Norma Jeane Mortenson (the name on her birth certificate) was born June 1, 1926 to Gladys Pearl Monroe (her mother Gladys was married three times – to Jasper Baker, Martin Edward Mortenson and John Stewart Eley).
Norma Jeane’s birth certificate named Edward Mortenson as her father, but Charles Stanley Gifford, a co-worker of Gladys’ with whom she had an affair around the time of Norma Jeane’s conception, was determined to be her biological father. (Time & Newsweek)
She later baptized Norma Jeane Baker and lived in a foster home of Ida and Albert Bolender. Her mother was frequently confined in an asylum, and Norma Jeane was reared by 12 successive sets of foster parents and, for a time, in an orphanage. (Britannica)
On June 19, 1942 – after dating only a few months and just 18 days after Norma Jean’s 16th birthday – she married 21-year-old James Dougherty.
In 1944, Dougherty joined the merchant marine and was initially assigned to teach sea safety on Catalina Island, where the young couple moved into an apartment. “She was just a housewife,” Dougherty told UPI. “We would go down to the beach on weekends, and have luaus on Saturday night.” (LA Times)
“Dougherty eventually shipped out, and Norma Jeane moved in with his parents in North Hollywood. … In 1944, while working at Radioplane, Ethel Dougherty and her daughter-in-law joined the ranks of the millions of women known as ‘Rosie the Riveters’ helping the war effort.”
“During her 60-hour workweek at the nation’s minimum wage of $20 a week, Norma Jeane’s assignments included spraying glue on aircraft fabric and inspecting and folding parachutes.” (Airport Journals)
“American women played important roles during World War II, both at home and in uniform. Around 5 million civilian women served in the defense industry and elsewhere in the commercial sector during World War II with the aim of freeing a man to fight.” (US Dept of Defense)
Women had to step up to work in the factories that produced what the men needed, and the Rosie the Riveter character was created to recruit them. The men were celebrated when they arrived home, but women lost their jobs and their role was forgotten. (Daily Mail)
“In the summer of 1945 Private David Conover, a professional photographer working for the U.S. Army Air Corps First Motion Picture Unit, was sent to the Radioplane Munitions Factory in Burbank, California to shoot morale-boosting photographs of employees doing their part to help the war effort.”
“As Conover later wrote, ‘I moved down the assembly line, taking shots of the most attractive employees. None was especially out of the ordinary.’”
“‘I came to a pretty girl putting on propellers and raised the camera to my eye. She had curly ash blond hair and her face was smudged with dirt. I snapped her picture and walked on.’”
“‘Then I stopped, stunned. She was beautiful. Half child, half woman, her eyes held something that touched and intrigued me. I retraced my steps and introduced myself. ‘And you?’ ‘I’m Norma Jeane Dougherty.’ She smiled and offered her hand.’”
“The 19-year-old Norma Jeane’s appearance and natural ease in front of the camera capitivated Conover, and upon hearing that she wanted to become an actress, he told her that she would need to become a model first.”
“To give Norma Jeane a portfolio, Conover sought and was granted leave. He spent the next two weeks with Norma Jeane in the hills of Southern California teaching her how to pose, model and ‘address’ a camera.”
“Most of the film was mailed to a processing lab. But Conover retained a few rolls of exposed film. Good thing: The mailed film never arrived and has never been found.” (South Florida Sun Sentinel)
“Conover noted that 19-year-old Norma Jeane’s response to the camera was amazing. She seemed to ‘come alive’ with an immediate and natural instinct.”
“In fact, he was so excited by his discovery that he could barely hold the camera steady. He must have hidden his excitement from his subject, because the teenager timidly asked if she was photogenic.”
“After several photo sessions and with Conover’s influence, Norma Jeane applied at the Blue Book Modeling Agency. There she was groomed in the art of modeling and encouraged to lighten her hair.”
“She soon had the attention of every producer in Hollywood. In July 1946, Norma Jeane signed a contract with Twentieth Century Fox Studios”. (Airport Journals)
On February 23, 1956, Norma Jeane Mortenson changed her legal name to Marilyn Monroe (although she’d been known publicly by the moniker since 1946). (The Atlantic)
“Shortly after their wedding and en route to Japan for their honeymoon, Marilyn Monroe and Joe DiMaggio made a stop in Honolulu, where they were greeted by hysterical fans—some of whom even reached out to touch or pull Monroe’s hair. As protection, the newlyweds were given a police escort to Waikiki’s Royal Hawaiian”. (Robb Report)
“Marilyn Monroe, one of the most famous stars in Hollywood’s history, was found dead early today [August 5, 1962] in the bedroom of her home in the Brentwood section of Los Angeles. She was 36 years old. Beside the bed was an empty bottle that had contained sleeping pills. Fourteen other bottles of medicines and tablets were on the night stand.” (NY Times)
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