Thread by @marinamaral2

Marilyn Monroe was born #OnThisDay 1926.

Famous for playing comic "blonde bombshell" characters, Monroe became one of the most popular sex symbols of the 1950s and was emblematic of the era's attitudes towards sexuality.

On August 5, 1962, she died at age 36 from an overdose of barbiturates at her home in Los Angeles. Although Monroe's death was ruled a probable suicide, several conspiracy theories have been proposed in the decades following her death.

Born and raised in Los Angeles, Monroe spent most of her childhood in foster homes and an orphanage and married at the age of sixteen.

While working in a radioplane factory in 1944 as part of the war effort, she was introduced to a photographer from the First Motion Picture Unit and began a successful pin-up modeling career.

The work led to short-lived film contracts with Twentieth Century-Fox (1946–1947) and Columbia Pictures (1948). After a series of minor film roles, she signed a new contract with Fox in 1951. Over the next two years, she became a popular actress and had roles in several comedies.

Monroe faced a scandal when it was revealed that she had posed for nude photos before she became a star, but the story did not tarnish her career and instead resulted in increased interest in her films.

By 1953, Monroe was one of the most marketable Hollywood stars; she had leading roles in the noir film Niagara, which focused on her sex appeal, and the comedies Gentlemen Prefer Blondes and How to Marry a Millionaire, which established her star image as a "dumb blonde".

Although she played a significant role in the creation and management of her public image throughout her career, she was disappointed when she was typecast and underpaid by the studio.

She was briefly suspended in early 1954 for refusing a film project but returned to star in one of the biggest box office successes of her career, The Seven Year Itch (1955).

When the studio was still reluctant to change Monroe's contract, she founded a film production company in late 1954 and named it Marilyn Monroe Productions (MMP).

She dedicated 1955 to building her company and began studying method acting at the Actors Studio.

In late 1955, Fox awarded her a new contract, which gave her more control and a larger salary. Her subsequent roles included a critically acclaimed performance in Bus Stop (1956) and the first independent production of MMP, The Prince and the Showgirl (1957).

Monroe won a Golden Globe for Best Actress for her work in Some Like It Hot (1959), which was a critical and commercial success. Her last completed film was the drama The Misfits (1961).

Monroe's troubled private life received much attention. She struggled with substance abuse, depression and anxiety. Her second and third marriages, to retired baseball star Joe DiMaggio and playwright Arthur Miller, respectively, were highly publicized and both ended in divorce.

Monroe was next to star in a television adaptation of W. Somerset Maugham's short story Rain for NBC, but the project fell through as the network did not want to hire her choice of director, Lee Strasberg.

Instead of working, she spent the first six months of 1961 preoccupied by health problems. Monroe underwent surgery for her endometriosis, had a cholecystectomy, and spent four weeks in hospital care – including a brief stint in a mental ward – for depression.

She was helped by her ex-husband Joe DiMaggio, with whom she now rekindled a friendship. In spring 1961, Monroe also moved back to California after six years on the East Coast. She dated Frank Sinatra for several months.

Monroe returned to the public eye in the spring of 1962; she received a "World Film Favorite" Golden Globe Award and began to shoot a new film for 20th Century Fox. It was to be co-produced by MMP, directed by George Cukor and to co-star Dean Martin and Cyd Charisse.

Days before filming began, Monroe caught sinusitis. Despite medical advice to postpone the production, Fox began it as planned in late April. Monroe was too ill to work for the majority of the next six weeks, but...

.. despite confirmations by multiple doctors, the studio tried to put pressure on her by alleging publicly that she was faking it.

On May 19, she took a break to sing "Happy Birthday" on stage at President John F. Kennedy's birthday celebration at Madison Square Garden in New York.

She drew attention with her costume: a beige, skintight dress covered in rhinestones, which made her appear nude.

Monroe's trip to New York caused even more irritation for Fox executives, who had wanted her to cancel it.

Monroe next filmed a scene for Something's Got to Give in which she swam naked in a swimming pool. To generate advance publicity, the press was invited to take photographs of the scene, which were later published in Life.

This was the first time that a major star had posed nude while at the height of their career.

When she was again on sick leave for several days, Fox decided that it could not afford to have another film running behind schedule when it was already struggling to cover the rising costs of Cleopatra (1963).

On June 7, Fox fired Monroe and sued her for $750,000 in damages.

She was replaced by Lee Remick, but after Martin refused to make the film with anyone other than Monroe, Fox sued him as well and shut down the production.

The studio blamed Monroe for the film's demise and began spreading negative publicity about her, even alleging that she was mentally disturbed.

Fox soon regretted its decision and re-opened negotiations with Monroe later in June; a settlement about a new contract, including re-commencing Something's Got to Give and a starring role in the black comedy What a Way to Go! (1964), was reached later that summer.

To repair her public image, she engaged in several publicity ventures, including her first photo shoot for Vogue.

She and photographer Bert Stern collaborated for two series of photographs, one a standard fashion editorial and another of her posing nude.

They were both later published posthumously with the title The Last Sitting. The photographs were taken 6 weeks before her death.

During the final months of her life, Monroe lived at 12305 Fifth Helena Drive in the Brentwood neighborhood of Los Angeles. Her housekeeper Eunice Murray was staying overnight at the home on the evening of August 5, 1962.

Murray awoke at 3:00 a.m. on August 6 and sensed that something was wrong. Although she saw light from under Monroe's bedroom door, she was unable to get a response and found the door locked.

Murray then called Monroe's psychiatrist, Dr. Ralph Greenson, who arrived at the house shortly after and broke into the bedroom, where he found Monroe dead in her bed.

Monroe was pronounced dead by her physician, Dr. Hyman Engelberg, who arrived at the house at around 3:50 a.m.

At 4:25 a.m., they notified the Los Angeles Police Department.

The Los Angeles County Coroners Office was assisted in their investigation by psychiatrists from the Los Angeles Suicide Prevention Team, who had expert knowledge on suicide.

It was estimated that she had died between 8:30 p.m. and 10:30 p.m. on August 5, and the toxicology report later revealed that the cause of death was acute barbiturate poisoning.

She had 8 mg of chloral hydrate and 4.5 mg of pentobarbital (Nembutal) in her blood, and a further 13 mg of pentobarbital in her liver. Empty medicine bottles were found next to her bed.

The possibility that Monroe had accidentally overdosed was ruled out, because the dosages found in her body were several times over the lethal limit.

Her doctors stated that she had been "prone to severe fears and frequent depressions" with "abrupt and unpredictable mood changes", and had overdosed several times in the past, possibly intentionally.

According to Lois Banner, "it's said that the suicide rate in Los Angeles doubled the month after she died; the circulation rate of most newspapers expanded that month".

The Chicago Tribune reported that they had received hundreds of phone calls from members of the public who were requesting information about her death.

French artist Jean Cocteau commented that her death "should serve as a terrible lesson to all those, whose chief occupation consists of spying on and tormenting film stars". Her former co-star Laurence Olivier deemed her "the complete victim of ballyhoo and sensation".

Bus Stop director Joshua Logan stated that she was "one of the most unappreciated people in the world".

Her funeral, held at the Westwood Village Memorial Park Cemetery on August 8, was private and attended by only her closest associates. The service was arranged by Joe DiMaggio and her business manager Inez Melson.

Hundreds of spectators crowded the streets around the cemetery.

Marilyn Monroe was later entombed at crypt No. 24 at the Corridor of Memories.

According to The Guide to United States Popular Culture, "as an icon of American popular culture, Monroe's few rivals in popularity include Elvis Presley and Mickey Mouse ... no other star has ever inspired such a wide range of emotions – from lust to pity, from envy to remorse."

Jonathan Rosenbaum stated that "she subtly subverted the sexist content of her material" .. "the difficulty some people have discerning Monroe's intelligence as an actress seems rooted in the ideology of a repressive era, when superfeminine women weren't supposed to be smart".

*Done*

One of the best parts of doing these threads is that I learn a lot every time. I hope you do too!