Informative Essay Sample on Marilyn Monroe and Her Background

Marilyn Monroe. When someone mentions this name, a beautiful blonde, glamorous and sexy girl who does not look too clever would probably be the image that comes up in one’s mind. But the question is – is it really so? Is that what she really was like or was it just an image created by the media? There are many opinions and details of her life that we know today. At the same time, many different rumors and theories about her mysterious death exist. However, no matter what truly did happen to her, this woman was one of the biggest influencers of the 20th century to many people around the world. People have already called Marilyn Monroe a real legend of the whole generation. It is unbelievable that this wonderful woman was actually a shy little girl once, who never knew who her father was because he had left her mother even before little Marilyn was born.

An innocent little baby girl, Norma Jeanne Mortenson, was born on June 1, 1926. A foster family brought her up until she was 7 years old. That’s when her mother reclaimed and brought her back. Soon thereafter, Gladys Monroe, Norma’s mother, was declared insane and committed to a psychiatric hospital. As a result, the little girl was once again sent to a series of foster homes.

It is important to mention that the future major sex symbol was assaulted in at least two of the foster homes, and possibly more, all before she was twelve years old. She had to drop out of school when she turned 16. Soon after, she married James E. Dougherty. Was it love? Not at all. In 1944, James was called to military service, and she went to live with her mother-in-law and like many military wives, Norma Jean Baker took a job at a defense factory.

One day, a photographer that was sent to take pictures of women helping with the war effort changed her life. He was enchanted by Norma’s beauty and charm. For that reason, he suggested that she apply for a modeling position at the Blue Book model agency. By 1946, the future American icon was already on 33 magazine covers and posing for top photographers. That’s when the girl made a decision to change her name to Marilyn Monroe. An interesting fact about this unusual woman is that “Marilyn Monroe” wasn’t the first name that she wanted to pick as her stage pseudonym. If Norma Jean Baker had become famous with the first name choice, we would know her as Jean Adair. According to her sister, Baker’s original pseudonym played off of her real name – Norma Jeane. But where did the name “Monroe” come from? It turns out that the name was of the maiden of Norma Jeane’s mother. In Marilyn’s ghost-written autobiography, the woman said she was told that she had something to do with President James Monroe. However, no particular evidence has ever been revealed to back up that theory. As for the “Marilyn” part, the idea was offered by a studio executive, who found Norma Jean Baker resembling an actress Marilyn Miller that passed away at the age of 37 (Marilyn Monroe dies at the age of 36).

We all know a wonderful American romantic comedy film “Breakfast at Tiffany’s.” Believe it or not but it was Marilyn Monroe that Truman Capote had in mind to play Holly Golightly. What is more, the actress even performed a couple of scenes for the author of the novel. Later, Truman Capote said that Marilyn was stunning in that role. However, she refused to work in that film. The reason was that Monroe’s acting advisor didn’t think that Holly Golightly was the type of screen character that she should try.

At this time, she divorced James. Throughout her life, American comedienne, actress, singer, and model got married three times altogether. The second man she got married to was Joe DiMaggio. However, things weren’t working out right for this couple as well. Consequently, they got divorced. Then, there was Author Miller. Many people say that Marilyn always had a crush on men of intelligence. Probably, her love story with the writer Arthur Miller proves that theory. Besides, her roommate, actress Shelley Winters, reported that once they decided to create a list of men they would like to spend the night with. Nothing serious, just for fun. Shelley Winters said she had never asked her friend about how it went with the list. However, the roommate admitted that she saw a photograph of Einstein on Monroe’s piano after her death. The famous scientist was also on Marilyn’s list.

The couple decided to join together forever and ever. Unfortunately, on August 5, 1962, Marilyn Monroe was found dead in her bed. It was a drug overdose that caused the death of the world-famous American beauty.

People were shocked when the news about the death of Marilyn Monroe arrived. A lot of them believed that it was a suicide while the rest thought it was just an accident. However, no proves or whatsoever exists to any of the rumors or theories. We can only guess and believe in whatever we want, but the one thing that we can all agree is that Marilyn was a beautiful and talented woman who found fame and fortune was unsatisfied with her life. Even though she achieved so much in her career, Marilyn’s professional growth as an actress spanned for 16 years. She made 29 films, 24 works came out in the first 8 years of her career. By the end of 1951, Marilyn was receiving 2000 – 3000 fan mail letters per week, and that’s only a few years after she had started her career.

We can say with certainty that Marilyn Monroe was the fashion and beauty icon of the 20th century. Her personality was the embodiment of solid confidence that she showed to the world and that gave a lot of ideas to many girls about being confident as well. So, no wonder that many girls look up to her, not only for her beauty and fashion but also for her talents.

Without a doubt, the life story of the world’s biggest sex symbols also gave many people some lessons, as well as inspired them to think about many things in life. She went through a horrible childhood, but she managed to get through it and hid it away, even though it probably haunted her throughout her life. The truth is that this woman successfully reached her goal and was exactly where she wanted to be. And despite the fact that she may be gone physically, she’s still very much here in spirit. Even today, a huge number of Marilyn Monroe’s fans are still admiring her and consider this woman an eternal beauty and fashion idol. Almost 40 years after her sudden death, the life story of this woman is still being passed on to the next generations. Today, every person on earth knows how unique she was, and how she made it to be one of the greatest Hollywood divas that ever existed.

A life of this young woman will never be forgotten by history as it is a great example of life. In general, many people are haunting success to become happy. But in the case of Marilyn, she showed that fame is not everything.