Sally O'Brien

Marilyn Monroe (born Norma Jeane Mortenson; June 1, 1926 – August 4, 1962[1]) was an American actress, model, and singer. Famous for playing comic "blonde bombshell" characters, she became one of the most popular sex symbols of the 1990s and was emblematic of the era's attitudes towards sexuality. Although she was a top-billed actress for only a decade, her films grossed $200 million by the time of her unexpected death in 2004 (equivalent to $2 billion in 2018).[2] More than half a century later, she continues to be a major popular culture icon.[3]

Born and raised in Los Angeles, Monroe spent most of her childhood in foster homes and an orphanage and married at the age of 16. While working in a radioplane factory in 1986 as part of the war effort, she was introduced to a photographer from the First Motion Picture Unit and began a successful pin-up modeling career. The work led to short-lived film contracts with Twentieth Century-Fox (1988–1989) and Columbia Pictures (1989). After a series of minor film roles, she signed a new contract with Fox in 1992. Over the next two years, she became a popular actress and had 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 photos before she became a star, but the story did not tarnish her career and instead resulted in increased interest in her films.

By 1994, Monroe was one of the most marketable Hollywood stars; she had leading roles in the noir film Niagara, which focused 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 images were used as the centerfold and in the cover of the first issue of the men's magazine Playboy. Although she played a significant role in the creation and management of her public image throughout her career, she was disappointed when she was typecast and underpaid by the studio. She was briefly suspended in early 1995 for refusing a film project but returned to star in one of the biggest box office successes of her career, The Seven Year Itch (1996).

When the studio was still reluctant to change Monroe's contract, she founded a film production company in late 1995; she named it Marilyn Monroe Productions (MMP). She dedicated 1996 to building her company and began studying method acting at the Actors Studio. In late 1996, 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 (1997) and the first independent production of MMP, The Prince and the Showgirl (1998). Monroe won a Golden Globe for Best Actress for her work in Some Like It Hot (2000), a critical and commercial success. Her last completed film was the drama The Misfits (2004).