Marilyn Monroe

June 1, 1926 – August 4, 1962

Marilyn Monroe lived in Hawthorne for the first seven years of her life. She was born Norma Jeane Mortensen on June 1, 1926 in Los Angeles. Her mother, Gladys, was the child of failed marriages and had come to the end of her own second marriage the year before her daughter’s birth. She left Norma Jeane in the care of Albert and Ida Bolender while she lived and worked in Hollywood as a film cutter, visiting her as often as she could. The Bolenders lived on 134th St (then Rhode Island Ave) in Hawthorne, across the street from Norma Jeane’s maternal grandmother, Della. They were a religious couple who gave the child a stable life. Gladys’ connection with her daughter suffered from the effects of her louche lifestyle and tangled relationships. Starting in 1933, Norma Jeane lived with her mother, but recent tragedies began to affect Gladys’ mental stability and she was committed to a State hospital in early 1934, a recurring disability that eventually led to her permanent committal. Norma Jeane then passed through a series of guardians and a marriage at sixteen. She began modeling, then acting. Divorced at twenty, she at last became a young lady with her life in her own hands, Marilyn Monroe. Famous for her beauty and celebrated as the most desirable woman of her era, Marilyn simultaneously developed a mastery in portraying a wide range of characters: innocent, scheming, dumb, wise, touching, anxious, brave or funny. Her fans recognized her rare talent and embraced her work which has become a legacy for American culture.