Marilyn Monroe,She obtained an order from the City Court of the State of New York and legally changed her name to Marilyn Monroe on February 23, 1956. (1 June 1926 – 5 August 1962), born Norma Jeane Mortenson

After spending much of her childhood in foster homes, Monroe began a career as a model, which led to a film contract in 1946. Her early roles were minor, but her performances in The Asphalt Jungle and All About Eve (both 1950) were well received. She was praised for her comedic ability in such films as Gentlemen Prefer Blondes, How to Marry a Millionaire and The Seven Year Itch, and became one of Hollywood's most popular and glamorous performers.

The typecasting of Monroe's "dumb blonde" persona limited her career prospects, so she broadened her range. She studied at the Actors Studio and formed Marilyn Monroe Productions. Her dramatic performance in William Inge's Bus Stop was hailed by critics, and she won a Golden Globe Award for her performance in Some Like it Hot.

The final years of Monroe's life were marked by illness, personal problems, and a reputation for being unreliable and difficult to work with. The circumstances of her death, from an overdose of barbiturates, have been the subject of conjecture. Though officially classified as a "probable suicide", the possibility of an accidental overdose has not been ruled out, while conspiracy theorists argue that she was murdered.

In 1999, Monroe was ranked as the sixth greatest female star of all time by the American Film Institute.

Family and early life

main: Childhood of Marilyn Monroe

Monroe was born in the Los Angeles County Hospital, the third child born to Gladys Pearl Baker (1902–1984).

Monroe's birth certificate names the father as Edward Mortenson, a Norwegian,Summers, p. 5 with his residence stated as "unknown", Gladys Baker had married a Martin E. Mortenson in 1924, but they had separated before Gladys' pregnancy.Summers, p. 5 Several of Monroe's biographers suggest that Gladys Baker used his name to avoid the stigma of illegitimacy. When Mortenson died, at the age of 85, Monroe's birth certificate together with her parents' marriage and divorce documents were discovered. These documents showed that Mortenson filed for divorce from Gladys on March 5, 1927, and the case was finalized on October 15, 1928, thus proving that Marilyn was born legitimate.

Throughout her life, Marilyn Monroe denied that Mortenson was her father. She said that when she was a child, she had been shown a photograph of a man that Gladys Baker identified as her father. She remembered that he had a thin moustache and somewhat resembled Clark Gable, and that she had amused herself by pretending that Gable was her father, but never determined her father's true identity.