American actress and model, Marilyn Monroe overcame a difficult life to become one of the world’s biggest and most enduring sex symbols. Marilyn Monroe was born as Norma Jeane Mortenson (later baptized as Norma Jeane Baker) on June 1, 1926, in Los Angeles, California.1 Her mother, Gladys Baker Mortenson, developed psychiatric problems when Marilyn was just a child. Marilyn grew up not knowing for sure who her father really was.2 Her childhood was difficult. While growing up, she spent most of her time in foster homes and orphanages where she was being sexually abused and raped. To get away from being abused and raped, she had to get married. She got married at just the age of sixteen to her current boyfriend and dropped out of school …show more content…
Her husband went into the military and it led to their divorce. Marilyn then wanted to focus on her career so she started modeling. Around this time, she changed her name to Marilyn Monroe and started dying her hair blonde in preparation for an acting career. Her entire life, she dreamed of becoming an actress like Jean Harlow and Lana Turner. Marilyn then started signing contracts to be in movies and films. She was cast as the “dumb blonde”. Marilyn had a successful career as an actress and model. On January 14, 1954, Monroe married Yankee baseball player Joe Di Maggio (1919–1999). But the pressures created by her billing as a screen sex symbol caused the marriage to fall apart, and the couple divorced on October 27, 1954.3 She formed her own studio, Marilyn Monroe Productions, in 1955. In 1956, she got married to a playwright, Arthur Miller but they got divorced in 1961. Their divorce led to Marilyn being hospitalized in a New York psychiatric clinic for a brief period of time. At just the age of 36, she was found dead in her bedroom of her home in Brentwood, Los Angeles, California, on August 5, 1962. Her death was caused by a drug overdose. Marilyn was buried at the Westwood Village Memorial Park. Many people today, still …show more content…
After her mother, Gladys, got sick, she paid her friend, Grace Goddard, to take care of Marilyn for a few years. Grace always told Marilyn, "You will grow up to be a great actress and a great woman." It influenced Marilyn to want to become a successful actress. Her situation with being sexually abused and even raped in foster homes, influenced Marilyn to get married at just the age of sixteen to her boyfriend, Jimmy Dougherty. She got married so she would be able to get away from all of that. Another influence was her modeling and acting career. She wanted a new image for her career so she started dying her hair platinum blonde and changed her name to "Marilyn Monroe", too. Marilyn Monroe attended many schools throughout her entire life. When Marilyn was sixteen, she dropped out of school at Van Nuys high school. She didn’t even make it to graduation. In 1942, she took courses in art appreciation and literature at UCLA, the University of California, Los Angeles. Later on in her life, Marilyn moved to New York and studied at the Actors Studio with Lee and Paula Strasberg. Marilyn may not have graduated but she ended up being successful in the long