Today would be Marilyn Monroe's 85th birthday were she still living. Born Norma Jeane Mortenson, but she was baptised and raised Norma Jeane Baker, June 1st 1926. Marilyn spent most of her childhood in and out of foster homes. She began her career as a model and in 1946 landed herself a movie contract. She had minor, but well recieved roles. in 1953 she started getting leading parts but was limited by type casting, she played the dumb blond roll for the most part. Marilyn studied at the Actors Studio to broaden her range, and her dramatic performance in Bus Stop (1956) was hailed by critics, and she received a Golden Globe nomination. Her production company, Marilyn Monroe Productions, released The Prince and the Showgirl (1957), for which she received a BAFTA Award nomination and won a David di Donatello award. She received a Golden Globe Award for her performance in Some Like It Hot (1959).
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 "probablesuicide", the possibility of an accidental overdose, as well as the possibility of homicide, have not been ruled out.
In 1999, Monroe was ranked as the sixth greatest female star of all time by the American Film Institute. In the years and decades following her death, Monroe has often been cited as a pop and cultural icon as well as an eminent American sex symbol.
