Marilyn Monroe Articles

A sex symbol decades later, "the blonde bombshell" was originally known as Norma Jean Mortensen. Born in 1926 into show business (her mother was a film cutter at RKO), she started modeling during the war. Marilyn Monroe first appeared on the silver screen in small, largely forgettable roles in the Asphalt Jungle and All About Eve. That led to a seven-year contract that led to her first big part in Gentlemen Prefer Blondes, followed by the super hit The Seven Year Itch in 1955. Marilyn Monroe won critical acclaim in Bus Stop, but never completed her final movie, The Misfits, with Clark Gable. She was perhaps more famous for her off camera exploits, including her marriages to Joe DiMaggio and Arthur Miller. She was found dead in 1962 at the age of 36, a victim of an apparent drug overdose.