Marilyn Monroe (born Norma Jeane Mortenson;[1] June 1, 1926 -- August 5, 1962), was a Golden Globe award winning[2] American actress, singer, model, Hollywood icon,[3] cultural icon, fashion icon,[4] pop icon and sex symbol. She is known for her comedic acting roles and screen presence. Monroe became one of the most popular movie stars of the 1950s and early 1960s. During the later stages of her career, she worked towards serious roles and her fame surpassed that of many entertainers of her time.[5]
Her death at thirty six was classified as "probable suicide."[6] Many individuals including Jack Clemmons, the first LAPD Police officer to arrive at the death scene[7] believed that she was murdered.[8] She is the only female on the Forbes top earning dead celebrities list.[9] While her husband w
as in the Merchant Marine during World War II, Norma Jeane Dougherty moved in with her mother-in-law where she started working in the Radioplane Munitions Factory owned by Hollywood actor Reginald Denny. She sprayed airplane parts with fire retardant and inspected parachutes. During this time Army p
hotographer David Conover snapped a photograph of her for a YANK magazine article. He encouraged her to apply to the The Blue Book modeling agency. She signed with the agency, and she began researching the work of famous actresses Jean Harlow and Lana Turner, and enrolled in drama and singing classe
s. Monroe had her hair cut, straightened, and lightened to golden blonde.[14] She became one of Blue Book's most successful models, appearing on dozens of magazine covers. In 1946, she came to the attention of talent scout Ben Lyon. He arranged a screen test for her with 20th Century Fox. She was o
ffered a standard six-month contract with a starting salary of $125 per week.[15] Since Norma Jeane was not considered a commercial stage name, Lyon suggested she adopt Marilyn (after the famous actress Marilyn Miller). [16] For her last name, she took her mother's maiden name of Monroe. During her
first six months at Fox, Monroe was given no work, but Fox renewed her contract and she was given minor appearances in Scudda Hoo! Scudda Hay! and Dangerous Years, both released in 1947.[5] In Scudda Hoo!, her part was edited out except for a quick glimpse of her face when she speaks two words. Fox
decided not to renew her contract. Monroe returned to modeling and began to network and make contacts. She posed for nude photographs which were later featured in the first issue of Playboy.[14] In 1948, during a six-month stint at Columbia Pictures, she starred in Ladies of the Chorus. The low-bu
dget musical was not a success and Monroe was dropped again. She met one of Hollywood's top agents, Johnny Hyde, who had Fox re-sign her after MGM turned her down. Darryl F. Zanuck, the vice-president of Fox, was not convinced of Monroe's potential, but because of Hyde's persistence, she gained supp
orting parts in the Marx Brothers film Love Happy (1949), and in Fox's All About Eve and MGM's The Asphalt Jungle (both 1950). Even though the roles were small, moviegoers as well as critics took notice.[5] Hyde arranged for her to have minor plastic surgery on her nose and chin, adding that to earl
ier dental surgery.[17][18][19] The next two years were filled with inconsequential roles in standard fare such as We're Not Married! and Love Nest. However, RKO executives used her to boost box office potential of the Fritz Lang production Clash by Night. After the film performed well, Fox employe
d a similar tactic, and she was cast as the ditzy receptionist with Cary Grant and Ginger Rogers in Howard Hawks's slapstick comedy Monkey Business. Critics no longer ignored her, and both films' success at the box office was partly attributed to Monroe's growing popularity. Fox finally gave her a
starring role in 1952 with Don't Bother to Knock, in which she portrayed a deranged babysitter who attacks the little girl in her care. It was a cheaply made B-movie, and although the reviews were mixed, they claimed it demonstrated Monroe's ability and confirmed she was ready for more leading roles
. Her performance has been noted as one of her finest.[20] Monroe proved she could carry a big-budget film when she starred in Niagara in 1953. Movie critics focused on Monroe's connection with the camera as much as on the sinister plot.[21] She played an unbalanced woman planning to murder her husb
and. It's not true I had nothing on. I had the radio on. On reports of her nude photographs for a calendar, as quoted in TIME magazine (1952) Don't you know that a man being rich is like a girl being pretty? You wouldn't marry a girl just because she's pretty, but my goodness, doesn't it help? As
"Lorelei Lee" in Gentlemen Prefer Blondes (1953) I've been on a calendar, but never on time. Look magazine (5 March 1957)

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