Norma Jeane Mortenson (Marilyn Monroe) was born on June 1, 1926 in Los Angeles, California. Marilyn's acting career spanned 16 years and 29 films, and a rise from struggling actress to screen legend.

In 1944 Norma Jeane was inspecting parachutes for the army when she was photographed for an army promotion about women contributing to the war effort. Copies of these pictures got around, and by spring of 1945, Norma Jeane was known as a "photographers dream" and had appeared on 33 national magazine covers. Ben Lyon of 20th Century-Fox saw the pictures and signed Norma Jeane to a one year contract. He asked her to change her name, and from that point forward she would be known as Marilyn Monroe to generations of adoring fans.

Alton Cook, movie critic for the New York World-Telegram and Sun wrote of her 1952 performance in "Clash By Night," ... Miss Monroe is ... "a forceful actress, a gifted new star, worthy of all that fantastic press agentry. Her role here is not very big, but she makes it dominant." American film distributors voted Marilyn the top star of 1952.

"Bus Stop" opened in London in October 1956. A London Times review said..."Miss Monroe is a talented comedienne, and her sense of timing never forsake her. She gives a complete portrait, sensitively and sometimes even brilliantly conceived. There is about her a waif-life quality, an underlying note of pathos which can be strangely moving."

Early in 1960, Marilyn was consulting with prominent Hollywood psychoanalyst, Dr. Ralph Greenson. As was common during this period, Greenson relied heavily on drug therapy, routinely prescribing barbiturates and tranquilizers in addition to his psychotherapy. In July of 1960 Marilyn began filming "The Misfits" with Clark Gable. Her health continued to deteriorate due to her increased dependency on drugs. Make-up artist Allan Snyder recalled..."It took so long to get her going in the morning that usually I had to make her up while she lay in her bed." Despite these difficulties Marilyn managed to give an exceptional performance.

On August 5, 1962, Marilyn Monroe was found dead in her Brentwood, California home of an overdose of sleeping pills. There has been much speculation about the events surrounding Marilyn's death. The drug overdose was probably accidental and possibly administered by someone other than Marilyn. Whatever the cause, it is unlikely it was suicide.

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