Marilyn Monroe (born Norma Jeane Mortenson) 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 1950s 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 1962. By 1953, Monroe was one of the most marketable Hollywood stars. Monroe won a Golden Globe for Best Actress for her work in Some Like It Hot (1959), a critical and commercial success. Her last completed film was the drama The Misfits (1961). She continues to be a major popular culture icon to date.
Here are the interesting facts about Marilyn Monroe.
- After her mother was institutionalized, Monroe became an orphan. She had 11 sets of foster parents throughout her childhood and teenage years.
- Her weight fluctuated so much during the filming of ‘The Prince’ and the ‘Showgirl’ that the costume designer had to create identical dresses in several sizes.
- In 1950, her agent talked her into and paid for her to have two plastic surgeries: a tip rhinoplasty and a chin implant.
- It’s well-known Monroe was commonly cast as a dumb blonde – she hated this. She was, in fact, very intelligent, and had an IQ of 168.
- Monroe found it impossible to learn lines. It took her 60 takes to deliver the line “It’s me, Sugar”, in ‘Some Like it Hot’.
- Monroe wrote her autobiography ‘My Story’ at the height of her career. The autobiography was not published until a decade after she passed.
- Monroe’s funeral was open casket. She wore an apple green Pucci dress and a platinum wig.
- Veronica Hamel purchased Monroe’s house in 1972. She said that when she was renovating, she came across an extensive system of wire-taps.
- While married to Miller, Monroe attempted to have a baby. She unfortunately suffered an ectopic pregnancy and a miscarriage.
- While she was filming ‘Let’s Make Love’, her no-shows added 28 days, adding $1 million to the budget.
