanks to Marilyn that she became a star. At least that’s what the “queen of jazz” herself always said. Marilyn simply called the owner of the nightclub and asked for a few evenings for Ella's performance, with the condition that Marilyn herself would become a regular visitor to the establishment. The owner could not resist, Marilyn was always at the table in the front row, there were many clients, and after that Ella Fitzgerald never looked for where to perform.
Career blossoming
The rapid rise of Norma Jeane's career began after meeting 53-year-old influential Hollywood film agent Jonny Hyde. He came up with the pseudonym Marilyn Monroe and a bright image of a sexy blonde. On July 23, 1946, Joni persuades Twentieth Century-Fox Studios to sign a 7-year contract with Marilyn. They soon began a romance, which provided her with roles in such films: “Choir Girls” 1948, “The Asphalt Jungle” 1950, “All About Eve” 1950. In the film "The Asphalt Jungle", Marilyn had a small but decisive role, which brought her a lot of success.
In 1950, her lover Johnny Hyde died suddenly of a heart attack. Despite Marilyn's success, she feels insecure, she does not consider herself beautiful, and often experiences emptiness, despair, and hopelessness. As a result of all this, depression appeared, which became the cause of addiction to alcohol. To improve Monroe's condition, doctors prescribe antidepressants such as Seconal, Nembutal, even at the very beginning of her career. These drugs were easily available in Hollywood. All the stars accepted them. They helped me sleep well at night and be a “Star” during the day. Monroe's first leading role was in the 1952 film "Knock In."
"Hollywood is a place where they'll pay you a thousand dollars for a kiss and fifty cents for your soul" Marilyn
In 1953, having starred in such a blockbuster as “Gentlemen Prefer Blondes,” Monroe packed movie theaters.
Death and versions of murder
On the night of August 5, 1962, Marilyn Monroe died in her own home in California. The autopsy results confirmed the initial version - an overdose of sleeping pills. When her body was found, Marilyn was clutching the telephone receiver in her hands, as if she was trying to call someone.
Her death was a tragedy for the country. This is evidenced by the fact that many people, having learned about her death, committed suicide - also by swallowing pills.
Marilyn Monroe was buried at Westwood Cemetery in Los Angeles.
The exact circumstances of the actress’s death have not yet been established.
Several versions have been put forward: murder by secret services to avoid publicity of the relationship between Marilyn and the Kennedy brothers, accidental overdose, suicide, a doctor’s mistake who advised her to take pills that did not combine with each other, and murder by the Mexican mafia.
Reference
- Norma Jean Mortenson (Baker)
- Born June 1, 1926
- Died August 5, 1962
- Height - 1 m 66 cm
- Weight - 53.5 kg
- Blue eyes
- Real hair color is brown
- Chest - 94 cm
- Waist - 59 cm
- Hips - 95 cm
Insanity and syphilis
At the age of 12, Norma-Marilyn, wandering between guardians and a hard-working mother, learned that she had an older sister and a deceased brother. Mom, Gladys Pearl Baker , was in love with cinema. She worked as an editor at the RKO Pictures film studio of Joseph Kennedy , the father of the future US president. The elder Kennedy was known as a racist and anti-Semite, adored Hitler , and carried out dirty propaganda orders from Washington. He forced all the cute actresses of his film company to sleep with him.
It seems that our heroine’s life was also predetermined. But for now she's a cute teenage girl. Mom comes from Hollywood only on weekends, takes her to the cinema, where she buys a bag of candy, and tells gossip from the world of stars. And gradually he goes crazy. Gladys's father died of syphilis, before which the disease affected the brain - this made an impression on her.
In 1933, the woman finally took seven-year-old Norma to her home in Hollywood. Night work with films allowed her to save money for her house. A year later, she would go to a psychiatric clinic, which she would not leave until her death in 1984. And Norma will wander between guardians, an orphanage, and foster parents who were denied adoption by Gladys, who was locked in a mental hospital. For some time, the girl lived with her mother’s friend’s family, but was expelled, becoming a victim of her husband’s harassment. She moved to her aunt’s, but there, one night, she discovered her cousin climbing into her bed. The woman is always to blame.
Interesting Facts
- Marilyn Monroe was featured on the cover of the first issue of Playboy magazine in 1953.
- Some directors who worked with Marilyn later complained that it was impossible to work with her. The actress was constantly confused and, worse, forgot the words and was always late for filming. Sometimes it took 20–40 takes to film an episode.
- Monroe has undergone several plastic surgeries. Surgeons corrected her nose and changed the shape of her chin. For three years she had “paraffin” (since silicone was not yet installed) breasts.
- Most people perceived Monroe only as a very beautiful, but not very smart actress. But in fact, Marilyn devoted a lot of time to self-education and read quite a lot of books. Her personal library at the time of her death included more than 400 volumes. The actress's taste was quite diverse; among the authors of books in her library were: Z. Freud, L. Tolstoy, F. Dostoevsky, Scott Fitzgerald, A. Camus, James Joyce and others.
Some people like it hot
For some time after the loss of her child, Marilyn was severely depressed. Doctors generously prescribed her potent drugs, which she washed down with alcohol without a shadow of a doubt. As a result, the actress was hospitalized again - this time in a coma. Doctors had to work hard to bring her back to life.
Two years later, during the filming of the film “Some Like It Hot” (known to Russian-speaking viewers as “Some Like It Hot”), Marilyn realized that she was pregnant again.
Her joy knew no bounds - but her happiness was short-lived: she soon had a miscarriage. It was never possible to find out what caused it; one version says that the actress lost her child due to too intense work on the set.
Still from the film Some Like It Hot. Photo: Wikipedia
