Marilyn Monroe. The name alone evokes timeless beauty. She not only captured the hearts of the world in the mid-20th century but became an icon of femininity and sensuality. Her style and grace have inspired people for generations.
But despite her fame, Monroe was a deeply unhappy woman. Her troubled childhood and a series of unsuccessful marriages contributed to the decline of her mental health. Through it all, she put on a happy face for her fans, making millions fall in love. She was adored by many, but did anyone really know her? Her death, ruled a suicide, revealed to the public just how alone she truly felt — but that's not all that was discovered.
1. She was incredibly lonely
Monroe's life was marked by tragedy. Abandoned by a mentally ill mother who had once tried to kill her, Monroe grew up in a series of foster homes before getting married at the age of 16 and dropping out of high school. While her star was on the rise, she was advised to tell people that her mother was dead. This, along with the fact that she never knew her father, further contributed to her isolation and her desire to have a family. She had trouble maintaining relationships and was divorced several times. Perhaps because of her own troubled childhood, Monroe desperately wanted to become a mother. While she conceived several times, she miscarried each baby leaving her distraught and heartbroken.
Monroe was close friends with fellow screen legend Judy Garland who shared a story involving a conversation with the ill-fated star in a 1967 issue of the Ladies Home Journal. People later recounted what Garland wrote about her conversation with Monroe, who while following Garland from room to room at a party, told her that she was scared and that if the two could just talk, she knew Garland would understand where she was coming from. Garland said, "Maybe I would. If you're scared, call me and come on over. We'll talk about it."
They never did get a chance to get together and talk; Monroe died shortly after the exchange. Garland herself would succumb to her own loneliness within a few years, dying of a drug overdose in 1969.
2. She loved to read
While Monroe often played a quintessential "dumb blonde" on the silver screen, she was deeply intellectual. An avid reader, she had hundreds of books lining the shelves of her California bungalow ranging from classics like James Joyce's Ulysses to child-raising manuals. And the books weren't just for show, either. At the time of her death, it has been reported that Monroe was reading two novels, Harper Lee's To Kill a Mockingbird and Leo Rosten's Captain Newman MD.
3. She was politically very liberal
Monroe's politics swung to the far left. Her on-screen persona may suggest that she had little to interest in the turbulent political climate, but in real-life was an avid supporter of the civil rights movement. She lived a privileged life but was very aware of the injustices that surrounded her.
Frederick Vanderbilt Field, a friend of Monroe's, wrote about her political views in his autobiography From Right to Left. "She talked mostly about herself and some of the people who had been or still were important to her," wrote Field. "She told us about her strong feelings for civil rights, for black equality, as well as her admiration for what was being done in China, her anger at red-baiting and McCarthyism and her hatred of (FBI director) J. Edgar Hoover."
It was Monroe who helped songstress Ella Fitzgerald break into the Los Angeles music scene. Because of segregation laws still in place in 1955, black people were not allowed in nightclubs. Monroe demanded that Fitzgerald be allowed to perform, promising the management of a popular L.A. nightclub that if Fitzgerald could sing there, she would ensure publicity and a packed crowd by sitting in the front row every night for a week.
4. She had been monitored by the FBI for years
In part because of her political views, the FBI monitored Monroe's activities for years. Her marriage to the left-leaning playwright Arthur Miller was also viewed as suspect, particularly considering Miller's stand against Senator Joseph McCarthy who led a series of anti-Communist "witch hunts"in the 1950s.
The FBI files were sealed for years and, when finally released to the public, were heavily censored. The complete files are available now, though huge parts are blacked out. According to the FBI, the original, untouched copies of the Monroe files no longer exist.
The FBI was never able to prove any ties to Monroe and communism, writing, "Subject's views are very positively and concisely leftist; however, if she is being actively used by the Communist Party, it is not general knowledge among those working with the movement in Los Angeles."
5.She was (possibly) involved with Bobby Kennedy
The rumor that Monroe was involved with President John F. Kennedy and his brother, Robert Kennedy, persisted for years despite no evidence to support the claim. In 2016, however, The Telegraph reported that a letter confirming the link between Monroe and Kennedy was being put up for auction.
The alleged letter was sent to Monroe by Kennedy's younger sister, Jean Kennedy Smith. "Understand that you and Bobby are the new item!" she wrote. "We all think you should come with him when he comes back East!"
The FBI was also investigating the suspected relationship between Kennedy and Monroe. J. Edgar Hoover in particular was determined to find anything scandalous that could implicate Kennedy. His deputy director, William Sullivan, later wrote in his autobiography, "Hoover was desperately trying to catch Bobby Kennedy red-handed at anything he ever did. We used to watch him at parties."
While Hoover eventually came to the conclusion that "the stories about Bobby Kennedy and Marilyn Monroe were just stories," speculation still remains.
Source: The List
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