1.Marilyn Monroe’s real name was Norma Jeane Mortenson and before she became an actress, she was a surfer.
- 2.When she was young, Marilyn Monroe’s mentally unstable mother, Gladys Pearl Baker, attempted to kidnap her from her foster parents by stuffing her in a duffle bag.
- 3.Marilyn Monroe is a direct descendant of the original Mayflower settlers. Interestingly, other celebrities who share this lineage include Alec Baldwin, Clint Eastwood, Sally Field, Richard Gere, Katharine Hepburn, and Ashley Judd.
- 4.Marilyn Monroe was discovered by Army photographer David Conover while she was working on the Radioplane assembly line in 1945. Conover photographed her working on the OQ-3 model, the world’s first remote-controlled drone used in World War II. He saw potential in her as a model, which eventually led to her first screen test.
- 5.Marilyn Monroe was naturally a brunette. To increase her employability in Hollywood, she straightened her hair and dyed it blonde.
- Marilyn Monroe viewed Abraham Lincoln as a father figure. She once said, “Most people can admire their fathers, but I never had one. I need someone to admire. My father is Abraham Lincoln…I mean I think of Lincoln as my father. He was wise and kind and good. He is my ideal, Lincoln. I love him.”
- In 1916, librarian Eleanor Jones noticed groups of vulnerable young women congregating in her library in search of Hollywood stardom with no place to go. In response, she created a chaperoned dormitory, the Hollywood Studio Club, which eventually housed over 10,000 women, including Marilyn Monroe.
- At 22 years old, Marilyn Monroe was named Artichoke Queen of Castroville, California.
- Contrary to popular belief, Marilyn Monroe was not a UK size 16, often portrayed as a ‘curvy’ role model. She ranged from a UK size 4-8, had a 22-inch waist, and wore a 36D bra.
- Marilyn Monroe once shared a room with actress Shelley Winters. They made a list of men they wanted to sleep with, and according to Winters, “There was no one under 50 on hers.” Winters also mentioned, “I never got to ask her before she died how much of her list she had achieved, but on her list was Albert Einstein.”
