50 rare photos of Marilyn Monroe that show another side to the film star
Erin McDowell
- Hollywood legend Marilyn Monroe was born 98 years ago, on June 1, 1926.
- Some photos of her are so famous they need no explanation, like the iconic shot of her in a white dress.
Marilyn Monroe is one of the most famous and iconic actresses from the Golden Age of Hollywood.
Many photographs of the starlet, from her iconic white-dress scene in "The Seven Year Itch" to her glittering performance for John F. Kennedy's birthday, are some of the most recognizable images ever taken.
Rare images of Monroe can also fetch a hefty pricetag — the late pop artist Andy Warhol's 1964 silk-screen portrait of Monroe sold for $195 million at auction in 2022, NBC News reported.
However, these rarely seen family and vintage photos show another side to Marilyn Monroe.
This is the first known studio portrait of Marilyn Monroe.
Marilyn Monroe was born in 1926 as Norma Jeane Mortenson and was later baptized as Norma Jeane Baker, according to Biography.
Her mother, Gladys Baker, suffered from paranoid schizophrenia.
Biography reports that Baker was institutionalized when Norma Jeane was young.
Here, Norma Jeane Baker is pictured bottom right with her mother and some family friends.
Gladys Baker had two other children from a previous marriage, but neither lived with her.
Norma Jeane never knew her father.
However, according to Biography, Baker's mother claimed he was a Consolidated studios coworker named Charles Stanley Gifford.
Norma Jeane, pictured here at age 5, lived with various friends and relatives throughout most of her childhood.
At points in her early life, Baker lived with her mom's sister-in-law and even at the Los Angeles Orphans' Home, according to Biography.
Grace and Doc Goddard were the first of her guardians.
Gladys Baker paid the couple $25 a week to look after her young daughter, according to Biography.
Throughout her childhood, the star-to-be bounced around from home to home.
She also endured sexual assaults while in boardinghouses and foster care, according to "Marilyn Monroe: The Private Life of a Public Icon" by Charles Casillo.
Here, Norma Jeane Baker is pictured on a trip to the zoo.
Norma Jeane's home life took a turn for the better when she moved into the home of "Aunt Ana," a family friend of the Goddards.
In 1947, things began to look up for the natural brunette.
Her mother was released from the psychiatric hospital she was living in and resumed living with her at Aunt Ana's house.
Aunt Ana exposed both Norma Jeane and her mother to the Christian Science faith. Her mother, however, soon left.
She left because she said she wanted to live with her Aunt Dora in Oregon. Norma Jeane would later discover, according to Biography, that mid-journey, her mother had married again, this time to an already-wed man with children.
Norma Jeane then began dating a local boy named Jim Dougherty.
The Los Angeles Times reported that the two began dating when Baker was just 15 years old.
They married in 1942. Baker, now Dougherty, was only 16, but marrying helped her avoid going back into the foster care system.
"I never knew Marilyn Monroe, and I don't claim to have any insights to her to this day. I knew and loved Norma Jean," Dougherty later told United Press International in 1990, according to the LA Times.
Dougherty started using the name Marilyn Monroe around 1946.
However, she didn't legally change her name until 1956, according to The Atlantic.
While her husband served overseas in the Marines, Monroe began working in a local factory in Van Nuys, California.
According to Biography, a photographer also working there asked if she wouldn't mind having her photo taken. From there, her modeling career was born.
By the time her husband returned from the war, her career as a model had started taking off.
Monroe continued modeling during the 1940s but dreamed of becoming an actress.
Despite her career success, Monroe's personal life was struggling.
In 1946, she and Jim Dougherty divorced. Soon after, she signed with 20th Century Fox under her new stage name.
After being signed, she dyed her hair a lighter shade of blonde, which soon became her trademark.
Here, she poses for her first official studio portrait.
Monroe's first film, "Ladies of the Chorus," was released in 1948.
However, she was still a relatively unknown actress.
She began making public appearances and her stardom continued to rise.
She's pictured in June 1949, when she presented Photoplay Magazine's "Dream House" contest winner Virginia McAllister and her son with the key to a new house.
She began auditioning for more and more productions.
Fans became enamored with the blonde bombshell.
"The Asphalt Jungle," released in 1952, was nominated for four Academy Awards.
Although Monroe's role in the film was small, her performance captured the attention of many viewers.
She can be seen here reading her fan mail.
The next few years would culminate in her most iconic films: "Gentlemen Prefer Blondes," "How to Marry a Millionaire," and "The Seven Year Itch."
All three of these films are among her most critically acclaimed movies.
Many of her roles involved playing the "dumb blonde" archetype, and she soon became a "sex symbol."
However, Monroe dreamed of becoming a serious actress and playing more dramatic roles.
She worked with acting coach Natasha Lytess throughout her career, once rehearsing together for 48 hours straight.
She also eventually studied at the Actors Studio, Vanity Fair reported.
Monroe and Jane Russell starred in "Gentlemen Prefer Blondes" in 1953.
Marilyn Monroe's rendition of the song "Diamonds Are a Girl's Best Friend" in the movie would later be referenced by Madonna in her "Material Girl" music video.
Monroe was known for attracting large audiences to her movies.
PBS reported that Monroe's films grossed more than $200 million during her brief career.
1953's "How to Marry a Millionaire," which also featured Betty Grable and Lauren Bacall, was the fourth highest-grossing film of 1953.
The film starred the trio as three models looking to land rich husbands in New York City.
Despite becoming an international star, Monroe struggled with performance anxiety related to her acting.
According to Biography, her stage fright was so intense she would oftentimes be physically ill and late to set as a result.
In 1954, Monroe married baseball player Joe DiMaggio at San Francisco City Hall.
However, her career still proved a priority. She left directly from her honeymoon in Japan to perform for American troops stationed in Korea, according to HistoryNet.
She also spent time talking with the servicemen and eating in the Mess Hall.
Over the course of four days, Monroe performed 10 shows for an estimated 100,000 servicemen.
Monroe shot her famous skirt-flying scene on the set of "The Seven Year Itch," on October 15, 1954.
The scene was highly publicized prior to filming. Scores of photographers, spectators, and DiMaggio himself came to watch Monroe's skirt being blown upwards by a subway grate.
But it was reported that DiMaggio didn't like the iconic moment.
As reported by the New York Post, he reportedly commented, "What the hell is going on here?"
The couple is said to have quarreled over Monroe's fame and the attention she was getting from the press. In November 1954, around a month after the famous scene was filmed, the couple split.
Throughout 1955, Monroe attended the Actors Studio in New York City, hoping to hone her craft.
It was considered the most prestigious acting school in the country.
In April 1955, Monroe appeared on "Person to Person" to discuss her career and the parts she truly longed to play.
"It's not that I object to doing musicals and comedies — in fact, I rather enjoy them — but I'd like to do dramatic parts too," she said.
The Ambassador Hotel, where Marilyn shot this intimate series of photos in 1955, no longer exists in Manhattan.
The photos capture the excitement of Hollywood's favorite star moving to New York City.
While living in New York, Monroe worked with director Lee Strasberg.
According to "Goddess: The Secret Lives of Marilyn Monroe," he later commented, "I have worked with hundreds and hundreds of actors and actresses, and there are only two that stand out way above the rest. Number one is Marlon Brando, and the second is Marilyn Monroe."
Around this time, in 1955, Monroe took up a relationship with famed American playwright Arthur Miller.
According to Biography, Monroe had known him for years. At the time, however, Miller was married.
On June 29, 1956, Monroe and Miller married.
On July 1, in a formal Jewish ceremony, acting teacher Lee Strasberg gave Monroe away in front of only 25 guests, according to History Today.
The newlyweds stayed at Miller's summer home in Roxbury, Connecticut.
In the above photo, Monroe can be seen waving as the newlyweds went for a drive in Roxbury.
The honeymoon phase was short and sweet for Miller and Monroe.
Their wedding rings were inscribed with the words "now is forever."
"This is the first time I've been really in love," Monroe said about Miller.
Monroe was noticeably head over heels in love with Miller.
The couple soon traveled to London so that Monroe could begin working on "The Prince and the Showgirl" with Laurence Olivier.
However, while on location, Monroe reportedly had an affair with a young assistant director named Colin Clark, the Los Angeles Times reported. The love affair was later documented in the film, "My Week With Marilyn," which starred Eddie Redmayne and Michelle Williams.
Throughout their marriage, Monroe reportedly struggled to conceive a child and suffered multiple miscarriages.
Monroe blamed herself for her third known miscarriage because she was a frequent pill user and arguably abused them around that time, according to Biography.
Other problems marred the young actress' marriage. While on location in London, she discovered a notebook in which Miller claimed he had misgivings about marrying her.
Monroe told Lee and Paula Strasberg about what Miller had written in the notebook, saying, "He thought I was some kind of angel but now he guessed he was wrong. That his first wife had let him down, but I had done something worse."
For a time afterward, however, the couple enjoyed their marriage. Monroe stepped away from the spotlight, choosing instead to focus on her home life and getting pregnant.
The Pulitzer-winning playwright even dedicated an edition of his collected plays to Monroe in a public display of affection.
Monroe began filming "Some Like it Hot" in 1959.
The movie was a huge success, and Monroe won the Golden Globe for best comedy actress. However, a couple of months after she'd finished shooting, Monroe had her final miscarriage.
In 1960, Monroe reportedly had an affair with Yves Montand while working on "Let's Make Love."
Miller reportedly didn't even object to the affair.
Trouble continued to brew between Miller and Monroe on the set of "The Misfits," a film based off a short story written by Miller that was intended to take Monroe from blonde bombshell to serious film actress.
Miller met photographer Inge Morath while working on the film. He would eventually marry her after divorcing Monroe in 1962.
"The Misfits" would become Monroe's final film.
PBS reported that Monroe was fired from her next film, "Something's Gotta Give," for failing to show up to the set numerous times. She was eventually rehired, but the film was never finished.
On August 5, 1962, the actress died at her Los Angeles residence at the age of 36. The coroner's report cited barbiturate overdose as the cause of death.
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