Oh, Marilyn!

“Do I Look happy?  I should – for I was a child nobody wanted.  A lonely girl with a dream – who awakened to find that dream come true.  I am Marilyn Monroe.  Read my Cinderella story.”

Jean Harlow.  She was Marilyn’s Marilyn: her inspiration, and the stimulation of her passion for the cinema.  Harlow was the idol of the time and she awed everyone surrounding Monroe.   So Marilyn set her sights early on.  She got married very young so as not to return to foster care, however her spouse enlisted with the war efforts and she divorced him upon his return.  During this time, she was considering having children and becoming a housewife.  Instead, she signed with Blue Book Modeling Agency and bleached her hair blonde.  She began experimenting with countless names, none of which she liked.   A short list of her aliases and married names can be found below.

After being discovered by Twentieth Century-Fox, she started developing the look that would later be known as trademark and adopted the name Marilyn Monroe.  She mainly played as an extra, having only silent background roles.  She then signed with Columbia and her overbite was corrected.  She returned to modeling after acting roles became scarce.

For the only time in her life, Marilyn posed nude for pay.  The release was signed “Mona Monroe” and these pictures later resurfaced; scandal was not far behind.  However, Monroe handled the situation with grace and class, explaining her need as a struggling actress to pay her rent.  She signed again with 20^th Century-Fox for seven more years after being discovered once more.  She then had a slight bump removed from her nose and started making appearances at the Academy Awards (presenter) and magazine covers (in GTech wear supporting women’s rights to enroll and multiple magazines covering her life story in a sympathetic light).  She started dating famous baseball player Joe DiMaggio and overall became very popular in the limelight.  Hugh Hefner used a picture of her in the previously mentioned extremely low-cut dress on Playboys first cover, with a picture inside from her earlier nude shoot in 1949.  (Although Hefner had never met the young starlet, he has reserved the crypt next to Monroe's as his resting place, attributing his magazine's success to its first issue).

Marilyn was one that took risks.  She wore controversial clothing: skintight with plunging necklines.  She posed for nude photos at the beginning of her career.  She bleached her hair in a second and revolutionized the “dumb blonde” persona.  She was a risk-taker that knew the odds before she played the game.  She conquered the industry in a way that granted her a ridiculous amount of power.  For example, when discussing her third (and final) contract with 20^th Century-Fox, she was able to on her terms after Seven Year Itch.  She demanded the right to reject any script, director, or co-star, as well as investments and shares to newly founded Marilyn Monroe Production Company.

Ms. Marilyn Monroe died so young, at the age of 36.  She was just reaching the peak of her career, or at least the highest it had been yet.  She had multiple films lined up, with a 10-year contract overseas.  All deals were again negotiated on her terms; she had become very powerful.  The world lost one of its brightest shining stars.  Monroe never stopped standing up for unity and kinship throughout the diversity in America, and even begged an interviewer to include a closing quote telling her of belief in brotherhood between all people.

After her death, Marilyn Monroe continues to influence the entertainment industry to this day, as many would love to fall into her footsteps and conquer the world as she did.  But it did not come easy to her, and she knew nothing but a life of struggle and loneliness.  Largely unknown, Marilyn (born Norma Jeane) was raised in multiple foster homes, with a mentally ill mother continuously reappearing and trying to kidnap her.  She was harassed and assaulted in multiple familiar homes, and was finally declared a ward of the state and married young so as to not be sent back to foster care.  She conquered more obstacles in her early years than most people come across in a lifetime.  And throughout the remainder of her years, she refused to give up on the entertainment industry.  She sat through bad years along with the good ones, and she never stopped putting her all into her roles.

Monroe is highly regarded as one of America’s most popular sex icons.  She is considered the sixth greatest female star of all time by the American Film Institute, as well as first in Sexiest Women of All Time.  Her image is still widely distributed (via posters, clothing, make-up, jewelry, collectibles, calendars, Instagram, film, inspirational quotes, etc.) and her look is largely emulated (Anna Nicole, Madonna, Christina Aguilera, Gwen Stefani, Michelle Williams, Lindsay Lohan, Nicole Kidman, Rachel McAdams, Paris Hilton, Pamela Anderson, Taylor Swift, Katherine McPhee, Megan Hilty, Kelly Osbourne, Lady Gaga, Scarlett Johansson, Blake Lively, etc.).  As far as the world is concerned, there is only one true Marilyn Monroe.  This is further proved with every new sexy, fiery, seductive actress that surfaces but never surpasses this Pioneer of Beauty.

Some names and aliases used by Ms. Monroe:

Norma Jeane Mortenson (she never knew her father but was born under his misspelled name)

Norma Jeane Baker (her mother immediately changed Marilyn's legal name to match her own)

Norma Jeane Dougherty (name change after first marriage)

Norma Jeane DiMaggio (name change after second marriage)

Norma Jeane Monroe (she followed Harlow's lead in taking her mother's maiden name Monroe)

Norma Monroe

Jeane Monroe (several varieties using "Monroe" were tried &trashed before she was satisfied)

Marilyn Monroe (the name Marilyn was suggested due to her resemblance to Marilyn Miller)

Mona Monroe (she used this name on the release form when shooting the nude series)

Marilyn Monroe Miller (name change after third/final marriage)