Marilyn Monroe—An always Glamour Queen
玛丽莲·梦露——永恒的性感女神
Marilyn Monroe's career as an actress spanned 16 years. She made 29 films， 24 in the first 8 years of her career.
Born as Norma Jeane Baker on June 1， 1926 in Los Angeles General Hospital， her mother， Gladys， listed the father's address as unknown. Marilyn would never know the true identity of her father.
Norma Jeane spent most of her childhood in foster homes and orphanages until 1937， when she moved in with family friend aunt Grace McKee Goddard. Unfortunately， when Grace's husband was transferred to the East Coast in 1942， the couple couldn't afford to take 16-year-old Norma Jeane with them. Norma Jeane had two options： return to the orphanage or get married. On June 19， 1942 she wedded her 21-year-old neighbor Jimmy Dougherty， whom she had been dating for six months. “She was a sweet， generous and religious girl，” Jimmy said， “she liked to be cuddled.” By all accounts Norma Jeane loved Jimmy， and they were happy together until he joined the Merchant Marines and was sent to the South Pacific in 1944.
After Jimmy left， Norma Jeane took a job on the assembly line at the Radio Plane Munitions factory in Burbank， California. Several months later， photographer David Conover saw her while taking pictures of women contributing to the war effort for Yank magazine. He couldn't believe his luck. She was a “photographer's dream”. Conover used her for the shoot and then began sending modeling jobs in her way. The camera loved Norma Jeane， and within two years she was a reputable model with many popular magazine covers to her credit. She began studying the work of legendary actresses Jean Harlow and Lana Turner， and enrolled in drama classes with dreams of stardom. However， Jimmy's return in 1946 meant Norma Jeane had to make another choice—this time between her marriage and her career. Norma Jeane divorced Jimmy in June of 1946， and signed her first studio contract with Twentieth Century Fox on August 26， 1946. She earned 125 a week. Soon after， Norma Jeane dyed her hair blonde and changed her name to Marilyn Monroe (borrowing her grandmother's last name). The rest， as the saying goes， is history.
Marilyn's first movie role was a bit part in 1947's The Shocking Miss Pilgrim. She played a series of inconsequential characters until 1950， when John Huston's thriller The Asphalt Jungle provided her with a small but influential role. Later that year， Marilyn's performance as Claudia Caswell in All About Eve (starring Bette Davis) earned her further praise. From then on Marilyn worked steadily in movies such as： Let's Make It Legal， As Young As You Feel， Monkey Business and Don't Bother to Knock. It was her performance in 1953's Niagara， however， that， as a turning point， delivered her to stardom.
In 1956， Marilyn started her own motion picture company， Marilyn Monroe Productions. The company produced Bus Stop and The Prince and the Showgirl (co-starring Sir Laurence Olivier). These two films allowed her to demonstrate her talent and versatility as an actress. Marilyn received best recognition for 1959's Some Like It Hot， winning a Golden Globe for Best Actress in a Comedy. On June 29， 1956， Marilyn wed playwright Arthur Miller. The couple met through Strasberg， and friends reported she made him “giddy”. While they were married， Arthur wrote in 1961's The Misfits especially for Marilyn. The movie co-starred Clark Gable and Montgomery Clift. Sadly， after the movie， Clark Gable died of heart disease. The Misfits was to be Marilyn's (and Gable's) last completed film， and the marriage between Marilyn and Arthur ended on November 20， 1961.
At the 1962 Golden Globes， Marilyn was named female World Film Favorite， once again demonstrating her widespread appeal. Sadly， in a shocking turn of events on the early morning of August 5， 1962， 36-year-old Marilyn died in her sleep at her Brentwood， California home. The world was stunned. Marilyn's vibrant spirit and beauty made it impossible to believe she was gone. On August 8， 1962， Marilyn's body was laid to rest in the Corridor of Memories， #24， at Westwood Memorial Park in Los Angeles， California. During her career， Marilyn made 30 films and left one， Something's Got to Give， unfinished. She was more than just a movie star or glamour queen. A global sensation in her lifetime， Marilyn's popularity has extended beyond star status to icon. Today， the name “Marilyn Monroe” is synonymous with beauty， sensuality and effervescence.
玛丽莲·梦露从影16年，拍片29部，其中24部是在她步入影坛后的前8年拍摄的。
诺玛·琼·培克1926年6月1日生于洛杉矶综合医院。母亲戈莱蒂在她的出生证明中把父亲一栏填为空白。因此玛丽莲永远也无法得知她的生身父亲究竟是谁。
诺玛·琼从小便寄居在别人家里，从这一家到那一家，从孤儿院到收容所，她尝尽颠沛流离的滋味。1937年，小诺玛来到了葛瑞斯·麦克·德妲姨妈家寄居。可到了1942年，葛瑞斯姨妈的丈夫被调往东海岸，葛瑞斯姨妈无法继续抚养16岁的诺玛·琼。此时摆在诺玛面前的只有两条路：要么回孤儿院，要么结婚。1942年6月19日，诺玛嫁给了她的邻居——21岁的吉米·多佛第，在这之前他们只交往过6个月。吉米曾形容梦露是个“甜美、大方、虔诚的姑娘，她喜欢被人拥抱”。诺玛那时深爱吉米，他们在一起度过了一段幸福的日子。直到1944年吉米入伍被派遣到南太平洋海运舰队，他们只好被迫分开。
吉米离开后，诺玛·琼在加利福尼亚从柏雷克市的军用航空广播站找到了份工作。几个月过后，摄影师大卫·克诺沃在为《北方人》杂志拍摄服务于美国战士的妇女时，无意间发现了诺玛。大卫简直都不敢相信自己的运气，竟然会让他找到这样一个“摄影师眼中的尤物”。接下来克诺沃为诺玛拍了一系列照片，还介绍她去当模特儿。诺玛非常上镜，她是闪光灯下的宠儿。短短两年时间里，诺玛就成了一个颇有名气的模特，许多时尚杂志都乐意把她作为封面人物。诺玛开始暗自向当红影星珍·哈露、拉娜·托尔内学习演戏，还带着一个明星梦报名参加了演艺学习班。然而，1946年，吉米退伍回家，这就意味着，面对婚姻和事业，她不得不重新做出选择。同年6月诺玛·琼选择与吉米离婚，紧接着在8月26日她与二十世纪福克斯公司签署了第一份影视合同，这样她每周能赚到125美元。不久之后，诺玛·琼就把头发染成了金黄色，为自己起了个艺名——玛丽莲·梦露（借用了她奶奶的姓氏）。再之后，就是我们所熟知的那段陈年往事了。
1947年玛丽莲拍了第一部电影《可怕的朝圣者小姐》，但她在片中只是个小配角。接连几部电影，她都是在影片中扮演一些跑堂的角色。直到1950年，约翰·休斯顿导演大胆启用玛丽莲，让她在大片《柏油丛林》中担任一两场重头戏。年末，玛丽莲与蓓蒂·黛维斯搭戏拍摄了《伊芙的底细》，在影片中所扮演的克罗地亚·卡斯韦尔那楚楚动人的形象为她赢得了更多的声誉。此后，玛丽莲片约不断，拍了一系列电影：《让我们使它合法化》、《青春常驻》、《猴门企业》、《无须敲门》。然而，她从影道路上真正的转折点是1953年拍摄的电影《尼亚加拉》，该片使玛丽莲一跃成为一流的好莱坞明星。
1956年，玛丽莲创建了一家自己的电影公司——玛丽莲·梦露制作公司。该公司拍摄的电影有：《公共汽车站》、《王子与舞女》（与劳伦斯·奥立佛主演）。这两部电影为梦露提供了一个绝佳的平台来展现她的演艺天赋及多才多艺的一面。1959年拍摄的喜剧《热情似火》成为她票房收入最高的影片，并为梦露赢得了金球奖最佳女主角。1956年6月29日，玛丽莲与剧作家阿瑟·米勒另缔良缘。他们在星巴克咖啡厅里相识，有朋友回忆说和梦露在一起，让米勒有一种“晕晕”的感觉。婚后，米勒在1961年特意为妻子写了一部剧本《不合时宜的人》。后来这部剧本拍成电影，由梦露、克拉克·盖博和蒙哥马利·克里夫特主演。谁也不曾料到，停机没几天，克拉克·盖博因心脏病猝发，不治身亡。《不合时宜的人》竟是俩人合作的最后一部影片。同年11月20日，梦露与丈夫阿瑟·米勒正式分手。
1962年的金球奖颁奖典礼中，玛丽莲获得世界最受欢迎女影星提名，再一次在世人面前展现出她的绝代风华。然而，不幸的是，1962年8月5日清晨，年仅36岁的玛丽莲被发现死于加利福尼亚布赖顿伍德市的家中。全世界为之震惊！谁都无法相信朝气蓬勃、美丽性感的梦露就这么离我们而去了。1962年8月8日，在加利福尼亚洛杉矶的韦斯特伍德纪念公园，玛丽莲的遗体被安葬在怀念廊24号墓地。纵观梦露的一生的演艺事业，拍片30部，其中有一部电影《命中注定》尚未拍完。在人们眼中，她不仅是电影明星，也不仅是性感女神。她的一生全球瞩目，知名度无人能及，她已成为人们心中永恒的偶像。如今，玛丽莲·梦露这个名字已经成了美丽、性感、生气勃勃的代名词。
译者感言
金发，碧眼，红唇，被风吹起的白色裙子，这是玛丽莲·梦露留在世人心中的永恒形象。然而，这位“性感女神”童年颠沛流离；婚姻几经波折，心力交瘁；骤然离世，至今都是未解之谜。
1962年8月5日，美国好莱坞的一代尤物玛丽莲·梦露扑朔迷离般地离开了人世。然而她留给世人的一切至今还被人们怀念——她的美貌，她的坎坷，她生前的璀璨，逝后的辉煌。一个出生卑微、无家可归的女孩，美貌、身材是梦露惟一的武器，在好莱坞这个梦工厂被打造成一代性感偶像。然而好莱坞在造就她的同时也在诈取她。梦露从影16年，拍片29部，她用自己的青春和美丽为好莱坞盈利2亿多美元，直至今天她的影片依然经典不衰。然而有谁能料到，梦露去世时，她银行存款仅够支付自己的丧葬费。或许，我们依然会对梦露的迷人照片流连忘返，但又有谁在那迷离的眼神中读懂了她的那份忧伤呢？
