Marilyn Monroe remains one of if not the most popular sex symbols of her day. As commonly thought of as beauty with her dress flying up, Marilyn was a symbol of white. In the West, white was related to “cleanliness” but also represented elegance. She became a rising star as the civil rights movement grew to its height. Making over 30 movies in 15 years, Marilyn Monroe is the subject of over 50 books, more than any other television star of her day. As a star, she appealed to both blacks and whites, something that was against the norm of her time. “No one since has embodied her combination of beauty, vulnerability, and sexuality. It made her famous and it made her fragile.” Tragic Childhood Norma Jean Mortenson was born 1 June 1926, in the charity ward of a Las Angeles hospital. She was the illegitimate daughter of Gladys Monroe Baker Mortensen, and unstable, mentally-ill woman. …show more content…
The picture turned out so well that she ended up quitting her job at the factory to become a photographer’s model. After dying her brunette hair blonde, the 5’5” beauty posed for hundreds of ads, calendars, and magazines. Living close to Hollywood, Jean dreamed of being an actress. So, in 1946, she divorced James Doughtery and signed a 1 year contract with 20th Century Fox Studio. Here, an executive suggested she change her name to Marilyn after the 1920’s star Marilyn Miller. Taking his advice, Jean took her maternal grandmother’s surname “Monroe” and became Marilyn Monroe. Keeping her all white look from modeling, Marilyn portrayed a role of a “dumb-blonde.” During a scene in her film Seven Year Itch, Monroe is standing on a bridge over a train. As the train speeds under, Monroe’s skirt flies up showing her undergarments and her legs. The classic picture of Marilyn Monroe. This showed off Marilyn’s sexuality to the