Marilyn Monroe – the name brings to mind the most famous red pout, the white dress, and of course, the golden blond hair! Who doesn’t know Marilyn? Even after decades of her death, she is still one of the most discussed actresses and one of the most viewed. Embroiled in controversies that continued till her death, and after, there are several secrets surrounding this lady that are being discovered year after year!

Marilyn Monroe was born Norma Jeane Mortenson in 1962. She changed her name when she launched her modeling career! Her mother never revealed the true identity of her father and she never got to know who he was! But neither did she have the fortune of growing up with her mother. She spent the first 7 years of her life in an orphanage and the rest of her childhood and adolescence with different foster parents. It is not surprising then that she found her life very “grim”!

Fact 1:

Marilyn Monroe was mostly taken care of by her mother’s friend, Grace McKee, who adored her and always believed she would become a popular actress. Grace was an ardent fan of Jean Harlow, a superstar of the twenties and Marilyn soon began considering the Jean as her idol as well!

Fact 2:

Marilyn is not a natural blonde; she was asked to color her hair so as to have more opportunities in her career! She experimented with twelve different shades of gold before she finally decided to go with her now famous – platinum blonde shade.

Fact 3:

Despite being projected as a blonde and a sex symbol in most of her movies and by the media, Marilyn was not dumb! On the contrary, she was a very intelligent woman who had an IQ of 168.

Fact 4:

Although Marilyn was projected as a career woman who lived in a world of glitz and glamour, deep within she was a woman. Through her three failed marriages, she did try to become a mother; but ended up with two miscarriages and one ectopic pregnancy!

Fact 5:

Marilyn was considered a natural beauty, by most people in the world; however, research has now shown that she did undergo two plastic surgeries to enhance her features. She is believed to have undertaken a chin implant and a nose reshaping job. Some believe it was the handiwork of her agent Johnny Hyde, who managed to convince her about the same!

Fact 6:

That famous pout was no natural touch either! It was the effect created with five different kinds of lipstick and lip gloss.

Fact7:

Her love for her second husband, Joe DiMaggio, seems to have never ended even after their marriage did. A half-finished love letter, addressed to him, was discovered after her death. And he continued to lay flowers at her crypt for 20 years, until his death!

Fact8:

Marilyn Monroe actually wrote her autobiography, with help from screenwriter friend – Ben Hecht. It was titled “My Story” and was done when she was at the top of her game. However, the book never reached the printing press until a decade after her death!

Fact 9:

Although she was a very popular actress, she was never nominated for the Academy awards. The only consolation was the Golden Globe that she received for her role in “Some Like It Hot”.

Fact 10:

Marilyn Monroe suffered from acute stuttering! It is believed that she overcame this disability during the early phase of her career by taking up dictation lessons. And although she was considered a cameraman’s delight, she suffered from stage fear the whole of her life!!