The Story of Marilyn MonroeMarilyn Monroe once said, "Under the makeup and behind the smile I'm just a girl who wants the world." Marilyn Monroe was just a normal girl who didn't have an easy life growing up. She had no mother figure in her life and longed to be loved. She was beautiful, but she wanted to be known for more than just her looks. His fame came unexpectedly, but it had consequences. It turned her into someone she didn't want to be. She spent much of her career struggling to find herself, but her public image had taken over who she was. There are two sides to every story, and in this case there are two sides to Marilyn Monroe. His story is full of anguish, but it teaches a lesson. Marilyn Monroe was more than just a movie star; he was a public icon who was often misunderstood. Marilyn Monroe's early life was full of great difficulties. “Marilyn was born Norma Jeane Mortenson on June 1, 1926, and spent much of her childhood in foster homes and orphanages” (“Monroe,” Encyclopedia 1). His mother, Gladys (Monroe) Baker Mortenson, worked as a film splicer; and often visited Norma in foster homes (“Monroe,” Notable 1). Marilyn spent much of her life without a stable mother, and mental illness tended to run through her family. Marilyn's first memory as a child was of being suffocated by her grandmother Della (Wolfe 107). His grandmother's mental instability led to his mother's. “When Marilyn was seven, her mother was admitted to a psychiatric hospital and diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia” (“Monroe,” Notable 1). As a child, Marilyn had to watch both her grandmother and her mother act in ways she could not have done. understand. Due to problems at home, school was n...... half way....... She took her own life before anyone saw her at her best, saw her for who she truly was. Works Cited Kahn, Roger Joe and Marilyn: A Memory of Love New York: William Morrow, 1986. Print. "Monroe, Marilyn." Encyclopedia of American Studies.: John Hopkins UP, 2010. Creed Web, January 16, 2014. “Monroe, Marilyn, June 5, 1926, 1962.” Notable American Women: The Modern Period. Cambridge: Harvard UP, 1980. Creed Web, January 21, 2014. Peterson, Linda. "Marilyn Monroe Fragile Bombshell". 2014. “The Transformation of Popular Culture.” Modern American Lives: Individuals and Issues in American History since 1945. Armonk: M.E. Sharpe, 2007. Creed Web February 3, 2014. Wolfe, Donald H. The Last Days of Marilyn Monroe New York: William Morrow, 1998. Print.