Marilyn Monroe

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Have you ever wondered what it would be like to live back in the old days? Back when, if you were anything but the normal you were shunned and tormented? Thank God times have changed, and we have many people to thank for that, one of them being Marilyn Monroe. She was a powerful and inspiring person because she was resilient, influential to women and despite her gender she became a star.

Marilyn Monroe was born on June first, 1926 in Los Angeles California. But believe it or not her given name wasn't Marilyn Monroe, her birth name was Norma Jeane Mortenson. Her mother was a film cutter at RKO studios in Los Angeles. So you can tell where Marilyn got her interest in movies from. Marilyn didn't have the perfect childhood, far from it actually. When Marilyn was a child she was nearly killed when she was two, almost raped when she was six, and by the time she was nine she was in an orphanage due to the fact that her mother was mentally ill and in a mental institution. Marilyn bounced from foster home to foster home, but never feeling the true warmth that a family brings. By the time she was 16 she was working in an aircraft plant, and not long after she married for the first time. But not long after the couple tied the knot, her husband was sent off to war. So while he was gone, Marilyn decided to take up modeling, and she was darn glad she did. Unfortunately after her husband came back from war, they divorced, the year was 1946. Marilyn figured she wasn't getting any younger and continued with her modeling career. After she had modeled for awhile she decided to start studying acting, and also to take classes at UCLA for literature. Not long after she started the acting classes 20th Century Fox gave her a contract, after that Columbia offered. She was on a roll and no one was stopping her.

I find all of this inspiring, the fact that she wasn't the skinniest woman, didn't have a lot of money, didn't have a way already made for her, and that she overcame her rough childhood. Marilyn was offered her first movie job in the movie "Ladies of the Chorus" where she had two singing numbers. The movie aired in 1948. This was the kick start to Marilyn's movie career, and needless to say it put her on the map. Things were going great for the girl that once no one wanted.

Just a couple years after her career started taking off Marilyn had yet another marriage under her belt, she was married and divorced in the year of 1955. But this time she had married a baseball player by the name of Joe DiMaggio. After her a few rough years Marilyn was beginning to break. She was having a tough time with men, ex husbands and fans that were turning their backs. But on the evening of August fourth 1962, things took a turn for the worst, between the hours of 9:30 and11:30 Marilyn Monroe had passed. Some say it was drug overdose, some say it was a planned suicide.

But In the big picture I don't think that she should be remembered on how she died, it's more important to focus on what she accomplished when she was alive. She really and truly changed things for women. Things were no longer black and white, fat and skinny, rich and poor, women and girls. We all were united, women of all body types, all hair colors, all economic statuses, we were all one. It takes a pretty powerful person to change the outlook of many many people. I honestly don't think I would have been as tough as she was, to come from absolutely nothing, and have no one around to support you but to still win many awards, films, magazine spreads, and to change the way women look at themselves are all huge milestones that people don't realize. She did the impossible for her time, and for that women of all shapes and sizes are thankful. She also set the stage for women's acting careers all over the United States. So with that I say again, Marilyn Monroe was a powerful and influential person because she was resilient, influential to women, and despite her gender she became a star. Mark my words, Marilyn Monroe will never be forgotten.