She was a legendary sex goddess, the famous blond, and an award winning actress. These are only a few terms to describe Norma Jeane, more commonly known as Marilyn Monroe. She was born on June 1st 1926 in Los Angeles, California. Her father died when she was three due to a motorcycle accident and her mother, Gladys Monroe, gave her to a foster family after having to be in and out of mental institutions. Throughout her life, Jean went through many relationships and knew people who doubted her acting ability. Although she had many obstacles to overcome, Norma Jeane still came out on top.
Not having her parents around to raise her, Jeane spent much of her childhood in foster care and at an orphanage. This was tough on her because not having a stable family can make a person feel alone and unimportant. ” One of her foster fathers, Ervin Silliman Goddard, tried to molest her at the age of 9. After that she was sent to live with her uncle Olive Bruning. At the age of 12, Jeane was sexually abused again by Brunings’ sons” (The Marilyn Monroe Biography). After this horrible incident she was sent back to the Goddards where she met Jim Dougherty. Right after her sixteenth birthday, she married him. This just goes to show that even though three men abused and took her innocence away, she still believed the good in men and never gave up on love. In 1944, Dougherty was called to military service, leaving Jeane at home with his mother. She started working at an airplane factory soon after his departure. “There, a photographer, David Connover, was taking pictures of women who were helping during war times. He discovered Jeane and suggested that she apply to be a model” (Brief Biography). Because of this man, Jeane’s life had truly begun.

By the time Dougherty came back in 1946, Jeane had a successful career as a model. She was on thirty-three magazine covers and signed her first movie contract with Fox Studios.” During this time, she divorced Dougherty because he did not support her chosen career path” (The Marilyn Monroe Biography). By divorcing Dougherty, Jeane proved that she was truly dedicated to her career and that she would not let anyone get in the way of her fulfilling her dream. With her new career came a new image. “Jeane changed her name to Marilyn Monroe. Marilyn after actress Marilyn Miller and Monroe because of her mother’s maiden name” (Marilyn Monroe Biography). She also dyed her hair from brunette to blond because of her part in her first movie, The Shocking Miss Pilgrim. Though this movie did not do well, it opened a lot of doors for Monroe.

Monroe’s career started to blossom. She stared in over thirty movies, sang in many musicals, and was on many covers on magazines. As her life went on, she married Joe DiMaggio in 1954. This only lasted a few months till they got a divorce in October of the same year. The following year after she moved to New York, she married Arthur Miller, a famous writer. This marriage also wasn’t working and she divorced him in 1961. Many people thought Monroe was a bad influence because of all the divorces she had gone through and because of some of her parts in movies and poses in magazines. To others, she was a role model, even the president admired Monroe… “Soon after, Monroe was found singing happy birthday to President Kennedy”(The Marilyn Monroe Biography). After this she went back the Los Angeles where she was working on a new movie Some Like It Hot. It was during this time when Monroe was using sleeping pills and started showing up late to sets and sometimes not showing up at all. On August 5th, 1962, Monroe was found dead in her room. “Autopsy showed that she had taken pills that contained poison” (The Death of Marilyn Monroe). She was 36 at the time.

Though Monroe lived a short life, she was very successful. She lived the life many girls dream of. She was a famous actress, singer, and model. She went through many struggles as a child, but overcame them and became one of the most well known female role models. She once said, “I always felt insecure and in the way, but most of all I felt scared. I guess I wanted love more than anything else in the world.” She may not have gotten the love she wanted back when she was alive, but now she is loved by many. She had a great impact on today’s world and media. People still buy her posters and watch her movies and read more about her. She may not have been seen as an intelligent and beautiful woman back then, but now she is seen as that and a lot more.

Works Cited
"Brief Biography" Marilyns Monroe History . September 2011 <www.marilynmonroepages.com/page5.html> (Internet)
"The Death Of Marilyn Monroe" Wilkins, Frank. The Death Of Marilyn Monroe. September 2011 <http://www.franksreelreviews.com/shorttakes/marilynmonroe.htm> (Internet)
"Marilyn Monroe Biography" Marilyn Monroe Biography. August 2011 <http://www.biography.com/articles/Marilyn-Monroe-9412123> (Internet)
“The Marilyn Monroe Biography” Marilyn Monroes Biography. September 2011 <http://marilynbiography.com/> (Internet)