“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 20th
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 20th 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)
