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Essay on Marilyn Monroe
Marilyn Monroe is considered one of the greatest of all movie stars. Even though her career was relatively short, she became a lasting film icon. Graham McCann, in his biography of the star, noted that her influence on popular culture remains immense, "her image, her performance, her personality, her style, her secrets, her story" ( McCann, 8).
The biography of Monroe in the Encyclopedia of Hollywood also contains the claim that her impact was enormous. Every studio in Hollywood tried to come up with their own version of the bosomy, blonde star. None, however, reached the heights of popularity achieved by Monroe. "Decades after her death she remains among Hollywood's most enduring and compelling screen personalities." ( Siegel and Siegel, 289).
Marilyn Monroe had little education and always regretted she had not been encouraged to read as a child. To make up for that lack, she read a great deal after growing up.
Norma Jeane Mortenson (or Baker) was born in or near Los Angeles on June 1, 1926, to the then unmarried Gladys Mortenson who worked as a film cutter. Not long after Norma Jeane's birth, Gladys suffered a mental breakdown and was hospitalized. Little is known about her father, but Norma Jeane often dreamed that he resembled Clark Gable, one of her favorite movie actors.
Norma Jeane was brought up in a series of foster homes, perhaps as many as twelve, and she at one time resided in an orphanage. She attended a number of different public schools. Not being especially interested in academics, her school record was unimpressive.
At the age of sixteen, she married James Dougherty. It seems that one reason for the marriage was that Norma Jeane did not want to return to an orphanage or to another set of foster parents.
Already having the physical opulence that would make her famous....
