Untold Stories Of The Icon That Is Marilyn Monroe

Marilyn Monroe was a sex icon and pop culture staple of the 40s and 50s, and nearly a century later is still regarded as one of the most influential forces to come out of Hollywood.

But despite her gorgeous smile and sultry eyes, Marilyn had so much more to offer than just her looks, and what she went through before her untimely death in 1962 has largely been forgotten. This is the untold story of Marilyn Monroe!

Born on June 1, 1926, in Los Angeles as Norma Jean Mortenson, Marilyn Monroe was the daughter of Gladys Baker, a woman who suffered from schizophrenia. Her father’s identity still remains unknown.

After a few years under the care of her mother, Gladys’ mental health got the best of her and Marilyn was put in foster care following her mother’s hospitalization. Throughout her childhood, Monroe was in and out of foster homes and orphanages, and revealed as she got older she oftentimes suffered through sexual assault. 

Monroe ended up marrying her neighbour's son while trying to get a modelling career started when she was just 16 years old in 1942. In 1944, she posed for a "morale booster" for the men overseas, and quickly received a contract through 20th Century Fox.

Eventually, she ended up getting a longer-term contract with Fox and went on to make 4 movies within a year and a half, launching her into superstardom by the time the early 50s hit.

During her time trying to get into movie roles, producers encouraged her to dye her hair blonde, and also change her name. Monroe was her mother’s maiden name, and it seemed fitting she change it.

While struggling to make ends meet and falling behind on a car payment, Norma, now Marilyn, was offered a chance to pose nude for some extra cash. She got 50$ for the shoot, and that was the first and last time she posed nude for cash.

She was promised that the photos taken wouldn’t be obvious that it was her, and she obliged. Once she became famous, these photos were sold to none other than Hugh Hefner, and she became the first woman to appear on Playboy's cover, unbeknownst to Marilyn herself.

Marilyn at the time spoke on the issue and said that she felt helpless when the photos were leaked and devastated they were circulated. The sexy photos had over 50,000 copies made.

Marilyn ended up divorcing her husband in 1946 due to her career launching and her husband’s uncertainty of her roles. Not seeing eye to eye, the two called it quits, and Marilyn was on her own once again. Becoming a household name did have its perks, but Marilyn still suffered from extreme stage fright, according to her make-up artist Whitney Snyder. 

More nude photos of the actress started to be leaked in 1949, and in order to break the scandal now that she was becoming a household name, her producers thought it would be best to come clean to the public and admit the rumours of the nude calendar were true. She emphasized that she was broke at the time. This earned sympathy from her fans, and she quickly became even more widely loved. 

In 1952 things started to take a turn for the young Monroe. Her low self-esteem, anxiety and stage fright earned her the reputation of being difficult to work with. It was a known fact that she oftentimes forgot her lines, showed up late - if she even showed up at all - and was extremely reliant on her two acting coaches, which irritated directors. To alleviate her stresses, Monroe became addicted to amphetamines, barbiturates and alcohol. It became very noticeable and problematic in 1956.

By the time 1954 rolled around, Marilyn was considered Fox’s biggest asset, raking in some of the most revenue for box office hits. Despite this, her contract hadn’t changed since 1950 when she was still just emerging in Hollywood, which caused her much grief. She was paid considerably less than what she deserved, and she was unable to choose which projects she wanted. She was pigeonholed into the same roles, and the constant misogyny and repetitive arm candy roles began to weigh the young actress down. 

In January of 1954, Monroe married baseball player Joe DiMaggio and was promised a $100,000 raise as well as the opportunity to play more serious roles. She got a starring role in The Seven Year Itch and was starting to rise to the top as a more serious actress. The famous grate scene in which her skirt flies up from the air billowing out became a pop culture icon, but it wasn’t loved by DiMaggio, who reportedly was furious, and allegedly became physically abusive. He filed for divorce shortly after making their marriage one of the shortest.