Marilyn Monroe

Voted 'Sexiest Woman of the Century' by People Magazine. [1999]

Ranked #8 in Empire (UK) magazine's "The Top 100 Movie Stars of All Time" list. [October 1997]

Voted Empire's (UK) "sexiest female movie star of all time" in 1995.

Gladys outlived her daughter, dying in 1984.

In 1973, Elton John released a single in tribute to her entitled "Candle in the Wind". In 1997, it was re-recorded with updated lyrics in memory of Princess Diana, becoming the UK's best-selling single of all time. Def Leppard's single "Photograph" from their "Pyromania" album was also written about Monroe. Glenn Danzig, lead singer of the punk band The Misfits, recorded a song called "Who Killed Marilyn?", inspired by his belief that she had been murdered. She is mentioned in the lyrics of several other songs, including "Celluloid Heroes" by The Kinks, "We Didn't Start the Fire" by Billy Joel, "Vogue" by Madonna, "Lady Nina" by rock band Marillion and "Tell Me It's Not True" from the musical "Blood Brothers".

Redheaded actress Tina Louise played the character role of Ginger Grant on the television series Gilligan's Island (1964), was loosely based on her personality, but a different hair color.

She was dropped from the unfinished Something's Got to Give (1962) due to chronic lateness and drug dependency.

Work on her last picture The Misfits (1961), written for her by departing husband Miller was interrupted by exhaustion.

They went to England that fall where she made The Prince and the Showgirl (1957) with Laurence Olivier, fighting with him and falling further prey to alcohol and pills. Two miscarriages and gynecological surgery followed. So did an affair with Yves Montand.

Critics praised her transformation in Bus Stop (1956) and the press was stunned by her marriage to playwright Arthur Miller. True to form, she had no veil to match her beige wedding dress so she dyed one in coffee; he wore one of the two suits he owned.

When she went to a supper honoring her in the The Seven Year Itch (1955), she arrived in a red chiffon gown borrowed from the studio (she had never owned a gown). That same year, she married and divorced baseball great Joe DiMaggio (their wedding night was spent in Paso Robles, California).

After The Seven Year Itch (1955), she wanted serious acting to replace the sexpot image and went to New York's Actors Studio. She worked with director Lee Strasberg and also underwent psychoanalysis to learn more about herself.

Won an interlocutory decree from Joe DiMaggio on Wednesday, October 27th, 1954, but, under California law, the divorce was not finalized until exactly one year later.

Niagara (1953) and Gentlemen Prefer Blondes (1953) launched her as a sex symbol superstar.

The famous nude photo of her by Tom Kelley originally appeared as anonymous on a calendar entitled "Miss Golden Dreams." In 1952, a blackmailer threatened to identify the model as Marilyn, but she shrewdly thwarted the scheme by announcing the fact herself. Hugh Hefner then bought the rights to use the photo for $500. She became "The Sweetheart of the Month" in the first issue of Hefner's magazine, Playboy. Neither Kelley or Monroe ever saw a dime of the millions the calendar made for its publisher.

Because the bathing suit she wore in the movie Love Nest (1951) was so risque (for the time period) and caused such a commotion on the set, director Joseph M. Newman had to make it a closed set when she was filming.

Mankiewicz saw her in a small part in The Asphalt Jungle (1950) and put her in All About Eve (1950), resulting in 20th Century re-signing her to a seven-year contract.

In 1948, Columbia gave her a six-month contract, turned her over to coach Natasha Lytess and featured her in the B movie Ladies of the Chorus (1948) in which she sang three numbers : "Every Baby Needs a Da Da Daddy", "Anyone Can Tell I Love You" and "The Ladies of the Chorus" with Adele Jergens (dubbed by Virginia Rees) and others. Joseph L.

She decided to marry a neighborhood friend named James Dougherty; he went into the military, she modeled, they divorced in 1946. She owned 400 books (including Tolstoy, Whitman, Milton), listened to Beethoven records, studied acting at the Actors' lab in Hollywood, and took literature courses at UCLA downtown. 20th Century Fox gave her a contract but let it lapse a year later.

Went to Van Nuys High School (Los Angeles) in the early 1940s but never graduated.

Grace Goddard eventually took Marilyn back to live with her in 1937 although this stay did not last long as Grace's husband began molesting Marilyn. Marilyn went to live with Grace's Aunt Ana after this incident, although due to Aunt Ana's advanced age she could not care properly for Marilyn. Marilyn once again for the third time had to return to live with the Goddards. The Goddards planned to relocated and according to law, could not take Marilyn with them. She only had two choices: return to the orphanage or get married. Marilyn was only 16 years old.

Marilyn was then taken in by Gladys' best friend Grace Goddard, who, after a series of foster homes, placed Marilyn into the Los Angeles Orphan's Home in 1935. Marilyn was traumatized by her experience there despite the Orphan's Home being an adequate living facility.

Marilyn Monroe was an American actress, comedienne, singer, and model. She became one of the world's most enduring iconic figures and is remembered both for her winsome embodiment of the Hollywood sex symbol and her tragic personal and professional struggles within the film industry. Her life and death are still the subjects of much controversy and speculation. She was born Norma Jeane Mortenson at the Los Angeles County Hospital on June 1, 1926. Her mother Gladys Pearl Baker was a film-cutter at Consolidated Film Industries. Marilyn's father's identity was never known. Because Gladys was mentally and financially unable to care for young Marilyn, Gladys placed her in the care of a foster family, The Bolenders. Although the Bolender family wanted to adopt Marilyn, Gladys was eventually able to stabilize her lifestyle and took Marilyn back in her care when Marilyn was 7 years old. However, shortly after regaining custody of Marilyn, Gladys had a complete mental breakdown and was diagnosed as a paranoid schizophrenic and was committed to a state mental hospital. Gladys spent the rest of her life going in and out of hospitals and rarely had contact with young Marilyn. Once Marilyn became an adult and celebrated as a film star, she paid a woman by the name of Inez Melson to look in on the institutionalized Gladys and give detailed reports of her progress.