Marilyn Monroe 89th birth anniversary: 15 lesser known facts you shouldn't miss about the Hollywood sensation

15 lesser known facts about Marilyn Monroe that you should definitely know about her.

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Marilyn Monroe
Marilyn Monroe

It's Marilyn Monroe birth anniversary today. For someone who's been dead for 53 years, Marilyn Monroe continues to rule many young hearts today.

Born as Noma Jeane Mortenson on June 1, 1926, the movie star and symbol of ultimate beauty, Marilyn Monroe, began her career as a model, before embarking on a movie career in 1946.

Today, on what would have been her 89th birthday today we have come up with 15 lesser known facts that you should definitely know about her:

  • Marilyn Monroe didn't like diamonds: Although she was famous for singing the song 'Diamonds Are a Girl's Best Friend', she wasn't an admirer of affluent jewellery. All of her jewellery was in fact costume jewellery with the only exception of a string of pearls and a diamond ring given to her by Joe DiMaggio, her second husband.
  • As a child, Norma Jeane Baker (Marilyn Monroe) lived in an orphanage and had 11 sets of foster parents, after her mother Gladys was institutionalised.
  • Marilyn Monroe was married three times in all: to Jimmy Dougherty (1942-1946), whom she married when she was 16; to Joe DiMaggio (1954), and to Arthur Miller (1956-1961)
  • Marilyn had many names. On her birth certificate she is Norma Jeane Mortenson, but she was baptised Norma Jeane Baker. She modelled under the names Jean Norman and Mona Monroe. Her initial idea for a screen name was Jean Adair. She legally changed her name to Marilyn Monroe in March 1956.
  • Although she was stereotyped as a dumb blonde (a persona she hated), she was actually extremely intelligent and had an IQ of 168.
  • She was one of the first women to own her own production company, Marilyn Monroe Productions. The company released only one movie though, The Prince and the Showgirl (1957).
  • Monroe converted to Judaism after marrying playwright Arthur Miller.

  • Monroe had been listening to Frank Sinatra recording when she died.
  • Marilyn found it difficult to learn lines, and took 60 takes to deliver the line "It's me, Sugar", in "Some Like it Hot'.
  • Marilyn was named "The Most Advertised Girl in the World" by the Advertising Association in 1953. Among the brands she represented were American Airlines, Kyron Way Diet Pills, Pabst Beer, Tan-Tan Suntan Lotion and Royal Triton Oil.
  • She was an avid reader and had a very large library in her home. She had over 400 books on all kind of topics. Marilyn was not a shallow model. Her ex-husband said in an interview that she was able to get the basic idea behind a book from reading just the first 10 pages.
  • Marilyn is famous for her beautiful blonde hair. However, this is not her natural hair colour. She was born a brunette and began dyeing her hair when she signed her first studio contract.
  • The most memorable moments of Marilyn's life were when she sang Happy Birthday to John F. Kennedy. The dress she wore during that evening was sold for the world record amount of 1,267,500 US Dollars.
  • Marilyn would often ask her photographer to take photos only of the right side of her face. She thought that her right side looked better than her left side.
  • Monroe was ranked as the sixth-greatest female star of all time by the American Film Institute.

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