Marilyn Monroe

Marilyn Monroe was an American actress, singer and film producer. She won a Golden Globe Award, and in 1999 was ranked as the sixth greatest female star of all time by the American Film Institute. After spending much of her childhood in foster homes, Norma Jeane Baker began a career as a model, which led to a film contract in 1946. Her early roles were minor, but her performances in The Asphalt Jungle and All About Eve were well received, and as her career progressed she became known as a sex symbol. She was praised for her comedic ability in such films as Gentlemen Prefer Blondes, How to Marry a Millionaire and The Seven Year Itch, and became one of Hollywood's most popular performers.

The typecasting of Monroe's "dumb blonde" persona limited her career prospects, and she broadened her range. Her marriage to baseball player Joe Di Maggio failed. While married to playwright Arthur Miller, she studied at the Actor's Studio and formed Marilyn Monroe Productions. Her dramatic performance in Bus Stop was hailed by critics, and for her performance in Billy Wilder's Some Like it Hot, she won a Golden Globe.