A Peek Behind the Curtain of Marilyn Monroe's Home Life

Marilyn Monroe was born Norma Jeane Mortenson to Gladys Pearl Baker in Los Angeles in 1926. Eventually, she'd take her mother's maiden name, Monroe, as her stage name.

Unable to care for her daughter, Baker placed Marilyn in the care of foster parents in then-rural Hawthorne, California, outside of Los Angeles. But she regularly visited her daughter and sometimes brought her back to the city to stay with her.

After a psychotic episode, Baker was diagnosed with schizophrenia and committed to a hospital. For much of her childhood, Marilyn moved between foster homes and even an orphanage.

During her unstable childhood, Marilyn found an escape in films. By the time she was in high school, she had decided she'd become an actress.

At age 16, Marilyn dropped out of school and married James Dougherty, then a factory worker. He later enlisted in the Merchant Navy.

Dougherty and Marilyn moved to Santa Catalina Island, where he was stationed during training. They'd divorce after four years of marriage.

As a young adult, Marilyn pursued modeling. Her agency, Blue Book Modeling Agency, suggested she do pin-up rather than high fashion, leading the future star to dye her hair blonde.

To transition from modeling to acting, Marilyn enrolled in acting school, where she also learned singing and dancing. But she continued modeling on the side.

Marilyn's acting breakthrough occurred in 1950, when she landed small roles in All About Eve and The Asphalt Jungle. During this period, she hopped around apartments in West Hollywood, living with different roommates from the film industry.

She usually didn't stay in one rental for more than a few months. For extended stretches, she'd even live in hotels, like the Hotel Bel Air.

In 1952, Marilyn began dating retired New York Yankees baseball star Joe DiMaggio. They split time between New York, Los Angeles, and San Francisco, where Joe was from.

The couple later rented a home in the Hollywood Hills together. It reportedly cost $237 per month.

Marilyn and Joe wed in San Francisco in 1954. They spent time living at the Imperial Hotel in Tokyo, while on their honeymoon. Here, the star does press while on vacation.

The couple also spent time in San Francisco at Joe's home and at the St. Regis hotel in New York, while Marilyn filmed The Seven Year Itch.

The marriage only lasted nine months. Here, a distraught Marilyn is photographed leaving her home at 508 North Palm Drive in Beverly Hills with her lawyer, Jerry Giesler.

At the end of 1954, Marilyn relocated to New York. She'd live there semi-permanently for seven years.

Still, Marilyn continued to embrace a semi-nomadic lifestyle while in New York. She moved from hotel to hotel, apartment to apartment.

While in New York, Marilyn took method acting classes at the Actors Studio. She befriended its founder, Lee Strasberg, and his wife.

Marilyn frequented the theater during her tenure in New York. Here she's seen getting ready to see Cat on a Hot Tin Roof.

She also became romantically involved with one of the decade's biggest playwrights, Arthur Miller. (Though she also dated Marlon Brando during this period.)