Marilyn Monroe "the Blonde Bombshell"

Marilyn Monroe “The Blonde Bombshell”

“I am not interested in money, I just want to be wonderful.” (Marilyn Monroe's official Website, 1) A quote from the classic beauty Marilyn Monroe. What I would like to know about Marilyn Monroe is about how she got started in show business, and what made her such a Hollywood icon. I really don’t know anything about her, or her career. The reason I would like to learn more about her, is because she seemed to be such an amazing person, and a classic beauty.

Marilyn Monroe was born Norma Jeane Mortenson on June 1, 1926 in Los Angeles, California, to Gladys Baker. Since the identity of her father is unknown, she was later baptized Norma Jeane Baker. Psychological problems prevented her mother from caring for her, so she spent most of her childhood in foster homes and orphanages until 1937, when she moved in with family friend Grace McKee Goddard.

“You wouldn’t exactly say I had a normal childhood, could you? They say you soon forget the bad things in your life. Maybe for others, but not for me. I guess I was about eight years old--I was living in this foster home that took in boarders besides me. I remember there was this old man they would cater to. He was star boarder. Well, one day when I was upstairs on the first floor where his room was, I was putting some towels in the hall closet. His door was open; he saw me and called me, motioned for me to come into his room. I went in, and immediately he bolted the door. He asked me to sit on his lap. Frightened, I obeyed. He kissed me and started doing other things to me. He put his hand under my dress. He said it’s only a game. He let me go when his game was over. He touched me in places no one ever had before. When he unlocked the door and let me out, I ran over to my foster mother and, crying, told her what he had done to me. “He touched me all over,” I sobbed, with tears running down my face. She looked at me, shocked at what I had told her. She slapped me across the mouth and shook me, shouting, “I don’t believe you. Don’t you dare say such nasty things about such a nice man.” I was so hurt, I began to stammer.” (Monroe. Barris, 23-24)

Unfortunately, when Grace's husband was transferred to the East Coast in 1942, the couple couldn't afford to take 16-year-old Norma Jeane with them. Norma Jeane had two options: return to the orphanage or get married.

On June 19, 1942 she wed her 21-year-old neighbor Jimmy Dougherty, whom she had been dating for six months. She was practically forced to get married. Otherwise she probably would have had to live in another foster home. “We dated for several months to get to know each other better, I never had an engagement. And just three weeks after my June first birthday was when we had our double-ring ceremony. Marriage to Jim brought me escape at the time.” (Monroe) But Jim soon joined the Merchant Marines and was sent to the South Pacific in 1944.

After Jimmy left, Norma Jeane took a job on the assembly line at the Radio Plane Munitions factory in Burbank, California. Several months later, photographer David Conover saw her while taking pictures of women contributing to the war effort for Yank magazine. She was a "photographer's dream." Conover used her for the shoot and then began sending modeling jobs her way. Her modeling career started when a photographer friend on Conover, Potter Hueth, showed pictures taken of Marilyn to Miss Emmeline Snively, who then ran the largest model agency in Los Angeles. The camera loved Norma Jeane, and within two years she was a reputable model with many popular magazine covers to her credit. She began studying the work of legendary actresses Jean Harlow and Lana Turner, and enrolled in drama classes with dreams of stardom. However, Jimmy's return in 1946 meant Norma Jeane had to make another choice- this time between her marriage and her career.

Norma Jeane divorced Jimmy in June of 1946, and signed her first studio contract with Twentieth Century Fox on August 26, 1946. She earned $125 a week. Soon after, Norma Jeane dyed her hair blonde and changed her name to Marilyn Monroe (borrowing her grandmother's last name). The rest, as the saying goes, is history. "Hollywood is a place where they'll pay you a thousand dollars for a kiss and fifty cents for your soul" (Monroe, Marilyn Monroe, 30)

Marilyn's first movie role was a bit part in 1947's The Shocking Miss Pilgrim. In 1950, Marilyn's performance as Claudia Caswell in All About Eve (starring Bette Davis) earned her further praise. From then on Marilyn worked steadily in movies such as: Let's Make It Legal, As Young As You Feel, Monkey Business and Don't Bother to Knock. It was her performance in 1953's Niagara, however,