Marilyn

By Kathryn Dixon

Marilyn Monroe, born Norma Jeane Mortenson on June 1, 1926, is one of the best-loved movie stars and sex goddesses of all time, although she died much too young at the age of thirty-six. Marilyn overcame multiple foster homes and an early, war-time marriage to become the wife of two of America’s most famous men: first, the baseball all-star Joe DiMaggio, and then the playwright Arthur Miller. Not surprisingly, she even caught the eye of President John F. Kennedy to whom she famously sang “Happy Birthday” in 1962 in front of an overflow crowd at New York City’s Madison Square Garden. A life-time struggle with self-confidence, tumultous marriages, ill health, and drug and alcohol addictions, Marilyn’s movie career suffered in the last years before her death. The filming of her last movie, Something’s Got to Give, was never completed. She died during production. In death as in life, Marilyn Monroe fascinates. This book is a brief history of her short life. It is filled with photos of Marilyn throughout her life. Marilyn worked with some of the best directors of her day and pushed herself to excel in comedic, dramatic, and musical roles. She was only the second female movie star to create her own production company. Marilyn may have played the dumb blonde, but that was just one more role.

• Language: English
• Publisher: TAJ Books International
• Release date: Mar 3, 2013
• ISBN: 9781844063048

Kathryn Dixon

Kathryn Dixon was born and raised in South Carolina. She has lived in New York City, Los Angeles, Barcelona, and Geneva. Until this book, her writing and editing have been strictly related to financial matters, having worked in investment management for over 20 years. Having a dual US/Swiss nationality, Ms. Dixon shares Audrey Hepburn’s deep affection for the French-speaking cantons of Switzerland that border Lac Leman. She currently resides in Charlottesville, Virginia, with her husband. Their newly blended family comprises three grown children: Isabella, Thomas, and Jessica.

Book preview

MARILYN

One of the great icons of 20th-century American popular culture, Marilyn Monroe started life in the most difficult circumstances imaginable. Illegitimate, with a mother whose delicate mental health meant she couldn’t look after her daughter, Norma Jeane Baker, as she was called then, frequently had to live with foster parents and, for a time, in an orphanage. Norma Jeane married before she had time to finish school. Her life story could have ended as a tale of mere domesticity and mediocrity, but fate intervened.

As with so many things, war proved to be the catalyst for change. Her husband went to the Pacific with the U.S. Merchant Marine, and Norma Jeane went to work in an aircraft factory where she was spotted by photographer David Conover, who set her on the path to stardom.

And it was no easy path: many young women were seeking a way into Hollywood. But Norma Jeane was successful at modeling, and after a film test in 1946, she set out to transform herself into the personality that the world now knows as Marilyn Monroe. After seven difficult years, in 1953 she was finally recognized as being a star in the film Niagara. Shortly thereafter, she married an American sports legend, Joe DiMaggio, and shimmied into superstardom.

On the exterior, what could be better? The films got bigger and bigger, and divorce from DiMaggio led to marriage to another American legend, the intellectual playwright Arthur Miller. Marilyn moved to New York City, attended the prestigious Actors Studio, and was courted by press, public, movie professionals … and possibly even presidents.

Inside, however, all was not as it seemed. As with so many icons, the pedestal was crumbling. The insecurity of her early life had left Marilyn severely damaged. Increasingly dependent on psychiatrists and prescription drugs, she also suffered from endometritis—inflammation and irritation of the lining of the uterus—and cholangitis, or bile duct inflammation.

In the end, as with Elvis, Michael Jackson, and so many other stars, it was insomnia that led to her death at the tragically young age of 36 by an overdose of sedative drugs. We’ll never know whether it was an awful mistake, suicide, or even—as conspiracy theories would have us believe—murder. What we do know is that one of the best-loved movie stars died without fulfilling her potential, leaving us with only a handful of great films, but with an image that will live forever.

Marilyn in 1950

1900 – 1935

The following timeline is only a brief survey of Marilyn’s life:

Norma Jeane at the age