Marilyn Monroe facts for kids

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Marilyn Monroe
Marilyn Monroe in 1952.jpg
Marilyn Monroe in 1952
Born
Norma Jeane Mortenson

(1926-06-01)June 1, 1926
Los Angeles, California, U.S.
Died August 5, 1962(1962-08-05) (aged 36)
Brentwood, Los Angeles, California, U.S.
Cause of death Barbiturate overdose
Nationality American
Other names Norma Jeane Baker
Norma Jeane Dougherty
Occupation Actress, model, movie producer, singer
Years active 1946-1962
Spouse(s)
James Dougherty (m. 1942–1946)

Joe DiMaggio (m. 1954–1954)

Arthur Miller (m. 1956–1961)

Marilyn Monroe was an American movie actress. In 1999, Monroe was ranked as the sixth greatest female actress of all time by the American Film Institute. Her birth name was Norma Jean Mortenson and she was born on June 1st, 1926, in Los Angeles, California. She died of a drug overdose on the night of August 5, 1962, in Brentwood, California. She was married to baseball player Joe DiMaggio during 1954. She married Arthur Miller (a playwright) on July 1st, 1956. They divorced January 21th, 1961.

Movies

Marilyn Monroe became famous , starring in a number of hit movies during the 1950s and early 1960s. She also became famous for modeling for photographers and singing in her musical movies. One time, she sang "Happy Birthday" to the President of the United States John F. Kennedy. It turned out to be one of her last appearances.

Personal life

Marriages

The 16-year-old Norma Jeane married James Dougherty on 19th June 1942. After the wedding, he joined the navy. At this time, Norma met an army photographer, David Conover. She began a career as a model. She changed her name to Marilyn Monroe. She and Dougherty divorced on 13 September 1946.

Monroe married the baseball star Joe DiMaggio on 14th January 1954. The marriage lasted for nine months. She had met DiMaggio on a blind date, during the filming of the movie Monkey Business in 1952. The marriage was closely followed by the public. DiMaggio retired from baseball, and Marilyn became very famous. DiMaggio was sad that his career as a baseball star was ending, and was jealous of Marilyn for being admired. He spent most of his time watching television and Monroe found it boring. They separated on 31st October 1954. From 1961, they became friends again. DiMaggio said that he gave Marilyn a rose every week for 10 years.

Marilyn married Arthur Miller on 29th June 1956. She converted to Judaism. She had met him during the filming of As Young As You Feel in 1951. She was so happy with him and they tried to have children together. Mariyln had three miscarriages, because of her endometriosis. Miller wrote the screenplay for the movie The Misfits. The filming caused many problems between Marilyn and Arthur and they separated on 20 January 1961.

Filmography

Year Film Role Director
1947 Dangerous Years Evie Arthur Pierson
1948 Scudda Hoo! Scudda Hay! Betty (uncredited) Hugh Herbert
1948 Ladies of the Chorus Peggy Martin Phil Karlson
1949 Love Happy Grunion's Client (uncredited) David Miller
1950 A Ticket to Tomahawk Clara (uncredited) Richard Sale
1950 Right Cross Dusky Ledoux (uncredited) John Sturges
1950 The Fireball Polly Tay Garnett
1950 The Asphalt Jungle Angela Phinlay John Huston
1950 All About Eve Miss Claudia Caswell Joseph L. Mankiewicz
1951 Love Nest Roberta Stevens Joseph M. Newman
1951 Let's Make It Legal Joyce Mannering Richard Sale
1951 Home Town Story Iris Martin Arthur Pierson
1951 As Young as You Feel Harriet Harman Jones
1952 O. Henry's Full House Streetwalker Henry Koster
1952 Monkey Business Lois Laurel Howard Hawks
1952 Clash by Night Peggy Fritz Lang
1952 We're Not Married! Anabel Norris Edmund Goulding
1952 Don't Bother to Knock Nell Forbes Roy Baker
1953 Niagara Rose Loomis Henry Hathaway
1953 Gentlemen Prefer Blondes Lorelei Lee Howard Hawks
1953 How to Marry a Millionaire Pola Debevoise Jean Negulesco
1954 River of No Return Kay Weston Otto Preminger
1954 There's No Business Like Show Business Vicky Walter Lang
1955 The Seven Year Itch The Girl Billy Wilder
1956 Bus Stop Chérie Joshua Logan
1957 The Prince and the Showgirl Elsie Marina Laurence Olivier
1959 Some Like It Hot Sugar Kane Kowalczyk Billy Wilder
1960 Let's Make Love Amanda Dell George Cukor
1961 The Misfits Roslyn Taber John Huston
1962 Something's Got to Give (unfinished) Ellen Wagstaff Arden George Cukor

Awards and nominations

Monroe listening in The Seven Year Itch trailer 1
in The Seven Year Itch (1955)
  • 1951 Henrietta Awards: The Best Young Box Office Personality
  • 1952 Photoplay Award: Fastest Rising Star of 1952
  • 1952 Photoplay Award: Special Award
  • 1952 Look American Magazine Achievement Award: Most Promising Female Newcomer of 1952
  • 1953 Golden Globe Henrietta Award: World Film Favorite Female.
  • 1953 Photoplay Award: Most Popular Female Star
  • 1954 Photoplay Award for Best Actress: for Gentlemen Prefer Blondes and How to Marry a Millionaire
  • 1956 BAFTA Film Award nomination: Best Foreign Actress for The Seven Year Itch
  • 1956 Golden Globe nomination: Best Motion Picture Actress in Comedy or Musical for Bus Stop
  • 1958 BAFTA Film Award nomination: Best Foreign Actress for The Prince and the Showgirl
  • 1958 David di Donatello Award (Italian): Best Foreign Actress for The Prince and the Showgirl
  • 1959 Crystal Star Award (French): Best Foreign Actress for The Prince and the Showgirl
  • 1960 Golden Globe, Best Motion Picture Actress in Comedy or Musical for Some Like It Hot
  • 1962 Golden Globe, World Film Favorite: Female
  • Star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame 6104 Hollywood Blvd.
  • 1999 she was ranked as the sixth greatest female star of all time by the American Film Institute in their list AFI's 100 Years... 100 Stars.
Awards and achievements
Preceded by
Rosalind Russell
for Auntie Mame		 Golden Globe Award for Best Actress - Motion Picture Musical or Comedy
for Some Like It Hot
1960		 Succeeded by
Shirley MacLaine
for The Apartment

Images for kids

  • Monroe as an infant, wearing a white dress and sitting on a sheepskin rug

    Monroe as an infant

  • Monroe, who is wearing a white playsuit with her brunette hair tied back with a scarf, standing next to her husband Jim Dougherty, who is wearing a marine's uniform

    Monroe and first husband James Dougherty, c.1943–1944

  • Portrait of Monroe aged 20, taken at the Radioplane Munitions Factory

    Monroe photographed by Conover while working at the Radioplane factory in late 1944

  • Monroe wearing a dress and facing a movie camera in a publicity photograph taken during her first film contract.

    Monroe in a studio publicity photo taken when she was a contract player at 20th Century-Fox in 1947. She appeared in two small film roles during the contract and was let go after a year.

  • Monroe in The Asphalt Jungle. She is wearing a black dress and stands in a doorway, facing a man wearing a trench coat and a fedora

    Monroe as gangster's moll Angela in John Huston's The Asphalt Jungle (1950), one of her first performances to be noted by the critics

  • Monroe, wearing a transparent lace robe and diamond earrings, sitting at a dressing table and looking off-camera with a shocked expression

    Monroe as a mentally disturbed babysitter in the thriller Don't Bother to Knock (1952)

  • Monroe and Andes in Clash By Night

    With co-star Keith Andes in Clash by Night (1952). The film allowed Monroe to display more of her acting range in a dramatic role.

  • Monroe in Gentlemen Prefer Blondes. She is wearing a shocking pink dress with matching gloves and diamond jewellery, and is surrounded by men in tuxedos.

    Performing "Diamonds Are a Girl's Best Friend" in Gentlemen Prefer Blondes (1953)

  • Monroe, who is wearing a skirt, blouse and jacket, standing below a sign for the Actors Studio looking up towards it

    Monroe at the Actors Studio, where she began studying method acting in 1955

  • Cropped photo of Monroe and Miller cutting the cake at their wedding. Her veil is lifted from her face and he is wearing a white shirt with a dark tie.

    Monroe and Arthur Miller at their wedding on June 29, 1956

  • Monroe and Don Murray in Bus Stop. She is wearing a ragged coat and a small hat tied with ribbons and is having an argument with Murray, who is wearing jeans, a denim jacket and a cowboy hat.

    Monroe's dramatic performance in Bus Stop (1956) marked a departure from her earlier comedies.

  • Close-up of smiling Monroe and Laurence Olivier, cheek-to-cheek. She is wearing long diamond earrings.

    Monroe with Laurence Olivier during a press conference to announce their joint project, The Prince and the Showgirl (1957)

  • Monroe, Curtis and Lemmon playing instruments with other musicians in the orchestra

    With Tony Curtis and Jack Lemmon in Billy Wilder's Some Like It Hot (1959), for which she won a Golden Globe

  • Monroe in The Misfits, holding a wide-brimmed hat filled with dollar bills and standing next to Clark Gable and Thelma Ritter. Behind them is a sign spelling "BAR" and a crowd of people.

    With Clark Gable, Montgomery Clift, Eli Wallach, and Estelle Winwood in The Misfits. It was both Monroe's and Gable's last completed film.

  • Monroe wearing a form-fitting white dress with flowers and an open back. She is standing and smiling over her shoulder at the camera.

    Monroe on the set of Something's Got to Give. She was absent due to illness for most of the production and was fired by Fox in June 1962.

  • Photo of Monroe's crypt, taken in 2015. "Marilyn Monroe, 1926–1962" is written on a plaque. The crypt is covered in lipstick prints left by visitors and pink and red roses are placed in a vase attached to it.

    Monroe's crypt at the Westwood Memorial Park

  • Monroe in Gentlemen Prefer Blondes. She is wearing a white dressing gown and is holding a phone. She looks shocked, with wide eyes and an open mouth.

    In Gentlemen Prefer Blondes (1953), one of the films in which Monroe portrayed a sexually attractive and naïve "dumb blonde"

  • Marilyn Monroe at Ciro's

    Monroe arriving at a party celebrating Louella Parsons at Ciro's nightclub in May 1953

  • MonroeLustreCremead

    Monroe advertising shampoo in 1953

  • Monroe 1953 publicity

    Monroe in 1953

  • James Gill's "Marylin Tryptich"

    Left panel from pop artist James Gill's painting Marilyn Triptych (1962)


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