Marilyn Monroe (Norma Jeane Mortenson) was primarily raised in foster homes and orphanages due to her mother's mental health struggles, with key figures like foster parents Albert & Ida Bolender, family friend Grace McKee (later Goddard), and her first husband James Dougherty providing temporary care or guardianship, though she experienced significant neglect and abuse, shaping her lifelong search for stability and love.
Remembering Queen Elizabeth II and Marilyn Monroe, who would have turned 100 in 2026.
Marilyn Monroe likely suffered from complex mental health issues, with modern analysis pointing towards Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD) and symptoms of Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), alongside historical diagnoses of Bipolar Disorder (Manic-Depressive Illness), anxiety, depression, and addiction, stemming from severe childhood trauma and abandonment. Her struggles included emotional instability, identity issues, impulsivity, intense mood swings, emptiness, and substance abuse, all consistent with BPD and ASD traits, though she was treated with medications for mood disorders during her life.
She later grew up in the care of her grandmother, Della Monroe Grainger, who renamed her the Baptist Norma Jeane Baker, but soon after her grandmother's death in August 1927, she was raised by her adoptive parents, Albert and Ida Bolender of Hawthorne, all of which were milestones in the life of a seven-year-old child.
Turns out Monroe might have made dying her pubic hair part of her regular beauty routine, too.
That instrument left some small bequests for a number of individuals including Monroe's half-sister, her secretary, her mother, and several friends. But ultimately 75% of Monroe's remaining assets were to be distributed outright to Lee Strasberg, the famed acting coach.
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.
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.
The blonde bombshell, who has been revered for her curves for decades, apparently had plastic surgery in her pre-fame days to correct a nose imperfection as well as underwent chin augmentation.
Jasmine Chiswell, 27, has been living in the four-bedroom, four-bathroom home since the start of 2019, when she and her husband purchased it for $2.73 million. Built in 1938 in a Mediterranean style, the house has a long Hollywood history and was briefly rented by Monroe and baseball great Joe DiMaggio in 1952.
Peter Mangone, a teenager from the Bronx, had been skipping school to wait outside the Gladstone Hotel, where Marilyn was staying following her divorce from Joe DiMaggio, hoping simply to catch a glimpse of her.
If Marilyn Monroe were alive today (in late 2025), she'd be around 99 years old, and while her bombshell image might have faded, many believe she'd still be an icon, perhaps evolving into a producer, activist (like Brigitte Bardot), or finding fulfillment in family, but likely facing challenges with her documented ...
Kennedy wanted to leave Los Angeles before Monroe's death became public to avoid being associated with it, and therefore her body was returned to her bedroom and the overdose staged as a suicide by Lawford, the Kennedys and J. Edgar Hoover.
On August 5, 1962, movie actress Marilyn Monroe is found dead in her home in Los Angeles. She was discovered lying nude on her bed, face down, with a telephone in one hand. Empty bottles of pills, prescribed to treat her depression, were littered around the room.
Joe DiMaggio had purchased two crypts in Westwood Cemetery for he and his famous wife, and while divorcing in 1954 sold his to Richard Poncher. The crypt Poncher bought was located directly above that which would eventually hold the remains of Marilyn Monroe (in 1962).
The Illness Trajectory in Marilyn Monroe's Psychological Autopsy: From Autism Spectrum Disorder to Borderline Personality Disorder and Bipolar Disorder with Catatonia.
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.
Marilyn Monroe's Clothing Tells the Truth
Below are several examples of Marilyn's clothing worn at varying times in her life, displayed on a size 6-8 dress form, with measurements of 33.5″ (bust), 24.5″ (waist), and 34.5″ (hip).
Aside from a brief period late in her career, Marilyn's weight was always between 117 - 120 lbs and her waist measurements pretty much never changed.
However, Vaseline was her go-to beauty product. For example, she used petroleum jelly in two specific ways to keep her looking radiant and youthful. The New York Times reports that “Monroe reportedly slathered her skin with Vaseline before her daily baths.”
“I'm removing it. It is a negative character, as [Monroe] suffered from personality disorders and was bipolar,” Fox told the news source. “I do not want to attract this kind of negative energy in my life.”
Jane Russell was billed above Marilyn Monroe for Gentlemen Prefer Blondes (1953), and was also paid a lot more - reportedly $200K, while Marilyn was paid $11,250.
Marilyn Monroe was US$372,000 (about HK$1,860,000 at the time) in debt when she died in 1962, according to newspaper reports.