Marilyn Monroe (born Norma Jeane Mortenson)
(June 1, 1926 – August 4, 1962)
Actress, model, and singer Marilyn Monroe was famous for
playing comic "blonde bombshell" characters. She became
one of the most popular sex symbols of the 1950s and early
1960s. Although she was a top-billed actress for only one
decade, her films grossed $200 million (equivalent to $2
billion in 2018) by the time of her unexpected death in
1962. More than half a century later, she continues to be
a major popular culture icon.
Marilyn Monroe poses over the updraft of a New York
subway grate while filming "The Seven Year Itch" in
New York in 1954. (AP)