{"id":43057,"date":"2026-06-02T15:09:24","date_gmt":"2026-06-02T13:09:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/magazine.luxus-plus.com\/?p=43057"},"modified":"2026-06-08T13:59:41","modified_gmt":"2026-06-08T11:59:41","slug":"100-years-of-marilyn-monroe-five-milestones-that-gave-rise-to-a-legend","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/magazine.luxus-plus.com\/en\/100-years-of-marilyn-monroe-five-milestones-that-gave-rise-to-a-legend\/","title":{"rendered":"100 years of Marilyn Monroe : Five milestones that gave rise to a legend"},"content":{"rendered":"

A century after her birth, Marilyn Monroe remains, without a doubt, one of the leading figures of pop culture. From film to fashion to her tragic fate, here are five key dates in her life.<\/p>\n

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Born Norma Jeane Baker on June 1, 1926, in Los Angeles, Marilyn Monroe would have turned 100 this year<\/strong>. More than just a Hollywood actress of the 1950s and 1960s, she became, over the course of her career, a figure in cinema and fashion, achieving the status of a universal pop culture icon<\/b>. To celebrate her 100th birthday, here are five dates that marked her life.<\/p>\n

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June 19, 1942 : Norma Jean Baker\u2019s first marriage<\/h3>\n

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Before becoming Marilyn Monroe, Norma Jean Baker, then just 16 years old, married her neighbor James Dougherty on June 19, 1942<\/b>, a Los Angeles police officer. A former captain of the football team and class president at Van Nuys High School, 20-year-old James Dougherty was working the night shift at Lockheed Aircraft when he began dating 15-year-old Norma Jean Baker in January 1942.<\/p>\n

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His family lived next door to a woman named Grace Goddard, a friend of Gladys Baker, Norma Jean\u2019s mother. It was because of her mother\u2019s frequent stays in various psychiatric institutions that Norma Jean was placed with the Goddards<\/b>. One day, planning to return to Virginia, the couple found themselves unable to take the girl with them, James Dougherty recounted in a 1990 interview. \u201cShe would have gone back to an orphanage or to another foster family,\u201d he continued. \u201cThat\u2019s when it was suggested that I marry her.\u201d<\/b><\/p>\n

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\u201cI thought she was terribly young, but I took her to a dance. She was a fairly mature girl, both mentally and physically. We talked and got along pretty well<\/b>,\u201d he also noted. As the war raged on, he enlisted in the Navy two years after their wedding. Wanting to contribute to the war effort as well, Norma Jean landed a job<\/b> inspecting parachutes attached to airplanes. She caught the eye of a photographer who was capturing images of women working behind the scenes of the conflict. As her ambitions grew and she felt neglected by her husband, their marriage ended in divorce in September 1946.<\/p>\n

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1945 : From brown to blonde, it was just a small step<\/h3>\n

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While it\u2019s impossible to separate Marilyn Monroe from her blonde hair<\/b>, she began her life with dark brown hair. In 1945, Marilyn was 19 years old. Freshly discovered thanks to the cover of Yank Magazine, published by the U.S. Armed Forces during the war, Norma Jeane was recruited by The Blue Book Modeling Agency. It was at this point that she was offered a photo shoot for an advertisement for Rayve brand shampoo.<\/p>\n

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She then faced the demands of photographer Raphael Wolff, who asked her to bleach her hair golden blonde<\/b>. Norma Jeane therefore went to the famous Frank and Joseph hair salon in Los Angeles. Her hair was entrusted to a certain Sylvia Barnhart, who would remain her hairdresser for several years.<\/p>\n

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When she landed her first contract with Fox in the summer of 1946<\/b>, Ben Lyon, the studio head, suggested she use a stage name. That\u2019s when she chose Monroe, her mother\u2019s maiden name. As for Marilyn, it paid homage to her 1930s idol, Marilyn Miller.<\/p>\n

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Despite a meteoric rise thanks to her new hair color, it quickly became a hindrance for the actress, who was typecast in roles associated with the \u201cdumb blonde seductress\u201d<\/b>. Furthermore, the chemical treatments used to bleach and straighten her hair damaged its health, leading Marilyn Monroe to wear wigs toward the end of her life.<\/p>\n

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\u00a9 Getty Images<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

March 8, 1960 : The Golden Globe for Best Actress<\/h3>\n

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Nominated four times for Golden Globes, including twice for the Henrietta Award honoring the world\u2019s favorite actors and actresses, it was at the 17th ceremony of the competition that she won the Best Actress trophy<\/b> for her role in Billy Wilder\u2019s \u201cSome Like It Hot.\u201d The director had, in fact, already cast the actress in \u201cThe Seven Year Itch.\u201d<\/p>\n

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For this new role, Marilyn Monroe plays Sugar Kane<\/b>, a singer and ukulele player who meets two jazz musicians (Tony Curtis and Jack Lemmon), disguised as women to escape a group of gangsters.<\/p>\n

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While the film earned her an award, the shoot was no walk in the park for the crew<\/b>, as the actress struggled to memorize her lines. \u201cIt wasn\u2019t easy. It was hell. But it was worth it once you screened the film,\u201d the director recalled in 1976.<\/p>\n

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At the ceremony, Marilyn Monroe found herself up against Lili Palmer<\/b> (\u201cThe Seven Year Itch\u201d), Dorothy Dandridge (\u201cPorgy and Bess\u201d), Shirley MacLaine (\u201cThe First Wives Club\u201d), and Doris Day (\u201cConfessions on a Pillow\u201d).<\/p>\n

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May 19, 1962 : \u201cHappy Birthday, Mr. President\u201d<\/h3>\n

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A memorable moment. On May 19, 1962, Madison Square Garden<\/b> was the setting for Marilyn Monroe\u2019s performance of \u201cHappy Birthday, Mr. President\u201d as part of John F. Kennedy\u2019s 45th birthday celebration.<\/p>\n

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At the time, a crowd gathered at this iconic New York venue<\/b>. According to the book \u201cThe House of Kennedy\u201d by James Patterson, Marilyn Monroe\u2019s arrival on stage instantly created a silence despite the noisy atmosphere that had prevailed just minutes earlier. \u201cThere was no sound at all. It was like being in outer space.<\/b> There was this long pause, then this incredible \u2018Happy biiiiirthday to youuuu\u2019 whispered. Everyone was spellbound,\u201d recounted Bill Ray, a photographer for Life magazine.<\/p>\n

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In addition to her performance, the actress\u2019s outfit also went down in history<\/b>, as she was wearing a sparkling beige dress designed by French couturier Jean Louis. The dress\u2019s impact has endured through the decades, so much so that at the 2022 Met Gala<\/b>, Kim Kardashian walked the red carpet in Marilyn\u2019s dress.<\/p>\n

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August 5, 1962 : The actress\u2019s tragic death<\/h3>\n

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Three months after celebrating John F. Kennedy\u2019s birthday<\/b>, Marilyn Monroe died on August 5 at her home in Brentwood, California. Only 36 years old, the actress was found naked with a phone in her hand. According to the autopsy, she is believed to have died of a barbiturate overdose<\/b>.<\/p>\n

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She thus became a legend, but nearly 65 years later, her untimely death remains a mystery<\/b>, especially since the police concluded it was \u201cprobably a suicide.\u201d Some observers continue to link his disappearance to his relationships with several prominent figures in the U.S. government, such as John F. Kennedy. Some theories even suggest that he was the victim of a contract killing, although no evidence has ever emerged to support these claims.\u00a0Her death will undoubtedly remain one of Hollywood\u2019s best-kept secrets.<\/p>\n

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Read also > Demi Moore, the radiance of resilience<\/a><\/p>\n

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Featured photo : \u00a9 Getty Images<\/p>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A century after her birth, Marilyn Monroe remains, without a doubt, one of the leading figures of pop culture. From film to fashion to her tragic fate, here are five key dates in her life.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":43064,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_seopress_titles_title":"%%post_title%% %%sep%% %%sitetitle%%","_seopress_titles_desc":"A century after her birth, Marilyn Monroe remains, without a doubt, one of the leading figures of pop culture.","_seopress_robots_index":"","_seopress_robots_follow":"","_seopress_robots_imageindex":"","_seopress_robots_snippet":"","_seopress_robots_primary_cat":"","_seopress_robots_breadcrumbs":"","_seopress_robots_freeze_modified_date":"","_seopress_robots_custom_modified_date":"","_seopress_robots_canonical":"","_seopress_social_fb_title":"","_seopress_social_fb_desc":"","_seopress_social_fb_img":"","_seopress_social_fb_img_attachment_id":0,"_seopress_social_fb_img_width":0,"_seopress_social_fb_img_height":0,"_seopress_social_twitter_title":"","_seopress_social_twitter_desc":"","_seopress_social_twitter_img":"","_seopress_social_twitter_img_attachment_id":0,"_seopress_social_twitter_img_width":0,"_seopress_social_twitter_img_height":0,"_seopress_redirections_value":"","_seopress_redirections_enabled":"","_seopress_redirections_enabled_regex":"","_seopress_redirections_logged_status":"","_seopress_redirections_param":"","_seopress_redirections_type":0,"_seopress_analysis_target_kw":"","_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[670],"tags":[240,798,62,64,6062,6064,1317],"class_list":["post-43057","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-portrait-en","tag-cinema-en","tag-etats-unis-en","tag-fashion","tag-history","tag-marilyn-monroe","tag-timeline","tag-united-states-en"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/magazine.luxus-plus.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/43057","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/magazine.luxus-plus.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/magazine.luxus-plus.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/magazine.luxus-plus.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/magazine.luxus-plus.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=43057"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/magazine.luxus-plus.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/43057\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/magazine.luxus-plus.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/43064"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/magazine.luxus-plus.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=43057"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/magazine.luxus-plus.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=43057"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/magazine.luxus-plus.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=43057"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}