Marilyn Monroe
Part I
Introduction
Many think of her striking looks when the name Marilyn Monroe is mentioned. That's understandable. She was a sex symbol, a "Blonde Bombshell," as some called her. Marilyn had worked hard to craft this image, changing aspects of her look as she strove for and attained stardom, first as a model and then as an actress. The media helped bolster that image, too, which was important to Marilyn—she liked the attention, at least for some period of her career.
But then there were the other sides of her. The less talked about ones, like her generosity in helping others. There was the time in 1955 when Marilyn learned that Ella Fitzgerald couldn't get booked for performances at a popular nightclub in Los Angeles. Marilyn contacted the club owner and persuaded him to let Ella perform. As Ella later recounted this story in interviews, expressing her gratitude and admiration for Marilyn's gesture, she said, "I owe Marilyn Monroe a real debt. It was because of her that I played the Mocambo, a very popular nightclub. She personally called the owner and told him she wanted me booked immediately, and if he would do it, she would take a front table every night."
Then, there was the intellectually curious side of Marilyn. What she loved dearly, maybe most of all, were books and time spent learning. Though she dropped out of high school to get married, she took literature and art history classes at UCLA in later years. And she was often seen carrying books around film sets. At the time of her passing, Marilyn's book collection numbered about 400, including works by James Joyce, Leo Tolstoy, and Ernest Hemingway.
Marilyn had many sides. They all contributed to a career that would leave an indelible mark on Hollywood and popular culture. But alongside the glittering success was a profound personal struggle. She became a symbol of both the dazzling allure and the tragic pitfalls of Hollywood stardom.
The following is Marilyn's story.
Biography
Marilyn described her childhood as "one of the loneliest ever lived." It was also one of much instability and other types of traumatic experiences.