"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." (Monroe) 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?
On June 1, 1926 a baby girl was born to Gladys Mortensen at 9:30 a.m. in Los Angeles, California. No one is sure who her father is because her mother was with many men at the time she got pregnant, but believe it was either Martin Edward Mortensen or Charles Gifford. Her birth name was either Norma Jeane Baker or Norma Jeane Mortensen; know to us as Marilyn Monroe. She has two older half-siblings on her mothers side that she has never met.
Almost immediately after giving birth, Gladys Mortensen brought Norma to live with Ida and Albert Bolender, who raised her until she was seven years old. It isn’t clear why Gladys had someone else raise her little girl, but being a single mother working in the Great Depression wasn’t easy. Others believe she simply didn’t have the interest or commitment to raise a child.
In 1933, after Norma’s 7th birthday, her mother took her back from foster care and decided that she would try raising her on her own. They never had a stable place to live and Norma wasn’t used to the rowdiness and all the drinking in her new home. Several months later Gladys began to be very depressed and avoid all the people around her. She was unable to deal with her life and entered a rest home and then the hospital.
The rest of Norma’s life would now be filled with chaos since she didn’t have anywhere to go besides foster homes. In 1935, when Norma was nine her mother was declared legally insane. Grace McKee, Gladys’ best friend; applied to be Norma’s legal guardian. While waiting for the court to appoint a new guardian, she was sent to live in the Los Angeles Orphans Home until she was eleven.
In 1937, McKee and Ervin “Doc” Goddard married and became Norma’s guardian. After six months with “Aunt Grace” and family, she was sent to live with distant relatives in Compton.
helped support the struggling couple. They divorced in 1942. She lived in Carmel Valley, CA after and died February 8, 1983.
The story ‘Norma’ is written by Sonia Sanchez, who describes in the story that how she used to look up to another girl in her school named Norma. Norma was intelligent, attractive, and everything that made a person perfect. But then as they grew up, Norma started doing drugs, and got pregnant while she was still in high school. She got kicked out of school, and wasn’t seen for a long time. Then after a few years, Sonia and Norma met again, and agreed to get together often. After leaving, Sonia vows to herself to never agree again, as she did not accept Norma as her role model anymore.
Born in Maine, of April, 1802, Dorothea Dix was brought up in a filthy, and poverty-ridden household (Thinkquest, 2). Her father came from a well-to-do Massachusetts family and was sent to Harvard. While there, he dropped out of school, and married a woman twenty years his senior (Thinkquest, 1). Living with two younger brothers, Dix dreamed of being sent off to live with her grandparents in Massachusetts. Her dream came true. After receiving a letter from her grandmother, requesting that she come and live with her, she was sent away at the age of twelve (Thinkquest, 4). She lived with her grandmother and grandfather for two years, until her grandmother realized that she wasn’t physically and mentally able to handle a girl at such a young age. She then moved to Worcester, Massachusetts to live with her aunt and her cousin (Thinkquest, 5).
Working as a teacher serving at-risk four-year-old children, approximately six of her eighteen students lived in foster care. The environment introduced Kathy to the impact of domestic violence, drugs, and family instability on a developing child. Her family lineage had a history of social service and she found herself concerned with the wellbeing of one little girl. Angelica, a foster child in Kathy’s class soon to be displaced again was born the daughter of a drug addict. She had been labeled a troublemaker, yet the Harrisons took the thirty-hour training for foster and adoptive care and brought her home to adopt. Within six months, the family would also adopted Angie’s sister Neddy. This is when the Harrison family dynamic drastically changes and Kathy begins a journey with over a hundred foster children passing through her home seeking refuge.
Looking at self-development, she has successfully done so beginning by working in an airplane factory while her first husband was on duty overseas, she was noticed by one of the officers who encouraged her to model which led her to sign with The Blue Book Modelling Agency. Conformity played a huge role in her identity; since in order to fit their needs, Mortenson dyed her hair blonde and changed her name to a seductive one, “Marilyn Monroe”. Her beauty quickly got her successful and noticed. After some time, she landed a contract with Twentieth Century Fox which jump started her acting career. Her seductiveness and dramatic abilities caught the publ...
Norma’s mother was a flapper so she was not one to hold to the social conventions of the times; however, because she was raised in a devout Mormon household, race would be the area where she would not budge. It was no surprise to me that Norma would also learn to snub her nose at those conventions that seemed ludicrous to her, such as whites not associating with blacks, but Norma’s decision to fraternize with a man of color in spite of her mother’s stance, would bring to the forefront what C. Wright Mills, in his article The Promise, coined as personal troubles and issues. For Norma, choosing to be involved with June’s father would bring up issues of character surrounding the social acceptability of a white girl consorting with a black man, especially when everywhere she looked; society, would shout unequivocally that it was not acceptable (1959). So, when she discovers that she is pregnant, she finds herself in quite the predicament. Norma is a walking contradiction in my opinion. Although there is no doubt in my mind that she loved her children, her desire for autonomy and a name, made it impossible for her to navigate the minefields of race, thanks to the Hollywood elite who would hang the framework through which Norma would
“Imperfection is beauty, madness is genius and it's better to be absolutely ridiculous than absolutely boring.” (Marilyn Monroe).
Marilyn Monroe (Monroe) was an image of fashion and beauty in the 20th century. Overcoming a traumatic childhood to become one of the most confident women. Making bold provocative, but, fashionable statements about how women should be confident about their own body image. Without the help of others, she would not have become the person she is known as today. Marilyn Monroe, a famous actress, who has influenced the rest of the world.
Marilyn Monroe is an icon that is idolized by many and had a great impact on pop culture. She didn’t have the best childhood and had a lot of up and downs in her life. Marilyn Monroe was born in California in 1926. She was named Norma Jeane Mortenson after a popular actress at the time. Her mother Gladys Baker was mentally ill, so she had to put Monroe in foster care. She lived in a foster home until she was seven years old. She had two other siblings from her mother’s first marriage. She never met them because her mom’s first husband took them to live with him in Kentucky.
Grace was to marry in 1935 and due to financial difficulties, Norma Jeane was placed in an orphanage from September 1935 to June 1937. Grace frequently visited her, taking her to the movies, buying clothes and teaching her how to apply makeup at her young age. Norma Jeane was to later live with several of Grace's relatives.
Her mother Gladys, worked very hard for her children. Gladys was from African American slaves and Cherokee Native Americans ancestors. Patricia was blessed with a brother and once he was born her mother began to budget for the future. She saved her money from her jobs as a housewife and a domestic worker, to help pay for her children’s education. To pay for Pat’s medical schooling, Gladys scrubbed floors. “Mom and dad were the fuel and engine to my empowerment, she once said.” (source 9 page 99) Her parents helped her work toward what she has achieved today. She...
Even though she has been deceased for more than fifty years, people today still are interested in Marilyn Monroe's childhood, love stories, and whether she died by suicide or not. ...
According to American National Biography, Marilyn Monroe was formerly known as Norma Jeane Mortenson. She was an American actress and model. Her mom, Gladys Pearl Baker was a flapper, and was unstable and was not ready for a child so she had financial problems with Marilyn Monroe. After Monroe's birth, Baker placed monroe with Ida and Albert Bolender. They raised their foster kids with a strict Christian perspective. When her mom felt stable enough and decided to take Monroe back and live in Hollywood, until she had a psychotic breakdown and was later diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia. After her breakdown Baker spent the rest of her life in and out of institutions and
Around the year 1885, Mae decided to become a foster parent because as she grew up babysitting in her teenage years she realized that she loves children. Mae fostered seven amazing kids that she continues to love daily. The first kid that she fostered was a girl and her name has been Kendra just a baby when she was fostered, she was about six months old. All the kids she fostered love
Is the name Norma Jean Baker familiar? Maybe, but due to a suggestion Ben Lyon provided, the name Marilyn Monroe is sure to gain recognition as the 1940’s thespian (Encyclopedia of World Biography). Marilyn Monroe was born Norma Jean Baker and grew up to become the sex icon Marilyn Monroe, a singer, actress, and comedienne. She is remembered mainly for her talents and her nude photos from the 1940’s, which helped her to become an icon. One article states, “Legendary film actress Marilyn Monroe will be remembered for her sensuous beauty, her acting talent, and her psychological torment” (DISCovering Biography). Along with her talent she was also known for her declining mental state. She eventually died due to a barbiturate overdose, not too