Shot on this day in 1954 during the filming of The Seven Year Itch, the iconic photograph of Marilyn Monroe laughing as her skirt is lifted by the gust from a subway vent drew the ire of her husband, Joe DiMaggio, who found it too exhibitionist. Shortly thereafter, the couple divorced.
Born as Norma Jean Mortensen, also known as Norma Jean Baker, Monroe experienced a troubled childhood. Her mother, a negative cutter at various film studios, was mentally unstable and was institutionalized when Norma Jean was just five years old. Following that, the young girl was placed in a series of foster homes, where she faced neglect and abuse, and eventually ended up in an orphanage. At the age of 16, she dropped out of high school and wed a 21-year-old aircraft plant worker named Joe Dougherty.
In 1944, with her husband dispatched overseas for military duty, Monroe began working as a paint sprayer in a defense plant. It was there that a photographer noticed her, leading to her rise as a well-known pin-up girl. She transitioned into modeling and divorced her husband two years later. In 1946, 20th Century Fox signed her to a contract worth $125 per week, but she was dropped after one film, which featured no scenes of hers. Columbia took her on but similarly cut ties after one film. With no jobs available, she posed nude for a calendar, earning $50; that calendar went on to sell a million copies, generating $750,000.
Monroe took on a series of minor roles in films until 1950, when Fox re-signed her. This time, they promoted her as a star and began granting her major roles in the early 1950s. In 1953, she starred alongside Jane Russell in Gentlemen Prefer Blondes, portraying the fortune hunter Lorelei Lee. Her immense sex appeal combined with childlike mannerisms made her an overnight sensation.
Following her divorce from legendary baseball player Joe DiMaggio, Monroe sought more serious film roles and proclaimed her intention to establish her own production company. To further enhance her craft, she studied acting with renowned Lee Strasberg at the Actors Studio in New York. Her comic performance in Bus Stop in 1955 was particularly noteworthy. The next year, she married intellectual playwright Arthur Miller. In 1959, she featured in the hit film Some Like It Hot.
Monroe’s final film, in 1961, was The Misfits, which was specifically written for her by Miller. A week before the film’s release, she finalized her divorce from him. She attempted to shoot another movie, Something’s Got to Give, but was let go due to her frequent illnesses and absences, which many attributed to drug addiction. Tragically, in August 1962, she died from an overdose of sleeping pills, her death classified as a possible suicide. Since her passing, her legacy and allure have persisted, with many biographies published posthumously. Throughout his life, her ex-husband Joe DiMaggio continued to honor her memory by sending flowers to her grave every day.
