Norma Jeane Mortenson: Marilyn Monroe's Life

Norma Jeane Mortenson, who today is known as Marilyn Monroe, started life off rough, her mother suffered from depression and anxiety, she never knew her father and she was in and out of foster homes and an orphanage. Norma Jeane Mortenson was born July 1, 1926, in Los Angeles, California (“Marilyn Monroe Biography”). At age 16, Norma Jeane married merchant marine, James (Jimmie) Dougherty on June 19, 1942 (¨Old Hollywood Spotlight: Marilyn Monroe¨). The couple then moved into a four bedroom house in Van Nuys. The couple were madly in love with each other. According to Cellania, Jimmie said, "We loved each other madly. I felt like I was the luckiest guy in the world." Norma Jeane once threatened to kill herself by jumping off the Santa Monica

pier if Jimmie ever left her (“Marilyn Monroe's First Marriage”). The couple would later divorce just 4 years later on September 13, 1946 (“Marilyn Monroe’s First Marriage”). The year 1946 was a big year for Norma Jeane, she not only divorced Jimmie, but she signed her first movie contract (¨Old Hollywood Spotlight: Marilyn Monroe¨). Along with the movie contract, Norma Jeane created a new name and a new image. She began cutting her hair short and dying it blonde, and going by the name Marilyn Monroe. With her hourglass figure, beauty, and breathy voice, Marilyn became famous. Marilyn was briefly married to major baseball player Joe DiMaggio. Two years later she married playwright, Arthur Miller (“Marilyn Monroe Biography”). Along with her fame she struggled with many personal problems.
Marilyn Monroe suffered from personal problems and tragedies that many other women experience. Marilyn suffered from endometriosis, which causes severe menstrual cramps. It also made it difficult to conceive (Bradner). Marilyn and third husband Arthur Miller attempted to have children, but each one sadly ended in miscarriages. In 1957, Marilyn went through an ectopic pregnancy and required emergency surgery. (“The Secret Pain That Marilyn Monroe Shared With So Many Women”). When leaving the hospital, Marilyn holds her husband’s hand tightly as she faces the press. Her smiles hide away her grief and pain. Marilyn got pregnant again, this pregnancy showed. During this pregnancy, Marilyn filmed the movie Some Like it Hot at the end of 1959. The pregnancy is noticeable in the film. Shortly after the movie was released, Marilyn suffered another miscarriage. She could not escape the talk of rumors and newspapers that spread of her losses. (“The Secret Pain That Marilyn Monroe Shared With So Many Women”). In 1962, Marilyn says to George Barris, “What do I want more than anything else in the world? I want a baby! I want to have children!” (“The Secret Pain That Marilyn Monroe Shared With So Many Women”). Marilyn’s miscarriages caused her stress and depression.
On August 5, 1962, 36 year old Marilyn Monroe is found dead in her Los Angeles home (“Marilyn Monroe is found dead”). She lays nude, facedown with a telephone in her hand and empty pill bottles on her nightstand, pills scattered on the floor. Her death was reported as a suicide. The pills she took were prescribed to help with her depression.