LIFE - Marilyn Monroe: Life and Times

Marilyn Monroe at the Beach With Her Mother

Tue, 01 Jan 1929 03:00:00 EST

Hollywood film cutter Gladys Baker shares a happy moment with daughter Norma Jeane, 3, in 1929. Later, the mentally unstable Gladys left the girl in a series of foster homes.

Marilyn as a Girl

Sun, 01 Jan 1933 03:00:00 EST

Norma Jeane Baker, future film star Marilyn Monroe, plays with dogs in a rural garden, circa 1933.

Brunette Marilyn, Age 15

Wed, 01 Jan 1941 03:00:00 EST

A 15-year-old Norma Jeane poses in 1941. She is one year away from her first marriage and five years away from breaking into movies and changing her name to Marilyn Monroe.

Marilyn Monroe and Her First Husband in 1943

Fri, 01 Jan 1943 03:00:00 EWT

At age 16, to avoid becoming a ward of the state when her foster parents leave California, Norma Jeane married neighbor Jimmy Dougherty, 21, in 1942. They'd divorce in 1946. (See more photos of a pre-fame Monroe, in our "Before She Was Marilyn" gallery)

Norma Jeane Dougherty Becomes Marilyn Monroe

Sat, 01 Feb 1947 03:00:00 EST

Marilyn began her career as a model, and was "discovered" by a 20th Century Fox exec in 1946. She renamed herself after stage star Marilyn Miller and her own mother's maiden name, Monroe.

Marilyn Monroe Studies for Stardom

Sat, 01 Feb 1947 03:00:00 EST

In 1947, the 20-year-old starlet spends long hours in dance and acting classes. It'll be another three years before her film career takes off with a role in "The Asphalt Jungle."

Marilyn Monroe, a Standout Star

Fri, 11 Feb 1949 03:00:00 EST

Marilyn shines in dance class, 1949.

A Model Face

Thu, 01 Jan 1948 03:00:00 EST

In 1948, Marilyn Monroe applies her makeup. She had begun to make small appearances in films by this time, inking short-term contracts with various studios, but returned to modeling when those contracts expired.

Marilyn Monroe and Her Acting Coach

Sat, 01 Jan 1949 02:00:00 EST

In 1949, while under contract at Columbia, Monroe studies under the studio's head drama coach, Natasha Lytess (left). Even after Monroe leaves Columbia, Lytess remains her acting coach for years.

Marilyn Monroe Is Among the 'Ladies of the Chorus'

Sat, 01 Jan 1949 02:00:00 EST

Monroe (front row center) has her first starring role in the 1949 musical, playing a second-generation showgirl and singing two songs. The film flops, and Columbia declines to renew her contract.

Marilyn Monroe Meets Groucho Marx

Sat, 01 Jan 1949 02:00:00 EST

Monroe has a memorable walk-on part in the 1949 Marx Brothers farce "Love Happy." It catches the eye of agent Johnny Hyde, who gets her cast in her breakthrough role in "The Asphalt Jungle."

Marilyn Monroe's Day at the Park

Tue, 01 Aug 1950 03:00:00 EDT

Two months after a small but important role in "The Asphalt Jungle," Monroe is bright-eyed and beautiful at a shoot by LIFE photographer Ed Clark.

Marilyn Monroe Studies a Script

Tue, 01 Aug 1950 03:00:00 EDT

The starlet lies in L.A.'s Griffith Park, reading a script and wearing a shirt with her monogrammed initials. This set of photos, never before published, was recently uncovered by LIFE, with little clues as to why they never saw the light of day.

Casual Marilyn

Tue, 01 Aug 1950 03:00:00 EDT

"She was unknown then, so I was able to spend a lot of time shooting her," photographer Clark recalled in a 1999 interview with Digital Journalist. "We'd go out to Griffith Park and she'd read poetry. I sent several rolls to LIFE in New York, but they wired back, 'Who the hell is Marilyn Monroe?'" It would not be long before the whole world would know her name. (See more photos from this shoot.)

Marilyn Monroe Gets Noticed in 'All About Eve'

Sun, 01 Jan 1950 03:00:00 EST

Monroe (seated, right) watches Anne Baxter and Bette Davis unleash their claws. Her role in the 1950 Best Picture Oscar-winner as a not-so-naive Broadway starlet earns her a seven-year contract at Fox.

Marilyn by the Pool

Mon, 01 Jan 1951 03:00:00 EST

Circa 1951: Monroe begins playing up her sex appeal, posing in swimsuits and flirty poses. (See our gallery of Marilyn in Swimsuits.)

Next Batter Up: Marilyn Monroe

Tue, 01 Jul 1952 03:00:00 EDT

In 1952, the year she agreed to be set up on a date with ex-New York Yankee Joe DiMaggio, Monroe takes a turn at bat during a 20th Century Fox studio baseball game.

Marilyn Monroe Rehearses for 'Millionaire'

Thu, 01 Jan 1953 03:00:00 EST

Monroe and costar Cameron Mitchell rehearse a scene in 1953's "How to Marry a Millionaire." The romantic comedy, in which Monroe shared the lead with Betty Grable and Lauren Bacall, becomes one of her first big hits.

Diamonds Are Marilyn Monroe's Best Friend

Thu, 01 Jan 1953 03:00:00 EST

Monroe performs "Diamonds Are a Girl's Best Friend," which would become a signature song for her, in the 1953 smash "Gentlemen Prefer Blondes."

Marilyn Monroe and Jane Russell Take 5

Fri, 01 May 1953 03:00:00 EDT

The "Gentlemen Prefer Blondes" stars, in matching gowns by Travilla, relax between photos. Monroe drinks a cola, while Russell adjusts her makeup.

A Famous Pose

Fri, 01 May 1953 03:00:00 EDT

The "Gentlemen Prefer Blondes" stars show some leg. This photograph, by Ed Clark, appeared on the front cover of the May 25, 1953, issue of LIFE. (See LIFE's best photos of Monroe.)

Marilyn Monroe Vamps in 'Niagara'

Thu, 01 Jan 1953 03:00:00 EST

In a departure from her frothier fare, Monroe plays a femme fatale who plots to kill husband Joseph Cotten in 1953's "Niagara." Critics pay more attention to lingering shots of her derriere than to her acting.

Marilyn Monroe on Her Patio at Home, 1953

Fri, 01 May 1953 03:00:00 EDT

In May 1953, LIFE staffer Alfred Eisenstaedt visited Marilyn at her home. From the book "Eisenstaedt Remembrances": "[He] recalls that Monroe was a little flustered, and perhaps he was, too, because he confused a camera holding black-and-white film with one holding color, and as a result some of his exposures were slightly off."

Marilyn Monroe Smolders

Thu, 01 Jan 1953 03:00:00 EST

Marilyn Reads at Home

Fri, 01 May 1953 03:00:00 EDT

Marilyn Laughing at Home

Thu, 01 Jan 1953 03:00:00 EST

Marilyn Monroe Marries Joe DiMaggio

Thu, 01 Apr 1954 03:00:00 EST

Jan. 14, 1954: Monroe and DiMaggio are all smiles after their San Francisco City Hall ceremony.

Marilyn and Joe: The Newlyweds

Thu, 01 Apr 1954 03:00:00 EST

Though they took off a month to travel Asia for their honeymoon, the couple spent little time together, with DiMaggio coaching in Japan and Monroe entertaining troops in Korea.

Marilyn Monroe Entertains the Troops in Korea

Wed, 17 Feb 1954 03:00:00 EST

On the request of a U.S. Army general, Monroe left her honeymoon to thrill American G.I.s in Korea. "You've never heard such cheering," she later told DiMaggio. (His reply: "Yes I have.")

Marilyn Monroe Films Iconic Skirt-Blowing Scene

Wed, 15 Sep 1954 03:00:00 EDT

Professionally, it was one of the hallmarks of her career: In "The Seven Year Itch," Monroe catches a cool breeze from the subway below. But personally, the shoot was a nightmare, as DiMaggio became incensed by the media circus around the sexy scene. (See more amazing shots of Marilyn at work.)

Marilyn Monroe Announces Her Divorce

Fri, 01 Oct 1954 03:00:00 EST

Shortly after their "Seven Year Itch" blowout, a tearful Marilyn tells reporters that she will divorce DiMaggio, after just 286 days of marriage. (See more of DiMaggio and Monroe's romance in pictures.)

Marilyn Makes 'Bus Stop'

Sun, 01 Jan 1956 03:00:00 EST

Monroe finally earns dramatic acclaim for her starring role in 1956's gritty "Bus Stop," playing a tattered lounge singer in love with a cowhand.

Marilyn Monroe and Arthur Miller Begin Their Honeymoon

Sun, 01 Jul 1956 03:00:00 EDT

Two days after they were wed in a secret civil ceremony, Monroe and acclaimed playwright Miller held a formal Jewish wedding on July 1, 1956, at a rented house in Katonah, New York. (At the time, Monroe was studying to convert to her husband's Jewish faith.) Later that day, they're spotted in a convertible on a New York City street as they prepare to drive to Miller's farm in Connecticut.

Marilyn Monroe and Arthur Miller at Their English Country House

Tue, 17 Jul 1956 03:00:00 EDT

Days after their wedding, the Millers fly to England in July 1956 and spend several months living in a mansion in Englefield Green, Eggham, Surrey, outside London. She's there to film "The Prince and the Showgirl," while he's staging the London premiere of "A View From the Bridge."

Monroe and Miller Mingle With the Swells

Tue, 01 Jan 1957 03:00:00 EST

Former U.S. ambassador to Britain Winthrop Aldrich chats with Marilyn Monroe as her husband, playwright Arthur Miller looks on at the "April in Paris" Ball at New York's Waldorf-Astoria hotel in April 1957.

Marilyn Monroe and Arthur Miller Dance at 'April in Paris' Ball

Mon, 01 Apr 1957 03:00:00 EST

The movie star and her playwright husband dance at a ball at New York's Waldorf-Astoria Hotel in April 1957. Years later, Miller's friend, director Elia Kazan, would recall introducing the two at a Hollywood party in 1951, when she was dating Kazan. "Art was a good dancer. And how happy she was in his arms." (See more of Monroe and Miller's romance in pictures.)

Marilyn in New York

Mon, 08 Jul 1957 03:00:00 EDT

Monroe holds a flaming sparkler in the Rockefeller Center 'Sidewalk Superintendents Club' during a ceremony for the soon-to-be-built Time & Life Building.

Meet Sugar Kane

Thu, 01 Jan 1959 03:00:00 EST

Marilyn Monroe as the showgirl Sugar Kane, one of her most iconic roles, in Billy Wilder's "Some Like It Hot."

Jack Lemmon and Marilyn Monroe Are 'Hot'

Thu, 01 Jan 1959 03:00:00 EST

Lemmon and Monroe try to fill out the same bathing suit in the classic 1959 drag comedy "Some Like It Hot." She was a terrified wreck away from the camera, Lemmon would recall later, but was magical in front of it.

Yves Montand Keeps an Eye on Marilyn Monroe

Mon, 07 Mar 1960 03:00:00 EST

Montand watches Monroe on the set of their poorly received 1960 musical comedy "Let's Make Love." During the shoot, the two stars, both married to others, would have a brief affair.

Shocked Monroe

Fri, 01 Jan 1960 03:00:00 EST

Marilyn Monroe, adorable in a scene from the film 'Let's Make Love', directed by George Cukor.

Marilyn Monroe Is a 'Misfit'

Sun, 01 Jan 1961 03:00:00 EST

In 1961, Monroe shoots the romance "The Misfits," the last film she and costar Clark Gable would ever finish. Within days of wrapping, she separates from playwright Arthur Miller, who wrote the movie for her.

Marilyn Monroe's Last, Unfinished Movie

Mon, 01 Jan 1962 03:00:00 EST

The 1962 shoot for the farce "Something's Got to Give" (pictured) halts when Monroe is fired for repeatedly failing to show up. The 36-year-old dies of a drug overdose on August 5, and the film is never finished.

Marilyn Sings 'Happy Birthday' to JFK, 1962

Tue, 01 May 1962 03:00:00 EDT

The actress breathily sings her birthday wishes to John F. Kennedy. The performance would fuel rumors, persisting to this day, that the two had a torrid affair.

Marilyn Monroe, Dead at 36

Thu, 09 Aug 1962 03:00:00 EDT

August 1962: After her barbiturate overdose, medical attendants wheel out Marilyn's body from her home. According to Joe DiMaggio biographer Richard Ben Cramer, Monroe had days earlier accepted DiMaggio's proposal of remarriage.

Joe Breaks Down at Marilyn's Funeral

Mon, 13 Aug 1962 03:00:00 EDT

A distraught DiMaggio weeps at Monroe's service at Westwood Memorial Park in Hollywood. Before her burial, he placed three roses in her casket.

Marilyn Monroe: 1926-1962

Mon, 01 Jan 1962 03:00:00 EST

For two decades after her death, DiMaggio sent roses to Monroe's crypt two times a week. After his death in 1999, several mementos from his time with Marilyn (including love letters) were made public and, later, auctioned.

Marilyn: Still a Commodity Today

Thu, 04 Jun 2009 03:00:00 EDT

More than four decades after her death, Marilyn Monroe and everything about her continues to fascinate. Here, memorabilia including a stole and photos are displayed at a press preview for Julien's Auctions Summer Entertainment Sale, at Planet Hollywood in New York.