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1 June marks the birth anniversary of one of the biggest and most influential sex symbols the world has seen – Marilyn Monroe. The actress, model and singer, died young but left a legacy behind.
Imperfection is beauty, madness is genius and it’s better to be absolutely ridiculous than absolutely boring.Marilyn Monroe
Take a look at some rare pictures of Marilyn right here:
Marilyn Monroe’s real name was Norma Jean but her surname kept changing, Mortenson, Mortensen and Baker were all variably used as her surnames. Marilyn never knew who her biological father was.
Norma Jeane became one the most successful models. Her successful modeling career brought her to the attention of Ben Lyon, a 20th Century Fox executive, who arranged a screen test for her.
It was Lyon who wanted Norma to change her name. He suggested “Marilyn”, commenting that she reminded him of Marilyn Miller and following her idol Jean Harlow, she decided to choose her mother’s maiden name of Monroe. And thus Marilyn Monroe was born.
Although Marilyn Monroe was typecast as the “dumb blonde” she was actually extremely intelligent. She reportedly had an IQ of 168.
Marilyn Monroe was often late. But when she arrived, she always made sure she was worth the wait.
To avoid the paparazzi when checking into hotels and travelling, Marilyn Monroe used the pseudonym Zelda Zonk.
Beneath the make-up and behind the smile I am just a girl who wishes for the world.Marilyn Monroe
In June 1962, at the age of 36, Marilyn Monroe posed for Vogue. Marilyn was reluctant to do nudes because of a scar from a recent surgery. Photographer Bert Stern promised he would retouch it. But since Marilyn Monroe died before the Vogue photos were published, Stern did not retouch the scar.
On August 5, 1962, at 4:25 am, the Los Angeles Police Department received a call from, Monroe’s psychiatrist, saying that Monroe was found dead at her home. She was 36 years old. County Coroner’s office recorded the cause of death as “acute barbiturate poisoning”, resulting from a “probable suicide”.
(This article is from The Quint’s archives and was first published on 1 June 2016. It is now being republished to mark Marilyn Monroe’s birth anniversary.)
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