Marilyn Monroe's Real Name: Norma Jeane Mortenson

Quick answer: Marilyn Monroe's real name is Norma Jeane Mortenson. She was born on June 1, 1926, in Los Angeles, California. She died on August 4, 1962, in Los Angeles.

Real name and early life

Biography.com records her birth name as Norma Jeane Mortenson. She was later baptized Norma Jeane Baker, and that is the name most associated with her early years. She spent much of her childhood in foster homes and an orphanage, and married James Dougherty at 16.

During World War II she was working in a factory when a photographer from the Army's First Motion Picture Unit photographed her. That led to a pin-up modeling career and short film contracts with 20th Century Fox and Columbia Pictures.

Quick facts

• Real name: Norma Jeane Mortenson
• Known as: Marilyn Monroe
• Born: June 1, 1926, in Los Angeles, California
• Died: August 4, 1962, in Los Angeles
• Known for: Actor
• Notable work: Niagara, Gentlemen Prefer Blondes, How to Marry a Millionaire, The Seven Year Itch
• Sources checked: Biography.com

Career highlights

After a longer Fox contract began in 1951, she became one of Hollywood's most marketable stars in 1953 with Niagara, Gentlemen Prefer Blondes, and How to Marry a Millionaire. The Seven Year Itch (1955), Bus Stop (1956), and Billy Wilder's Some Like It Hot (1959) followed.

Monroe was top-billed for a decade, and her films grossed about $200 million by the time she died. She married baseball star Joe DiMaggio and later playwright Arthur Miller. She died at her Los Angeles home on August 4, 1962, at age 36.

Name notes

"Marilyn Monroe" was a screen name she took around 1946. Monroe was her mother's maiden name. Encyclopedias and Biography.com treat Norma Jeane Mortenson as her birth name and Norma Jeane Baker as her baptismal name. Fan sites often copy names from one another, so we checked this page against Biography.com. Where sources disagree, we say so rather than guess. We also leave out middle names, nicknames, and origin stories that we couldn't confirm in a reliable source. A popular claim isn't enough to earn a place on this page if no encyclopedia, official record, or major news outlet backs it up.