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How Old Marilyn Monroe Was When She Died
Marilyn Monroe, the subject of Netflix's Blonde, has long been one of America's most iconic film stars, and her tragic early death only added to the mystique surrounding her. As depicted in Andrew Dominik's film Blonde, Monroe's beauty and screen presence made her a star, but she struggled with drug addiction, abusive relationships, and the limited way in which Hollywood perceived her. All of these factors contributed to Monroe's death at a young age.
Monroe was born Norma Jeane Mortenson on July 1, 1926. As depicted in Blonde, Marilyn's childhood was turbulent, with her mother Gladys spending time in a mental hospital and Norma Jeane becoming a ward of the state. In the 1940s, Monroe became a pin-up model, which led to her first acting roles and eventually international fame. Blonde is based on Joyce Carol Oates' novel about Monroe's life instead of being a direct biography, and as such it frequently makes changes to Marilyn Monroe's real life, right up to her death.
Marilyn Monroe died on August 4, 1962, shortly after she turned 36. She died from a fatal overdose of barbiturates, with the coroner ruling her death a suicide due to Monroe's history of suicidal ideation and the high number of pills taken. However, Monroe's death has been the object of speculation over the decades, with some believing that the overdose was accidental and others suspecting that she was murdered. Blonde's depiction of Monroe's death stays close to the established facts while largely altering the context of her suicide.
How Accurate Is Blonde's Depiction Of Marilyn Monroe's Death?
The ending of the movie Blonde depicts Monroe, played by Ana de Armas, taking pills and laying down in her bed nude before dying, clutching a telephone receiver. The film leaves some ambiguity about whether her death was a suicide or accidental overdose, but avoids any of the more outlandish theories about her passing. There are some slight changes to the real death. In Dominik's film, the death takes place during the day, but in reality Monroe died between 8:30-10:30 PM. Not portrayed in the film is a call from actor Peter Lawford around 8:00 when Monroe told him to "say goodbye" to numerous people. Lawford believed that Monroe was under the influence of drugs and unsuccessfully attempted to get someone to check on her. Monroe's housekeeper Eunice Murray and psychiatrist Ralph Greenson ultimately found her body at 3:30 AM the next morning.
While it is broadly faithful to how Monroe dies, the controversial NC-17-rated Blonde completely changes the context as to why she may have been motivated to commit suicide. The film depicts Monroe receiving letters throughout her career from a man claiming to be her absent father. However, on the day of her death she receives one final letter, which reveals that this was a hoax by her ex-lover Charlie "Cass" Chaplin Jr. This story seems to have been completely invented for the film and was not the cause of the real-life Monroe's suicide.
It is difficult to speculate as to why anyone would take their life, but Blonde leaves out details which may have put Monroe's suicide in context. Monroe had long suffered from mood swings and drug addiction. Her career was also in turmoil in the early 1960s. Much of the criticism of Blonde has to do with its dismissive attitude towards Monroe's acting, and this also affects its depiction of her death. Monroe had been shooting a film called Something's Got to Give with Dean Martin, but she was frequently absent on set due in part to illness. Studio Fox fired and sued Monroe, as well as publicly blaming her for the film's collapse, describing her as mentally disturbed and unprofessional. Monroe had reconciled with Fox shortly before her death, so it's hard to say that her professional difficulties were a direct cause of her suicide. However, including a fuller picture of Monroe's career, as well as her personal and mental struggles, might have given a more accurate idea of the context of her death than what's given in Blonde.
