Marilyn monroe information biography graphic organizer

American actress and model (1926–1962)

"Norma Jeane" redirects here. For other uses, see Norma Jean (disambiguation) and Marilyn Monroe (disambiguation).

Marilyn Monroe (MARR-ə-lin mən-ROH; born Norma Jeane Mortenson; June 1, 1926 – August 4, 1962) was an American actress and model.

Known for playing comic "blonde bombshell" characters, she became one of the most popular sex symbols of the 1950s and early 1960s, as well as an emblem of the era's sexual revolution. She was a top-billed actress for a decade, and her films grossed $200 million (equivalent to $2 billion in 2023) by the time of her death in 1962.^[1]

Born and raised in Los Angeles County, Monroe spent most of her childhood in a total of twelve foster homes and an orphanage before marrying James Dougherty at age sixteen.

She was working in a factory during World War II when she met a photographer from the First Motion Picture Unit and began a successful pin-up model