Dark Secrets About Marilyn Monroe That Expose A Little-Known Side To The Iconic Starlet
The movie Blonde presents a fictionalized account of Marilyn Monroe's life — but the real story is so much more interesting. Because while Monroe was known for her bombshell looks and ditzy blonde persona, she was actually a woman with more depth and intelligence than she was credited for. Blonde may scrape the surface of her real-world struggles, but precisely what secrets did the icon keep during her lifetime? And are any of the rumors about her actually true?
1. Two men claimed that they were her father
Monroe never knew for certain who her father was. Her mother, Gladys, said that a man called Charles Stanley Gifford was the actress’ dad. But he always turned Monroe away when she tried to contact him. Yet Gifford’s name wasn’t even on Monroe’s birth certificate. Instead, her father was listed as Martin Edward Mortensen, who had married Gladys back in 1924. Both men ultimately claimed paternity, and yet nobody knows the real truth of the matter — even now.
2. She saw “Marilyn Monroe” as a different person
According to people who knew her, the woman born Norma Jeane Mortenson considered “Marilyn Monroe” a separate personality. One story even claims that the star was walking unnoticed through New York with a friend when she said, “Do you want me to be her?” So, Monroe opened her coat and started sashaying — only to be quickly surrounded by photographers.
3. She was rumored to have had an affair with a woman
Monroe may have been married three times, but gossip nevertheless spread about a liaison with drama teacher Natasha Lytess — particularly after Lytess moved in with the actress. That said, in 1954 Monroe wrote in her autobiography, My Story, “A man who had kissed me once had said it was very possible that I was a lesbian because apparently I had no response to males… Now, having fallen in love, I knew what I was. It wasn’t a lesbian.”
4. Her mother had a mental breakdown
Monroe’s mother, Gladys, had a difficult life. After she divorced her first husband, for instance, the two children she had were taken away from her. Then, in 1933, tragedy struck when Gladys’ son Robert died of an infection. This devastating event occurred just months after Gladys’ grandfather Tilford Hogan had taken his own life, and sadly it appears that the double-whammy of grief led Monroe’s mom to a breakdown.
