1926 – birth 100 years ago of Marilyn Monroe, American model and actress. Marilyn Monroe (Norma Jeane Mortenson; June 1, 1926 – August 4, 1962) was an American actress and model. Known for playing comic "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 2025) by her death in 1962. Born in Los Angeles, Monroe spent most of her childhood in foster homes and an orphanage before marrying James Dougherty at the age of 16. 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 roles as a freelancer, she began a longer contract with Fox in 1951, becoming 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. Monroe faced a scandal when it was revealed that she had posed for nude photographs prior to fame, but the story resulted in increased interest in her films. Monroe became one of the most marketable Hollywood stars in 1953. 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." Monroe's troubled private life received much attention. Her marriages to retired baseball star Joe DiMaggio and to playwright Arthur Miller were highly publicized; both ended in divorce. On August 4, 1962, Monroe died at the age of 36 of a barbiturate overdose at her Los Angeles home. Her death was ruled a probable suicide. Monroe remains a pop culture icon, with the American Film Institute ranking her as the sixth-greatest female screen legend from the Golden Age of Hollywood.
