59 Fun Facts About Marilyn Monroe

What was Marilyn Monroe's birth name?

Born Norma Jeane Mortenson (and baptised Norma Jeane Baker), she adopted the stage name in 1946 and made Marilyn Monroe her legal name only in 1956.

In which city was Marilyn Monroe born?

She was born at Los Angeles General Hospital in the Boyle Heights district on June 1, 1926; her mother Gladys worked as a film negative cutter at Consolidated Film Industries.

Where did the 'Monroe' in her screen alias come from?

'Monroe' was her mother Gladys's maiden name; Fox executive Ben Lyon paired it with 'Marilyn' because she reminded him of the Broadway star Marilyn Miller.

How old was Monroe when she married her first husband, James Dougherty?

She married Dougherty at 16 in June 1942, weeks after her birthday; the match was arranged so she would not have to return to the orphanage when her guardians moved to West Virginia.

Monroe was discovered while working in a factory making what during World War II?

Radioplane's Van Nuys plant made munitions and target drones; photographer David Conover, sent there to shoot morale-boosting pictures of women workers, spotted her in 1944.

What was Monroe's natural hair colour before she went platinum blonde?

Her hair was naturally curly brown; the Blue Book Model Agency, deciding her figure suited pin-ups more than high fashion, had it straightened and bleached blonde.

Under which pseudonym were the 1949 nude calendar photographs taken?

She signed Tom Kelley's release as 'Mona Monroe' for the 1949 calendar shoot; when the photos resurfaced in 1952 she admitted posing and the candour only boosted her career.

When asked what she had on during the 1949 nude photo shoot, what did Monroe famously reply?

Asked whether she had anything on for the calendar shoot, she replied 'I had the radio on', a quip widely reprinted in 1952 when the calendar story broke.

Monroe's 1949 nude photograph became the centrefold of the first issue of which magazine in 1953?

Hugh Hefner's first issue of Playboy (December 1953) ran the 1949 nude as its centrefold and a Miss America parade photo on the cover; Monroe was neither asked nor paid.

Which two acclaimed 1950 films gave Monroe small but noticed early roles?

Her 1950 bit parts as Miss Caswell in All About Eve and as a crooked lawyer's mistress in The Asphalt Jungle drew notice; All About Eve went on to win the Best Picture Oscar.

Which agency executive and lover negotiated Monroe's seven-year Fox contract, dying days later?

Johnny Hyde, a William Morris vice-president and her lover, secured the seven-year Fox contract in December 1950 and died of a heart attack days later, leaving her devastated.

In which 1953 Technicolor noir did Monroe play a femme fatale plotting to murder Joseph Cotten?

In Niagara she plays Rose Loomis, scheming to kill her husband, played by Joseph Cotten; its famous 30-second shot of her walking away from the camera dominated Fox's marketing.

Who co-starred with Monroe as the other gold-digging showgirl in Gentlemen Prefer Blondes?

Jane Russell played Dorothy to Monroe's Lorelei Lee; the pair pressed their hand and footprints into wet concrete outside Grauman's Chinese Theatre in June 1953 to promote the film.

Which song from Gentlemen Prefer Blondes did critics single out as Monroe's showpiece?

Her 'Diamonds Are a Girl's Best Friend' number in the pink gown was singled out as her showpiece; Variety wrote that she showed the 'ability to sex a song'.

How to Marry a Millionaire teamed Monroe with Betty Grable and which other star?

Lauren Bacall played Schatze Page alongside Monroe and Betty Grable; the film was only the second released in CinemaScope, Fox's widescreen weapon against television.

Fox suspended Monroe in January 1954 for refusing to shoot which musical?

She refused The Girl in Pink Tights, a musical she found inferior, and Fox suspended her in January 1954; to have it dropped she agreed to make There's No Business Like Show Business.

Which retired New York Yankees star did Monroe marry at San Francisco City Hall in January 1954?

The marriage lasted nine months; he later arranged her funeral and barred most of Hollywood from it.

From her 1954 Japan honeymoon, Monroe flew to which country to sing for 60,000 US Marines?

She broke off the Japan honeymoon to perform USO shows for more than 60,000 US Marines in South Korea over four days in February 1954.

The famous subway grate scene, with Monroe's white dress blowing up, was staged for which film?

The Seven Year Itch (1955) staged the stunt on a Manhattan street in September 1954 before nearly 2,000 spectators; it made front pages worldwide and finished off her marriage to DiMaggio.

On which Manhattan avenue was the subway grate scene shot?

The scene was shot at Lexington Avenue and 52nd Street in September 1954 before a crowd of nearly 2,000; the footage proved unusable and was re-shot on a Hollywood soundstage.

With which photographer did Monroe found Marilyn Monroe Productions in 1954?

Milton Greene, the photographer who co-founded Marilyn Monroe Productions, was bought out by her in 1957; the move has been called 'instrumental' in the collapse of the studio system.

Under whom did Monroe study method acting at the Actors Studio in 1955?

Lee Strasberg taught her method acting at the Actors Studio; his wife Paula replaced Natasha Lytess as her on-set coach, and the Strasbergs became like family to her.

Which Broadway play parodied Monroe's production company, with Jayne Mansfield as a dumb actress starting a studio?

George Axelrod's 1955 Broadway comedy Will Success Spoil Rock Hunter? cast Jayne Mansfield as Rita Marlowe, a dumb actress who starts her own studio; Fox then groomed Mansfield and Sheree North as Monroe lookalikes.

Which playwright did Monroe marry in June 1956?

Variety's headline read 'Egghead Weds Hourglass'; the FBI opened a file on her because Miller was under investigation.

Which country banned all of Monroe's films after she converted to Judaism on marrying Miller?

Egypt banned all of Monroe's films after her 1956 conversion to Judaism on marrying Arthur Miller; the press meanwhile treated the match as sex symbol meets intellectual.

For Bus Stop (1956), Monroe learned which regional accent to play a saloon singer?

She learned an Ozark accent for her saloon-singer role, chose unglamorous costumes and sang badly on purpose; Bosley Crowther wrote that she 'has finally proved herself an actress'.

Who directed, co-produced and co-starred with Monroe in The Prince and the Showgirl (1957)?

Laurence Olivier, the film's director, co-producer and leading man, infuriated her with the direction 'All you have to do is be sexy'; she retaliated by turning up late.

Which Italian award did Monroe win for The Prince and the Showgirl?

Her performance won Italy's David di Donatello award for Best Foreign Actress and France's Crystal Star, and brought a BAFTA nomination, though the film flopped in America.

What was the name of Monroe's character in Some Like It Hot?

She feared Sugar Kane Kowalczyk, the ukulele-playing singer, was another dumb blonde, but took the role for 10% of the profits and on Miller's encouragement.

Which Some Like It Hot co-star said that kissing Monroe was 'like kissing Hitler' after endless retakes?

Tony Curtis, her co-star as Joe and Josephine, said kissing her was 'like kissing Hitler' after a scene needed dozens of takes; he later insisted the remark was a joke.

Who directed Some Like It Hot, the film that won Monroe her only Golden Globe for acting?

Wilder also had a reputation for being difficult, and the two clashed constantly over how she should play the role.

With which French co-star did Monroe have a widely reported affair during Let's Make Love (1960)?

Her affair with French co-star Yves Montand was widely reported during Let's Make Love, a film she took only because she was behind on her Fox contract; Hedda Hopper called it her most vulgar picture.

Who played Holly Golightly in Breakfast at Tiffany's after Truman Capote's choice, Monroe, was passed over?

Audrey Hepburn played Holly Golightly in the 1961 film, earning a Best Actress Oscar nomination; Capote had lobbied for Monroe.

Who directed The Misfits (1961), Monroe's last completed film?

John Huston directed The Misfits (1961) from Arthur Miller's screenplay in the Nevada desert; it was also the last completed film of Clark Gable, who died less than two weeks after shooting wrapped.

Which three actors played the ageing cowboys opposite Monroe in The Misfits?

Clark Gable, Eli Wallach and Montgomery Clift played the cowboys; Nevada filming was halted in August 1960 so Monroe could spend a week in hospital detoxing.

In 1961, Monroe was mistakenly locked in a padded cell for three days at which New York clinic?

She spent three days on a locked ward at the Payne Whitney Psychiatric Clinic in February 1961 before ex-husband Joe DiMaggio secured her transfer to Columbia University Medical Center, rekindling their friendship.

Which singer did Monroe help by promising to sit in the Mocambo's front row every night?

Ella Fitzgerald recalled that Monroe phoned the Mocambo's owner in 1955, promising to take a front table every night if he booked her; he did, and Fitzgerald said she never had to play a small jazz club again.

At which venue did Monroe sing 'Happy Birthday, Mr. President' to John F. Kennedy in May 1962?

She sang at Madison Square Garden on 19 May 1962, at a Democratic fundraiser for Kennedy's 45th birthday; Jean Louis's flesh-toned, rhinestone-covered dress made her look nude under the lights.

Fox fired Monroe in June 1962 from which unfinished film?

Fox fired her from Something's Got to Give in June 1962 after repeated absences; when co-star Dean Martin refused to continue with anyone else, the studio sued him too and shut the film down.

Which actress was hired to replace Monroe on her final, unfinished film before the production collapsed?

Fox hired Lee Remick to take over the role in June 1962, but the production collapsed within weeks; the studio, already bleeding money on Cleopatra, could not afford another late film.

What is the title of Bert Stern's posthumously published Vogue photographs of Monroe?

Bert Stern's The Last Sitting gathers the roughly 2,500 frames he shot for Vogue over three days at the Hotel Bel-Air in June 1962, six weeks before her death.

How old was Monroe when she died on August 4, 1962?

She was 36, born on June 1, 1926; the Los Angeles coroner ruled her barbiturate overdose a probable suicide.

In which neighbourhood of her home city was the house at 12305 Fifth Helena Drive, where Monroe died?

The house at 12305 Fifth Helena Drive is in Brentwood, on Los Angeles's west side; the city council designated it a Historic-Cultural Monument in 2024 to block its demolition.

Which deputy coroner classified Monroe's death as a probable suicide?

Deputy coroner Thomas Noguchi performed the autopsy; the death was classed a probable suicide because the barbiturate dosages found were several times the lethal limit, ruling out an accidental overdose.

In which Los Angeles cemetery was Monroe interred after her August 1962 funeral?

Monroe was interred in a crypt at Westwood Village Memorial Park on 8 August 1962; Lee Strasberg delivered the eulogy at the small funeral arranged by Joe DiMaggio.

Whose 1973 biography first brought the theory that Monroe was murdered into the mainstream?

Norman Mailer's 1973 Marilyn: A Biography speculated that she was murdered over her Kennedy ties, bringing the idea mainstream; a 1982 'threshold investigation' by the LA district attorney found no evidence of foul play.

Which 1930s blonde star did Monroe name as her childhood idol and hope to play in a biopic?

She even hired Harlow's hair stylist to colour her hair.

Monroe's distinctive hip-swinging gait earned her which nickname?

Her hip-swinging walk earned her the press nickname 'the girl with the horizontal walk'; Stars and Stripes separately crowned her 'Miss Cheesecake of 1951' on behalf of soldiers in Korea.

Where does the AFI rank Monroe among the Golden Age's greatest female screen legends?

The AFI's 1999 list of the greatest female screen legends placed her sixth, behind Katharine Hepburn, Bette Davis, Audrey Hepburn, Ingrid Bergman and Greta Garbo; Smithsonian magazine also listed her among the 100 Most Significant Americans.

A 2022 DNA test confirmed which of her mother's co-workers was Monroe's biological father?

Charles Stanley Gifford, a colleague of Gladys at Consolidated Film Industries, was confirmed by a 2022 DNA comparison; the birth certificate had named Martin Mortensen (misspelled Mortenson), from whom Gladys had long separated.

For which year did Time retroactively name Monroe woman of the year in its 2019 series?

That was the year of the DiMaggio wedding, the Korea shows and the subway grate.

Some Like It Hot was based on the plot of a 1935 French film with what title?

The 1935 French film Fanfare of Love (Fanfare d'amour) supplied the plot; its script being untraceable, Walter Mirisch bought rights to the 1951 German remake Fanfaren der Liebe for Wilder and Diamond to rework.

Which actress did Wilder and Diamond originally have in mind for Sugar in Some Like It Hot?

Wilder and Diamond had Mitzi Gaynor in mind for Sugar and never expected a star as big as Monroe to want the part; the film shot from August to November 1958 with her in it.

Which California resort stood in for the Florida beach setting in Some Like It Hot?

The Hotel del Coronado near San Diego stood in for the Florida resort; production ran from August to November 1958 at Samuel Goldwyn Studios and on location there.

Which Academy Award did Some Like It Hot win from its six nominations?

Orry-Kelly won Best Costume Design (black-and-white), the film's only Oscar from six nominations; in 1989 the Library of Congress chose it among the first 25 films in the National Film Registry.

How was the closing line 'Well, nobody's perfect' originally meant in the script?

Diamond wrote 'Well, nobody's perfect' as a placeholder and the pair never found anything better; Wilder's tombstone reads 'I'm a writer but then nobody's perfect'.

Which future West Side Story Oscar winner appears uncredited in 'Diamonds Are a Girl's Best Friend'?

George Chakiris, later Best Supporting Actor Oscar winner for West Side Story (1961), is one of the tuxedoed dancers around Monroe; Jane Russell insisted that choreographer Jack Cole, not Howard Hawks, staged the musical numbers.

Who co-starred with Monroe in The Seven Year Itch, reprising his Broadway role as Richard Sherman?

Tom Ewell reprised Richard Sherman from George Axelrod's Broadway play, for which he had won a Tony; Axelrod disliked how the Hays Code reduced the film's affair to a kiss and suggestion.

Whose Second Piano Concerto soundtracks Sherman's seduction fantasy in The Seven Year Itch?

Sherman imagines seducing The Girl with Rachmaninoff's Second Piano Concerto, but the real Girl prefers potato chips dunked in champagne to high romance.