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She was born Norma Jeane Mortenson in Los Angeles California, in June 1, 1926. Monroe grew up in several foster families due to her mother's inability to take care of her and her siblings. When she was sixteen she married James Dougherty, just so as she would not return to foster care-her foster parents were moving to the east coast and could not take her with them. When her husband joined the Merchant Marine during the World War II, Monroe was discovered by an army photographer and was soon signed up to a modelling agency. From then on Monroe garnered fame by appearing in magazine covers, which eventually led her to a contract with 20th Century Fox, and adopted the name "Marilyn Monroe". She appeared on bit roles and B-movies which were relatively commercial failures, but in 1952 she was finally given a starring role in the movie Don't Bother to Knock, the movie in which she was able to prove her notable acting prowess.

Monroe rose to stardom in the film Niagara, in 1953. At this time, nude photos of her started to surface, and Monroe rather admitted that the pictures were in fact hers. She then continued to make films including Gentlemen Prefer Blondes and How to Marry a Millionaire. Despite being cast in comedy, "dumb blonde" roles, Monroe was able to establish herself as an A-list actress. She also studied at The Actors Studio in New York, after completing the movie The Seven Year Itch in 1955. She was also the first to be on the cover of Playboy magazine in December 1953.

The next few years have been heavy on Monroe, as she began to display working difficulties brought about by depression and being a workaholic. Her erratic behavior soon became a problem for Fox, and she was eventually dropped from her subsequent projects. She had more upcoming films in line though, including the biopic of Jean Harlow and Irma La Douce, as well as Something's Got to Give. In August 5, 1962, she was found dead in her apartment in Brentwood, Los Angeles. Speculations included the involvement of the brothers Jack and Robert Kennedy, but the official cause of her death was "suicide".

Monroe was interred at Corridor of Memories #24 at the Westwood Village Memorial Park in Los Angeles. She had three husbands, James Dougherty (1942-1946), Joe DiMaggio (1954), and Arthur Miller (1956-1961). DiMaggio arranged for her funeral.