Marilyn's Life

 High schools:

• Van Nuys High School;

• University High School

• Occupations: Model, Actress, Singer

Marriages:

• Jimmy Dougherty (1942-1946);
• Joe DiMaggio (1954);
• Arthur Miller (1956-1961)

Stepchildren:

• Joe DiMaggio, Jr.,
• Jane and Robert Miller 

In 1999, Marilyn was named the Number One Sex Star of the 20th Century by Playboy magazine In 1999, Marilyn was voted the 'Sexiest Woman of the Century' by People Magazine. Issued on June 1, 1995,

Marilyn was featured on a 32¢ US commemorative postage stamp. In December 1953, she was the Playboy "Sweetheart" of the Month. In February 1953, Marilyn was named the “The Most Advertised Girl in the World” by the Advertising Association of the West.  In 1946, she began using the stage name Marilyn Monroe, but did not legally change her name until February 23, 1956. 

The skies looked bleak for fans of Hollywood during the summer of 1926. America was stunned and shocked by the sudden death of silent film star Rudolph Valentino. Tens of thousands of people mourned the passing of this thirty-one year old symbol of masculinity. No one took notice that just two months before this icon of the silver screen died, another icon was born.  

Gladys Baker gave birth to her baby girl June 1, 1926 in Hollywood, California. Born an illegitimate child, she named her daughter Norma Jeane Mortensen. Financially and emotionally insecure, Gladys could not maintain full custody of her child and Norma Jeane was trucked from foster home to foster home. After a few years, believing she achieved financial stability, Gladys bought a small house and her daughter moved in with her   

However, purchasing a house in the 1930’s was not a wise investment and the bills began to pile up. When Gladys discovered the bank foreclosed on her home, she suffered a mental breakdown and was whisked away to a institution.    

Norma Jeane never lived with her mother again. Once again shipped from one foster home to another, Norma Jeane suffered mental, physical and sexual abuse from her “caretakers”.

At the age of nine, Norma Jeane was sent, kicking and screaming, to an orphanage where she stayed for two years. Her godmother, Grace Goddard took eleven year old Norma Jeane to live with her and Norma Jeane finally felt some sense of security, though the feeling did not last long.    

Shortly before Norma Jeane’s sixteenth birthday, Grace said that she and her husband were moving away and they were unable to take Norma Jeane with them. Grace gave the teenager two choices: either marry the boy next door, James Dougherty, or move back to the orphanage. Choosing the former option, she became Norma Jeane Dougherty just two weeks after her sixteenth birthday.   

By all accounts, Norma Jeane’s marriage to Dougherty was a pleasant experience for the young bride. She enjoyed the time spent with her young husband and finally felt the stability she had longed for -- until the advent of World War II.   

Dougherty was shipped overseas and Norma Jeane felt abandoned once more. For extra cash, Norma Jeane worked in a parachute factory when she was spotted by photographer David Conover. He approached her and explained to her that he had been sent to find pretty girls to photograph for the soldiers feeling lonely fighting across the ocean. He found her extremely attractive and asked to take her picture.    

Flattered, Norma Jeane agreed to a photo session where she discovered the camera adored her. It was not long before she quit the parachute factory and joined the Blue Book Modelling Agency. She became a favourite for many photographers and found herself on the cover of many men’s magazines.   

It did not take long before Norma Jeane set her sights on an acting career. She divorced her husband and signed a contract with Twentieth Century Fox. Changing her name to Marilyn Monroe, she was assigned extra work and bit parts, but Fox considered Marilyn not particularly photogenic and unmarketable.   

Marilyn felt downtrodden when she was dropped from her contract, but she persevered to fulfill her Hollywood dream. After meeting on a blind date, Marilyn and baseball legend, Joe DiMaggio soon became inseparable and quickly fell in love with each other. While on suspension from Fox for refusing to star in a particular film, Marilyn and Joe married January, 1954. 

Source - http://www.norma2marilyn.com/biography.html