The mysteries that surround the life of the screen goddess is what her fans still seek to unravel. Let’s take a peep into her journey of life, her moments on stage – her rise to stardom, her romantic life and her transition to the ‘great beyond’.
Marilyn Monroe died from an overdose at age 36 in August 4, 1962. She was born on June 1, 1926 at Los Angeles, California, U.S.
More than others, people seek to know the truth surrounding her story of children and pregnancy – how many children did she ever have.
What do you know about Marilyn Monroe’s career?
Marilyn Monroe in her years was famous for playing comedic ‘blonde bombshell’ characters, she eventually became one of the most popular sex symbols between the 1950s and early 1960s.
She was a A-list actress for a decade, and her films grossed $200 million (equivalent to $2 billion in 2021) by the time of her 1962.
What do you know about Marilyn Monroe’s childhood?
Marilyn Monroe spent most of her time in an orphanage during her formative years.
Gladys Baker, Monroe’s mother was institutionalized for mental health, the same can be said to her maternal grandparents.
The American actress was seven when Grace McKee, Gladys’ friend, was appointed as her legal guardian while Monroe continued to live in foster homes and orphanages.
Monroe would felt the pressure of life more than ever when she was 16, perhaps this was the beginning of her downfall maritally.
McKee, Monroe’s legal guardian announced she and (her husband) were moving to West Virginia and could not take Monroe with them.
She offered Monroe a choice: either she married a young man Grace had selected, or she would have to return to the orphanage.
The pressure was too much for a young Monroe and she had to bow to the unrealistic and dangerous request because she wants a home outside orphanages and or foster homes.
This is how the journey of her first marriage started…
How many children does Marilyn Monroe have?
Living Marilyn boasted of three marriages that didn’t bring her ‘fertility’. Not that she didn’t have pregnancy, not that she didn’t have abortion. She had twelve abortions – perhaps to protect and preserve her career – until she suffered gynecological problem.
Of the twelve abortions, Monroe shared three abortions with Arthur, her last husband before her untimely death, according to the Netflix 2022 documentary The Mystery of Marilyn Monroe: The Unheard Tapes.
Culling from The Genius and the Goddess: Arthur Miller & Marilyn Monroe, a biography on Marilyn and Miller written by Miller’s friend Jeffrey Meyers shed more light on Monroe’s state of fertility.
Marilyn had admitted to having a startling total of 12 abortions, however it is unclear whether or not she voluntarily had them. In the past, Marilyn frequently engaged in extramarital affairs with men, and abortion was used as “birth control” in the 1950s. When selling herself, or with romantic liaisons and long-time lovers, Marilyn, always eager to please, meekly agreed to men’s demands to have sex without contraceptives and got pregnant again and again,” she said.
Marilyn Monroe never had children.
What happened to Marilyn Monroe’s failed marriages?
Monroe first marriage was with James Dougherty, her neighbor. She was in marriage with him for four years; 1942 – 1946.
Monroe was 16 years when he walked down the aisle with 21-year-old James Dougherty.
Van Nuys High School in California was an historic place for them, it was where they met.
Maybe her marriage with Dougherty didn’t work because she fell short of the expectations that came with it.
'Sixteen-year-old Norma Jeane tried to rise to the unrealistic demands of being a suitable housewife for a twenty-one-year-old independent man. 'She asked few questions, accepting the role of sexual companion and housekeeper enjoined on her by Grace and now expected of her by Dougherty.'
Marilyn would later say:
‘My marriage didn’t make me sad, but it didn’t make me happy, either. My husband and I hardly spoke to each other.
‘THIS wasn’t because we were angry. We had nothing to say. I was dying of boredom.’
Fast forwarded to 1946, Monroe filed for divorce at age 20 when her modeling career was getting started.
Her second marriage was with Joe DiMaggio, former baseball player in 1954, after two years of dating.
She waited for nine years before she trusted her gut to be in marriage again. Then she walked down the aisle with Joe DiMaggio in 1954 before she got divorce a year later.
She was 25 when she met 37-year-old DiMaggio – DiMaggio arranged a meeting with her after he saw a photo of Monroe and wanted to meet her.
To DiMaggio, the greatest career ever is to be a ‘wife and a mother’s – one thing Monroe dread. Only DiMaggio know how he talked her into marriage, but the marriage would only last for 12 months.
The genesis of the divorce happened when Monroe was filming “The Seven Year Itch.”
On set, Monroe stands over a subway grate and unfortunately, air sends her skirt cinematically in the air.
The incident ensued a major fight between the duo, the fight eventually moved Monroe filed for divorce in 1954, but won’t get it until 1956.
In 1956, Monroe married her third husband and “Crucible” playwright Arthur Miller. Her marriage with Miller is her longest.
Their first meeting was way back in 1951, but they were able to form an emotional bond that survived a long separation during the first meeting.
Miller and Monroe tied the knot in 1956, the same year her divorce with DiMaggio came through. She was 30 when she wedded to 40-year-old Monroe.
They spent good five years together before they split up.
Arthur Miller’s daughter recalled their reason of separation, she said:
‘They were not matched. They tried and they just bungled it. She was the rose and he was definitely the gardener.
‘But he’s more of a rose and he needed a gardener. People can only play the other part for so long,’ she said.
They both went their separate ways in 1961 after some troubles and misunderstandings.
Unfortunately, Monroe died in 1962 – a year after she and Miller divorced. She died of a barbiturate overdose at the age of 36.
