While not diagnosed as social anxiety in her time, Marilyn Monroe exhibited many symptoms, including severe stuttering under pressure, insecurity, and difficulty in social settings, leading many modern experts to theorize she had underlying conditions like Bipolar Disorder, Borderline Personality Disorder, Autism Spectrum Disorder, and PTSD, all exacerbated by trauma, which align with social anxiety struggles. Her intense fear of judgment and need to mask her true self (as Norma Jeane) for her public persona ("Marilyn") points strongly to significant social difficulties.
For those reasons, Marilyn asked for Margaret Hohenberg's help, the first of the five psychoanalysts who treated her until her death (Anna Freud, Marianne Kris, Ralph Greenson and Milton Wexler). Marilyn used to do 3 to 5 sessions a week, and take also medications for anxiety and insomnia.
The Illness Trajectory in Marilyn Monroe's Psychological Autopsy: From Autism Spectrum Disorder to Borderline Personality Disorder and Bipolar Disorder with Catatonia.
Typefinder Personality Type: ESFP
E / Extraverted: While we will never know what was happening on the inside, Monroe was very clearly an Extravert to the public. She carried herself with a wittiness and charm that comes far more naturally to Extraverts than Introverts.
A woman who enjoyed her sleep, Monroe took between five and 10 hours of shut-eye a night in a wide single bed. On Sunday? “[It's] my one day of total leisure. I sometimes take two hours to wake up, luxuriating in every last moment of drowsiness,” she said in an interview with Pageant magazine.
"Her fertility issues have long been attributed to endometriosis," a gynecological condition that causes severe menstrual pain, Vogel says. "It was largely misunderstood during those times, so it often went untreated.
Marilyn Monroe was more than a glamorous icon—she was deeply intelligent and loved literature and philosophy. She reportedly had an IQ of 168, even higher than einstein's estimated 160.
If you are an extrovert, here are some famous people that share your personality type:
Yes, people with Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD) can absolutely live normal, stable, and fulfilling lives, especially with effective treatment like therapy, which helps them manage symptoms and develop coping skills, leading to significant improvement or even remission, though "normal" might look different and require ongoing self-care and support. While BPD is a lifelong condition, symptoms often lessen with age, and with the right strategies, individuals can achieve long-term recovery and a high quality of life.
Famous individuals such as Brandon Marshall, Amy Winehouse, and Britney Spears have shed light on the reality of living with BPD, helping to foster understanding and compassion.
Monroe's signature breathy speaking voice was actually a tactic the actress used to overcome a childhood stutter. A speech therapist reportedly trained her to adopt the throaty style, and it ended up becoming one of her standout traits as an actress and singer.
Marilyn Monroe was not simply a star who succumbed to fame but a woman who possibly failed because of a system that could not understand her complexity. The diagnoses of bipolar disorder and schizophrenia applied to her and her mother reflected the psychiatric limitations of the time.
While her weight varied throughout her life, (like most people), available documentation verifies Marilyn's height and weight at several different times during her life, and her first modeling contract verifies her measurements: August 2, 1945 Blue Book Modeling Agency 5' 6”, 120lbs 36-24-34 “Size 12” February 8, 1954 ...
MM valued nocturnal sleep to help her look good at work, but developed insomnia during her rise to fame in the context of stage fright. She might have presented jet lag following a flight from Japan, and started using barbiturates due to their easy availability.
Dr. Hyman Engelberg, one of her doctors, later told an interviewer, “We knew that she was manic-depressive, which is now called bipolar personality.” Notes biographer Lois Banner, Marilyn suffered from a severe stutter and dyslexia, too, and was addicted to barbiturates and amphetamines.
I/ Introverted: This might surprise those who remember Diana as a social butterfly who effortlessly charmed everyone she met. But the media dubbed her “Shy Di” for a reason, and the Princess certainly had a habit of ducking her head to avoid the gaze of others.
An omnivert is someone who possesses both introverted and extroverted qualities, adapting their social behavior to various situations and enjoying both solitude and social interactions.
Here's a list below of celebrities who are introverts that might just surprise you.
Lady Gaga's IQ is widely rumored to be around 166, placing her in the "exceptionally gifted" or genius category, though this is an estimation often cited in celebrity lists, not a officially verified number from a public test. This high estimate is supported by her early academic achievements, like attending a summer program for the top 1% of students, and her demonstrated creative and musical genius as a composer and performer, notes Us Weekly and Brainmanager.io.
If we measure smarts by IQ alone, Marilyn edges out with a score reportedly five points higher than the famed physicist. Yes, that's right—Marilyn Monroe, often pigeonholed as the quintessential blonde bombshell, had an IQ of 165, surpassing Einstein's by a small but significant margin.
Madonna reportedly has a genius-level IQ of around 140, well above the average, with sources citing her intelligence and business acumen, often linking it to her ability to recognize patterns and disrupt culture. This high score is sometimes associated with her academic achievements, like receiving a scholarship to the University of Michigan, and her remarkable career longevity, making her a highly successful artist.
The illness trajectory in Marilyn Monroe's psychological autopsy: From autism spectrum disorder to borderline personality disorder and bipolar disorder with catatonia.
Murray telephoned Greenson, on whose advice she looked in through a window, and saw Monroe lying facedown on her bed, nude and covered by a sheet and clutching a telephone receiver. Greenson arrived shortly thereafter. He entered the room by breaking a window and found Monroe dead.
30 Fascinating Facts About Marilyn Monroe