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The Legendary Marilyn Monroe

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Marilyn Monroe’s legend remains as the ultimate blonde bombshell and as one of the most recognizable faces ever to grace the silver screen. Born June 1, 1926 she was baptized Norma Jean Baker. Her turbulent youth was due to an absentee father and a mentally unstable mother. By 1933 she went to live with her mother’s best friend, Grace McKee, and she was the first to give Norma Jean the idea of becoming a movie star.
Despite her new found love of cinema and hollywood celebrities, her childhood continued to be chaotic. After 1935 she moved through a number of foster homes, and she was even sexually abused. At the end of 1942 Norma Jean married her first husband James Dougherty While he was overseas fighting in World War II, Norma Jean got a factory job. Soon after a photograph of her at work appeared in a military magazine and she began her modeling career.
She became a sought after model and her success caught the attention of an executive at 20th Century Fox. He helped make Norma Jean a star by altering her appearance and changing her name to prepare her for Hollywood. Marilyn Monroe was chosen as her name because of her resemblance to Broadway actress Marilyn Miller and because Monroe had been her mother's maiden name.
Her acting career started with small roles. One of her first appearances was as a brunette in the Marx Brothers film Love Happy. Her first substantial roles came in 1950 with The Asphalt Jungle and All about Eve. Those films both casted her as a dimwitted

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