15 Things You Didn’t Know About Marilyn Monroe

When you think of the classic pin up girl, you think of her. When you think of a bubbly blonde with style, you think of her. Miss Marilyn Monroe, the timeless beauty, remains in our hearts. 

Anytime a dress blows up from a street vent, images of the white dress being held down by Monroe as she giggles away come to mind. If you really wanted to break out a sexy rendition of “Happy Birthday,” you’d use your Marilyn vocal cords and please one happy president. There is something so intriguing about her life story, and so bittersweet, it still captivates us after all these years. 

Her was a life of glitz and glamour, constantly idolized and adored by everyone who surrounded her. She was insatiable and desired by many. But behind this celebrity life was a woman struggling. Behind closed doors, her emotional and secret mental battles took over her life.Then one day, she was found dead. It shook the world.

There are several theories as to how she died. Was it suicide? Was it murder? We may never know, but her memory lives on forever based on the impact she left in this world. Perhaps there are still some things to uncover about the late bombshell. Here are 15 things you didn’t know about Marilyn Monroe…

15. It will cost big bucks to be buried next to her

Even in death, people are dying to be next to her. She is buried in a mausoleum in Los Angeles. The plots were purchased by Joe DiMaggio, whose spot was placed above her crypt. Before his death, the plot’s price tag went for $4.6 MILLION dollars. The original buyer had intentions about the plot, claiming he fantasized about laying on top of Monroe for the rest of eternity. Um… okay. The plot was later sold to an anonymous bidder on eBay, after he was moved due to the choice of his widow. Marilyn was still so sought after that Playboy mogul Hugh Hefner purchased the plot next to her for a price tag of $75,000!

14. Marilyn Monroe was her alter ego

Her real name was Norma Jean and she later changed it to Marilyn Monroe. What many people don’t know is that Marilyn Monroe was a third person that Norma entertained. She was not Marilyn Monroe, but this woman outside of herself. She has been quoted saying, “I just wanted to be Marilyn Monroe for a moment,” after her character totally changed. When she was Marilyn, she would put on a certain type of walk and talk. She was even found staring intently into a mirror once and when asked what she was doing, she replied, “staring at her.”

13. She had a really bad stutter

This is one of those secrets, not many people know or would think was even an issue for the star. She always carried herself with confidence and grace, and spoke very eloquently. The reason why she spoke with such a breathy and sexy voice was to help her overcome her stutter. It was a tool she used that would help disguise and eventually correct the speech impediment. She said her stutter would come out when she got nervous or excited. Unfortunately, while filming Something’s Got to Give, her stutter apparently resurfaced due to extreme stress. 

12. Her death caused mass suicides 

The impact celebrities can have on the general public is astonishing. Now more than ever, people are imitating and transforming themselves to imitate their Hollywood idols. When news of Monroe’s death spread, it was ruled as a suicide. The apparent cause of her death was a scandal; she was the absolute “It” girl. Following the press releases, suicide rates skyrocketed in New York City according to The Times. At one point, an estimated 12 suicides were recorded in a day, a very high rate back then. But what if Monroe didn’t commit suicide and was murdered instead? 

11. She was a bookworm

When you think of this beauty, you don’t really think of brains. In reality, Monroe was incredibly smart. She had a reported IQ of 168! She was able to carry religious, political and worldly conversations with people. If she was not on screen, you could find her curled up with a good book. Throughout her life, she accumulated over 400 books. She loved reading and writing. On her free time, she would often go to the bookstore and pick pages at random to read. If she enjoyed what she read, she would take the book home with her. Perhaps all of the reading she did influenced her conversational habits with others. 

10. Her upbringing was really rough

Her life was not always glitz and glamour either. Before she became famous, Norma Jean experienced a hard childhood. Her mother was mentally ill and had to be institutionalized for paranoid schizophrenia. This caused Norma to be admitted into the foster care system. She was bounced around from 11 different foster families. At the age of 16, Norma was done with that life and decided to make her own way. She married James Dougherty, which got her out of foster care and divorced him in 1943 when he left for the Marines. Her uprooted childhood no doubt impacted her throughout her entire life. 

9. She is responsible for Ella Fitzgerald’s fame

During her time, the racism was rampant. Ella Fitzgerald was desperate to get booked at the Hollywood club Mocambo. Yet, because of her race, the club barred her despite her huge talent. Monroe took things into her own hands and called the owner of the club. She made a deal that if they booked Fitzgerald, Monroe would sit at the front table for her performances every time. Everyone agreed because Monroe’s fame could gain great exposure for the club. Fitzgerald later shot to super stardom. 

8. She loved being in her birthday suit

As if anyone would be complaining, but this beauty just loved to be naked. She is known for her curvaceous figure, which always looked effortlessly flawless, with or without clothing. Whenever she was around female employees, she stripped down to her birthday suit. Whether with her hairstylists or makeup artists, she was very comfortable in the nude. She wouldn’t even hesitate to give topless interviews. She once wore nothing under a mink coat her husband Joe DiMaggio gave her.  

7. She was very charitable

Her generosity and kind heart only makes her that much more attractive. Once she made it big in Hollywood, Monroe was never shy to spread her wealth and love throughout the world. She would do performances for soldiers and hospitals. She gave a lot of her energy, time and money to health organizations and orphanages. A memorable moment was when she decided to write a check to a Mexican orphanage. She first wrote one for the amount of $1000. But she then ripped it in half and changed the amount to $10,000! 

6. Her home had been bugged

This shocking discovery led conspiracy theorists to conclude what they truly believed: that Marilyn Monroe was murdered. In 1972 new owners bought Marilyn’s old home in Brentwood, California. They discovered, upon inspection, that an eavesdropping and telephone tapping system had been set up in every room of her house. Interestingly enough, that type of technology was not available to the general public during that time. It was, though, available to the FBI. Clearly, she was being spied on by perhaps the Kennedy family or the Mafia. The entire bugging system cost the new owners $100,000 to remove. 

5. She was a tough gal

Understandably, to maintain her flawless figure, Monroe kept a regimented fitness routine. She made up her own workout plans, which included a lot of weight lifting. She would jog, stretch, swim and regularly lift weights. She even worked out with Olympian Howard Carrington in order to get the best workout routines possible. 

4. The infamous dress shot

A picture that has circulated thousands of times, the famous white dress shot blowing in the air above the air vent. To her dismay, this famous photo ended up ruining her marriage. Originally staged for the film The Seven Year Itch, the scene was filmed publicly. Monroe drew a crowd of gawking bystanders who oohed and aahed as her dress lifted up at every take. Her jealous husband at the time had zero tolerance for this. Upon knowledge of this seductive and very public scene, Joe DiMaggio finally reached his breaking point. The couple divorced during film production.

3. A million dollar closet

To this day, Marilyn Monroe’s fashion statements still draw in eyes and wallets of collectors. Out of all her clothes, her gowns have been the most sought after — and expensive. The sale of her white, sparkly hip hugging dress that she wore while singing “Happy Birthday” to JFK set records! It sold for $1,267,500 while the air vent dress earned $4.6 million! Even her jeans and t-shirts rake in the big bucks. Tommy Hilfiger bought Britney Spears a pair of Monroe’s Levi’s jeans as present. They cost him a whopping $37,000. Let’s hope they fit!

2. She was almost Holly Golightly

Believe it or not, the role of Holly Golightly in Breakfast at Tiffany’s almost went to Monroe. Today, the iconic role and everything surrounding it couldn’t be imagined without the famous Audrey Hepburn. Imagine how different the movie would have been if Marilyn had been cast? Its author, Truman Capote, really wanted Marilyn to play the role but was overruled. Capote actually went on to despise Hepburn as the lead. He felt Marilyn would have best suited the part. He thought Audrey was far too elegant to play Holly. 

1. Roses are a girl’s best friend

At her open casket funeral, the beauty still stunned in a pale green dress and platinum blonde wig. Before she died, she made Joe DiMaggio make a promise. The deal was that if she died before him, he would have to leave flowers on her grave every week. DiMaggio not only kept his promise but went above and beyond. He had a dozen roses delivered to her crypt three times a week for twenty years. The timeless Hollywood beauty will never be forgotten. 

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