Marilyn Monroe Informative Speech

Marilyn Monroe  (born  Norma Jeane Mortenson; June 1, 1926 – August 5, 1962) was an  American  actress,  model, and  singer, who became a major  sex symbol, starring in a number of commercially successful motion pictures during the 1950s and early 1960s. After spending much of her childhood in  foster  homes, Monroe began a career as a model, which led to a film contract in 1946 with  Twentieth Century-Fox. Her early film appearances were minor, but her performances in  The Asphalt Jungle  and  All About Eve  (both 1950), drew attention.By 1952 she had her first leading role in  Don't Bother to Knock and 1953 brought a lead in  Niagara, a melodramatic  film noir  that dwelt on her seductiveness. Her â€Å"dumb blonde† persona was used to comic effect in subsequent films such as  Gentlemen Prefer Blondes  (1953),  How to Marry a Millionaire  (1953) andThe Seven Year Itch  (1955). Limited by  typecasting, Monroe studied at t he  Actors Studio  to broaden her range. Her dramatic performance in  Bus Stop  (1956) was hailed by critics and garnered a  Golden Globe  nomination.Her production company, Marilyn Monroe Productions, released  The Prince and the Showgirl  (1957), for which she received a  BAFTA Award  nomination and won a  David di Donatello  award. She received a  Golden Globe Award  for her performance in  Some Like It Hot  (1959). Monroe's last completed film was  The Misfits  (1961), co-starring  Clark Gable  with  screenplayby her then-husband,  Arthur Miller. The final years of Monroe's life were marked by illness, personal problems, and a reputation for unreliability and being difficult to work with.The circumstances of her death, from an overdose of  barbiturates, have been the subject of conjecture. Though officially classified as a â€Å"probable suicide†, the possibility of an accidental overdose, as well as of homicide, have not been ruled out. In 1999, Monroe was ranked as the  sixth-greatest female star of all time  by the  American Film Institute. In the decades following her death, she has often been cited as both a  pop  and a  cultural icon  as well as the quintessential American sex symbol. [6][7][8]  In 2009,  TV Guide Network  named her #1 in  Film's Sexiest Women of All Time.