Do You Know These Facts About Marilyn Monroe?

Who does not know Marilyn Monroe? She was an actress, model, and a producer who very famous in the 1950s. The public gained interest in not only her career but also in her private life, the decisions she made, and the scandals in her life.

“If you’re gonna be two-faced at least make one of them pretty.” — Marilyn Monroe

Marilyn

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You would have thought that a woman as lovely as Marilyn had a perfect life. However, little Marilyn was placed with 11 sets of foster parent and even spent almost a year in Children’s Aid Society Orphanage when her mother was institutionalized.

Marilyn had a history of changing beliefs in the span of her life. She was a Christian Scientist when she was 18. At one point, she tried alternative spiritualities. However, she converted to Judaism before marrying Arthur Miller.

Marilyn loved dogs and was even given one by Frank Sinatra. She named the dog Maf for ‘Mafia Honey.’

The actress used hormone cream to whiten her skin. One of the side effects was the development of a blonde face, which she believed gave her a soft glow on the camera.

Bold as she was, going au naturel was her personal preference. Yes, she was that confident and comfortable with her skin and body. With her curves, who wouldn’t be? While attending interviews, she would go either au naturel or with nothing under a black mint that her Joe DiMaggio gave her.

“A girl knows her limits, but a wise girl knows she has none.”— Marilyn Monroe

ROMANCE

Beautiful as she was, her romantic adventures failed like the three marriages she had. The was first married to James Dougherty at the age of 16. Her ex-husband became an LAPD detective. She married two more, Arthur Miller and Joe DiMaggio.

People thought about Miller’s play as a reflection of his marriage with Marilyn.  James Baldwin, the writer, walked out of the play because he felt that a character—thought to be Marilyn’s character— was written in a cruel way.

At the time of her death, Marilyn was reading  “To Kill A Mockingbird” and Captain Newman MD she was reading at the time of her death. The latter book, written by Leo Rosten, was based on the life of her Psychiatrist, Ralph Greenson.

The house where she died at the Fifth Helena Drive in Brentwood was the only home she owned by herself.

Marilyn had multiple names throughout her life. In her birth certificate, she was Norma Jeane Mortenson but baptized as Norma Jeane Baker. Jean Norman and Mona Monroe were her names when she was modeling but later thought of Jean Adair for a screen name. The name Madness doesn’t end there, she signed Zelda Zonk in Hotels and Faye Miller in a psychiatric clinic. Finally, the name that she was known for and the one that became a household name everyone knows was legally changed in 1956.

There were many interesting parts about the life and death of the actress. When Veronica Hamel bought Marilyn’s house in 1972, the extensive wiretaps she discovered while renovating the house fired up rumors and conspiracy theories.

Career

Marilyn was discovered in a munitions factory by photographer David Conover. Who would have thought that the day was the birth of a star? Compared to her co-stars, Marilyn was underpaid. Some of them got up to ten times more than her. 

It took Marilyn 60 days to deliver “It’s me, Sugar” because she had a hard time learning the lines. 

During the filming of Let’s Make Love, Marilyn’s absence added 28 days to the shooting time and $1 million to the budget.

She formed Marilyn Monroe Productions in 1955 with Milton Greene and produced ‘The Prince and the Showgirl.’ Marilyn was a talented producer and even won the script from writers. 

Achievements

She was Playboy’s first Sweetheart (later Playmate) of the Month, in 1953. Marilyn had been paid $50 to model for the picture in 1949; Hugh Hefner bought it for $500.

She may not have been nominated for an Academy Award, but she was hailed the “Oomph Girl” at Emerson Junior High and Castroville’s Artichoke Queen. Named as the most advertised Girl in the World, her fame was unstoppable.

She won a World Film Favorite — Female category in Henrietta Award in 1954, a Best Actress- Comedy or Musical category from Golden Globe for Some Like It Hot in 1960, and another World Film Favorite — Female category in Henrietta Award in 1962. She was also the second woman to head her production company.

Inspirations

Marilyn’s favorite artist was Goya. She felt as if she knows the man very well since she shared the same dreams as him in her childhood. Her frustrating childhood while growing up in an orphanage led her to develop a fixation on Clark Gable, a co-star in The Misfits. She dreamed of him being her father and even cried for two days when he died.

Marilyn’s hero was Abraham Lincoln.  She used to read everything she could find about him.

Death

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According to authorities, Marilyn’s death was a “probable suicide.” Toxicology tests were carried out on her liver only. When the coroner tried to obtain other organs to carry out tests, he was told that they had been destroyed. This created a mystery around her death. Her friends believed that it was not suicide but murder. Among considered suspects were Robert Kennedy, John F. Kennedy, Ralph Greenson, the FBI, and the CIA.

Marilyn had an open-casket funeral in which she was dressed in apple green dress and a platinum wig.

Dozens of bids were made as several burial vaults next to her’s. One bid was placed at £2.8million. Hugh Hefner bought the burial vault next to Marilyn for £50,000. Mariah Carey had an interest in Marilyn’s white baby Piano for $662,500.

It was thought that Marilyn was considering remarrying her ex-husband Joe DiMaggio at the time before her death. After their divorce, Joe went to a therapy and stopped drinking alcohol. One romantic fact about Joe’s affection for the lovely actress was arranging to have roses sent to her crypt thrice a week for twenty years. Awww, that’s really something, Joe!