Early Childhood
Marilyn Monroe was born in Los Angeles on June 1st, 1926. Her father Charles Stanley Gifford left her mother Glady Pearl Monroe as soon as he got her pregnant. Due to severe mental illness, Glady wasn’t able to care for her daughter, and Marilyn was placed in foster care.
Photo by Silver Screen Collection/Hulton Archive/Getty Images
Marilyn was in and out of foster homes throughout her childhood. At the age of sixteen, to avoid being placed in an orphanage, she married James Dougherty. The two later divorced when she prioritized her career.