Marilyn Monroe.
Her name alone evokes timeless beauty.
She not only captured the hearts of the world in the mid-20th century, but she became an
icon of femininity and sensuality.
Her style and grace have inspired people for generations.
But despite her fame, Monroe was a deeply unhappy woman.
She was adored by many, but did anyone really know her?
She was incredibly lonely
Born Norma Jeane Mortenson, Monroe's life was marked by tragedy.
Abandoned by a mentally ill mother who had once tried to attack her, Monroe grew up in
a series of foster homes before getting married at the age of 16 and dropping out of high
school.
This, along with the fact that she never knew her father, further contributed to her isolation
and her desire to have a family.
She had trouble maintaining relationships and was divorced several times.
Perhaps because of her own troubled childhood, Monroe desperately wanted to become a mother.
Sadly, she had multiple miscarriages, leaving her distraught and heartbroken.
She loved to read
While Monroe often played a quintessential "dumb blonde" on the silver screen, she was
deeply intellectual.
According to an article on Open Culture, she had hundreds of books lining the shelves of
her California bungalow ranging from classics like James Joyce's Ulysses to Invisible Man
by Ralph Ellison.
On her last day, it has been reported that Monroe was reading two novels, Harper Lee's
To Kill a Mockingbird and Leo Rosten's Captain Newman MD.
She was politically very liberal
Monroe may have wound up living a privileged life, but she was very aware of the injustices
that surrounded her.
Frederick Vanderbilt Field, a friend of Monroe's, wrote about her political views in his autobiography
From Right to Left.
One excerpt from the book reads:
"She told us about her strong feelings for civil rights, for black equality, as well
as her admiration for what was being done in China, her anger at red-baiting and McCarthyism
and her hatred of (FBI director) J. Edgar Hoover."
It was Monroe who helped songstress Ella Fitzgerald break into the Los Angeles music scene during
a time of segregation.
She made a promise to the management of a popular L.A. nightclub that if Fitzgerald
could sing there, she would ensure publicity and a packed crowd by sitting in the front
row every night for a week.
She was monitored by the FBI for years
In part because of her political views, the FBI monitored Monroe's activities for years.
Her marriage to the left-leaning playwright Arthur Miller was also viewed as suspect,
particularly considering Miller's stand against Senator Joseph McCarthy who led a series of
anti-Communist "witch hunts" in the 1950s.
The FBI was never able to prove any ties between Monroe and communism, writing,
"Subject's views are very positively and concisely leftist; however, if she is being actively
used by the Communist Party, it is not general knowledge among those working with the movement
in Los Angeles."
She might've been involved with Bobby Kennedy
The rumor that Monroe was involved with both President John F. Kennedy and his brother,
Robert Kennedy, persisted for years — despite no evidence to support the claim.
In 2016, however, The Telegraph reported on a letter confirming the link between Monroe
and Robert.
The alleged letter was sent to Monroe by Kennedy's younger sister, Jean Kennedy Smith.
In it Smith says,
"Understand that you and Bobby are the new item!
We all think you should come with him when he comes back East!"
Evidence surrounding her passing was destroyed
Years after her tragic loss, mystery still surrounds the circumstances of her passing.
According to The Independent, "key forensic evidence went missing shortly after [Monroe]
left."
To make things even more suspicious, many "key witnesses" from the night of her demise
have provided contradicting stories.
Other things that might have given us some insight into Monroe's last days were destroyed.
According to Vanity Fair, her half-sister wrote in her memoir My Sister Marilyn that
Monroe's business manager, Inez Melson, went through her things after her passing.
She wrote,
"We sat around the fireplace watching Inez burn papers all day long.”
The coroner had doubts it was an accident
The coroner who examined Monroe's body would later second guess some of his findings.
While the official autopsy report ruled that her passing was a suite, not everyone is convinced.
Dr. Thomas Noguchi, the coroner who conducted the autopsy, told the Telegraph in 2009 that
he found a fresh bruise on Monroe's hip.
And he also found no traces of the dye that coated the Nembutal capsules that claimed
her life.
While at first he was adamant that Monroe caused her own demise, weeks after he performed
the autopsy he asked the lab to test her other organs — but they had already been destroyed.
According to United Press International, his story has changed somewhat since 1985 when
he told a reporter that it was possible the star had been slain.
Her notebooks reveal a powerful way with words
Monroe's personal papers were published in 2010, providing a complex view of the film
icon.
BBC calls her words "the writings of a poet," proving for once and for all that she was
a far cry from the simple-minded beauty she often portrayed in films.
Her writings show her frustration at dealing with day-to-day life and the people around
her.
Monroe writes,
"I can't really stand Human beings sometimes — I know they all have their problems as
I have mine — but I'm really too tired for it.
Trying to understand, making allowances, seeing certain things that just weary me.”
Another, dating back to the 1940s shortly after her marriage, says, "all this thought
and writing has made my hands tremble but I just want to keep pouring it out until that
great pot in the mind is, though not emptied, relieved."
The legend lives on
What really happened to Marilyn Monroe?
Was her passing part of a government plot?
Conspiracy theorists would certainly have us think so.
She was a woman who seemingly had everything in the world to live for.
But these things are not always enough.
Anyone can experience depression, no matter how perfect their life may seem.
The story of Monroe is not just a tragic one, but one that reminds that things are not always
as they appear to be.
Despite the uncertainty that still surrounds her life and tragic loss, one thing is for
certain: she will forever remain a beloved icon of American cinema.
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