Marilyn Monroe: The Blonde Bombshell

"I want to grow old without face-lifts; I want to have the courage to be loyal to the face I have made. Sometimes I think it would be easier to avoid old age, to die young, but then you would never complete your whole life, would you? You would never wholly know yourself." Marilyn Monroe stated in the younger days of her life. Although this statement didn’t come true, Marilyn Monroe had a memorable life filled with many ups and downs. Who would think that such a successful young woman had such an unstable life? Whether you know her as “The Blonde Bombshell”, Norma, or Marilyn Monroe, she has had a large impact on the way people see women of the past. From her childhood, to her accomplishments, her downfalls and even her death, Marilyn Monroe had a huge impact on people all over the world.

Norma Jeane Mortenson, most famously known as, Marilyn Monroe was born on June 1st, 1926 in Los Angeles, California. She was also known as Norma Jeane Baker in her youth. Her mother, Gladys Monroe Baker Mortensen, was a film-cutter at RKO Studios. Norma’s biological father was never identified. Her mother told her that her father looked like movie star, Clark Gable. Throughout Norma’s childhood, she pictured Clark to be her father. Almost immediately after birth, Norma’s mother became mentally ill and abandoned her, forcing her into a series of foster homes. Norma’s foster parents, Ida and Albert Bolender, were very strict and religious. Gladys paid $25 a month for Norma’s foster care. Despite her mother’s frequent visits, Norma didn’t view Gladys as her mother, rather as “the woman with red hair”. While having a rough childhood of almost being smothered to death at age two and raped at age six, Norma’s life only continued to become a living nigh...

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... back in with Grace Mckee Goddard.

Within the next year, Norma started taking the next steps into breaking into the movies. Norma signed up with a talent agency, National Concert Artists Corporation, and soon met with Ben Lyon, an executive at Twentieth Century-Fox. Ben arranged for Norma to have a screen test, which is a short film to see how a person looks and acts in front of a camera. According to Leon Shamroy, the cinematographer, Norma’s brief performance gave him “cold chills”. Ben Lyon was so impressed with her performance that he signed her up shortly after the screen test. In August 1946, she signed a six month contract. Her contract paid her $75 a week for six months. With Norma only being the age of twenty at the time, Grace had to cosign the contract. Once the contract was signed, there was only one more thing to take care of: choosing a screen name.