She was born Norma Jeane Mortenson on June 1, 1926 in Los Angeles, California, to Gladys Baker.

Norma Jeane spent most of her childhood in foster homes and orphanages until 1937, when she moved in with family friend Grace McKee Goddard.

The photographer David Conover saw her while taking pictures of women contributing to the war effort for Yank magazine. He used her for the shoot and then began sending modeling jobs her way. Within two years she was a reputable model with many popular magazine covers to her credit.

Marilyn's first movie role was a bit part in 1947's The Shocking Miss Pilgrim. She played a series of inconsequential characters until 1950, when John Huston's thriller The Asphalt Jungle provided her with a small but influential role.

After appearing in small parts in films including "Love Happy" (1949) and "All About Eve" (1950), Monroe achieved celebrity with starring roles in three 1953 features--"Niagara," "Gentlemen Prefer Blondes" and "How To Marry a Millionaire"--as well as a series of nude calendar photos, taken in 1948, which appeared in the December 1953 debut issue of Playboy magazine.

In 1956, Marilyn started her own motion picture company, Marilyn Monroe Productions. The company produced Bus Stop and The Prince and the Showgirl (co-starring Sir Laurence Olivier). These two films allowed her to demonstrate her talent and versatility as an actress. Marilyn received further recognition for 1959's Some Like It Hot, winning a Golden Globe for Best Actress in a Comedy.

Marilyn died mysteriously in her bedroom on August 5th, 1962. The coroner declared the probable cause of death was suicide by poisoning but many elements tend to leed to other suggestions, more likely to have happened : accident or even maybe murder. Will we ever know the truth ?