Marilyn Monroe

Acting

Born Jun 01, 1926

From Los Angeles, California, USA

Died Aug 05, 1962

Marilyn Monroe (born Norma Jeane Mortenson; June 1, 1926 – August 4, 1962) was an American actress. Famous for playing comedic "blonde bombshell" characters, she became one of the most popular sex symbols of the 1950s and early 1960s, as well as an emblem of the era's sexual revolution. She was a top-billed actress for a decade, and her films grossed $200 million (equivalent to $2 billion in 2021) by the time of her death in 1962. Long after her death, Monroe remains a major icon of pop culture. In 1999, the American Film Institute ranked her sixth on their list of the greatest female screen legends from the Golden Age of Hollywood. Multiple film critics and media outlets have cited Monroe as one of the best actors never to have received an Academy Award nomination. Born and raised in Los Angeles, Monroe spent most of her childhood in a total of 12 foster homes and an orphanage; she married at age sixteen. She was working in a factory during World War II when she met a photographer from the First Motion Picture Unit and began a successful pin-up modeling career, which led to short-lived film contracts with 20th Century Fox and Columbia Pictures. After a series of minor film roles, she signed a new contract with Fox in late 1950. Over the next two years, she became a popular actress with roles in several comedies, including As Young as You Feel and Monkey Business, and in the dramas Clash by Night and Don't Bother to Knock. She faced a scandal when it was revealed that she had posed for nude photographs prior to becoming a star, but the story did not damage her career and instead resulted in increased interest in her films. By 1953, Monroe was one of the most marketable Hollywood stars; she had leading roles in the film noir Niagara, which overtly relied on her sex appeal, and the comedies Gentlemen Prefer Blondes and How to Marry a Millionaire, which established her star image as a "dumb blonde". The same year, her nude images were used as the centerfold and on the cover of the first issue of Playboy. She played a significant role in the creation and management of her public image throughout her career, but she was disappointed when she was typecast and underpaid by the studio. She was briefly suspended in early 1954 for refusing a film project but returned to star in The Seven Year Itch (1955), one of the biggest box office successes of her career. When the studio was still reluctant to change Monroe's contract, she founded her own film production company in 1954. She dedicated 1955 to building the company and began studying method acting under Lee Strasberg at the Actors Studio. Later that year, Fox awarded her a new contract, which gave her more control and a larger salary. Her subsequent roles included a critically acclaimed performance in Bus Stop (1956) and her first independent production in The Prince and the Showgirl (1957). She won a Golden Globe for Best Actress for her role in Some Like It Hot (1959), a critical and commercial success. Her last completed film was the drama The Misfits (1961).

Marilyn Monroe

Known For

Some Like It Hot

All About Eve

Gentlemen Prefer Blondes

The Seven Year Itch

River of No Return

The Misfits

Niagara

The Asphalt Jungle

Final Cut: Ladies and Gentlemen

Love, Marilyn

Filmography — Acting

Some Like It Hot

All About Eve

Gentlemen Prefer Blondes

The Seven Year Itch

River of No Return

The Misfits

Niagara

The Asphalt Jungle

Final Cut: Ladies and Gentlemen

Love, Marilyn

How to Marry a Millionaire

Let's Make Love

Clash by Night

Bus Stop

Monkey Business

The Prince and the Showgirl

Don't Bother to Knock

All Governments Lie: Truth, Deception, and the Spirit of I.F. Stone

Rat Pack

There's No Business Like Show Business

Ladies of the Chorus

Cleopatra: The Film That Changed Hollywood

O. Henry's Full House

Hollywood Out-takes and Rare Footage

Cameraman: The Life and Work of Jack Cardiff

Oops, Those Hollywood Bloopers!

Barbara Stanwyck: Straight Down the Line

We're Not Married!

Marilyn Monroe: Beyond the Legend

Bert Stern - Original Madman

Home Town Story

The Mystery of Marilyn Monroe: The Unheard Tapes

Let's Make It Legal

Trinity and Beyond: The Atomic Bomb Movie

Arthur Miller: Writer

Playboy: Celebrity Centerfolds

A Ticket to Tomahawk

Scudda Hoo! Scudda Hay!

Marilyn

Robert Mitchum: The Reluctant Star

Love Happy

As Young as You Feel

Something's Got to Give

The Legend of Marilyn Monroe

Love Nest

Barbara Stanwyck: Fire and Desire

Hollywood Heaven: Tragic Lives, Tragic Deaths

Nobody's Perfect: The Making of Some Like It Hot

That's Entertainment! III

Fascination: Unauthorized Story of Marilyn Monroe

Dangerous Years

Grace Kelly: Destiny of a Princess

Hollywood Uncensored

Portrait of Norma Jeane

Zwischen Glück und Krone

Footsteps on the Ceiling

Dream Girl: The Making of Marilyn Monroe

Right Cross

La Rabbia

Marilyn Monroe: The Final Days

Becoming Marilyn

Marilyn Monroe: Still Life

The Legacy of 'Some Like It Hot'

Playboy's 50th Anniversary Celebration

Marilyn Monroe: I Want to Be Loved

Mansfield 66/67

Hollywood Singing and Dancing: A Musical History - The 1950s: The Golden Era of the Musical