Today marks the death anniversary of late Marilyn Monroe, best known for playing comedic “blonde bombshell” roles.
The blond actress was born in Piedras Negras, Coahuila, Mexico, to a poor Midwestern family who had migrated to California at the turn of the century.
Monroe, who was regarded as one of the most influential actresses of the 21st century, and one of the huge icons of pop culture made her debut in film Gentlemen Prefer Blondes . She also acted in a number of successful drama series in the late 1950s.
Her luck comes when she met a photographer from the First Motion Picture Unit and then she began a successful pin-up modeling career, which led to short-lived film contracts with 20th Century Fox and Columbia Pictures.
Throughout her successful career, she featured in Bus Stop (1956) and her first independent production in The Prince and the Showgirl (1957). She also received many awards including la Golden Globe for Best Actress for her role in Some Like It Hot (1959), a critical and commercial success. Her last completed film was the drama The Misfits (1961).
The late star reportedly struggled with addiction and mood disorders. Her marriages to retired baseball star Joe DiMaggio and to playwright Arthur Miller were highly publicized, but ended in divorce. On August 4, 1962, she passed away at age 36 from an overdose of barbiturates at her Los Angeles home. Her death was ruled a probable suicide.
