During her short life, the star was married three different times, with each marriage ending in divorce. Marilyn was also linked to lots of steamy love affairs—some real and others concocted by the public imagination. Here's everything to know about Marilyn's husbands and boyfriends.
But the star, who was celebrated as a larger-than-life sex symbol, sought real love just like anyone else. She married three times during her far-too-short life: first to hometown love James Dougherty, then to baseball star Joe DiMaggio, then to playwright Arthur Miller.
What happened with Marilyn and her second husband?
The match was not meant to be. Monroe filed for divorce in October 1954, after only nine months of marriage. Having returned to Los Angeles from filming The Seven Year Itch with its famous skirt-blowing scene in New York City, she cited “mental cruelty” as a reason for divorce from DiMaggio, according to WWD.
James Dougherty (April 12, 1921 – August 15, 2005) was an American police officer, the first trainer of Special Weapons and Tactics. He is best known as the first husband of actress Marilyn Monroe. Torrance, California, U.S. San Rafael, California, U.S.
According to DiMaggio's attorney Morris Engelberg, DiMaggio's last words were "I'll finally get to see Marilyn." However, Joe's brother Dominic challenged Engelberg's version of Joe's final moments and his motives.
Marilyn Monroe’s Cause of Death Confirmed by Frank Sinatra After 60 Years
What did Joe DiMaggio do when Marilyn died?
Authorities at Monroe's house didn't know what to do or who to call, as Monroe had no family. So they called DiMaggio. DiMaggio stepped in and orchestrated his ex-wife's funeral. DiMaggio barred the public and almost all the Hollywood glitterati — producers, directors and actors — from the funeral.
Joe Dimaggio attends the funeral for Marilyn Monroe on August 8, 1962. The two were married in January 1956 and divorced 256 days later, only to reunite just prior to her suicide. For 20 years after her death, Dimaggio had a half-dozen red roses delivered to her crypt three times a week.
What was the age difference between Joe and Marilyn?
DiMaggio, 12 years older than Monroe, tried to control her career, discouraging her from taking roles that reinforced the sexualized blond-bombshell image she was best known for and encouraging her to become a full-time housewife. He also wanted her to dress more modestly and not outshine him in public.
Her first husband, James Dougherty, as well as Arthur Miller, her second, chose not to attend. And Marilyn=s mother, confined to a sanitarium, never learned of her daughter=s death. In fact, she seemed after some time not even to be sure who Norma Jean had been.
Here, LIFE.com presents pictures from October 6, 1954, when Marilyn stepped out of the house on North Palm Drive in Beverly Hills to announce she was seeking a divorce from DiMaggio on the grounds of “mental cruelty.” DiMaggio had initially been drawn (like a few hundred million other men) to Marilyn's “sex goddess” ...
Though he wasn't buried with her as originally planned, Marilyn was still on DiMaggio's mind when he left this world. According to Morris Engelberg, Joe's lawyer, his final words were, “I'll finally get to see Marilyn.” Peruse all the entries in our Grave Sightings series here.
She was 36 years old. Beside the bed was an empty bottle that had contained sleeping pills. Fourteen other bottles of medicines and tablets were on the night stand. The impact of Miss Monroe's death was international.
But her most well-known romance was arguably with Arthur Miller, the playwright, which lasted six years until 1961. They were seen as something of an odd couple at first; the bookish, literary great and his glamorous film star partner, but it ended up being one of the most important love affairs of her life.
Lawford says that in "slurred" speech Monroe told him she was "tired and would not be coming" to dinner. Then, as her voice became less audible, she told him, "Say goodbye to Pat. Say goodbye to Jack [President Kennedy]. And say goodbye to yourself, because you're a nice guy."
Arthur Miller (1956 - 1961) Monroe's longest marriage was to her third husband, “Crucible” playwright Arthur Miller. They met in 1951, according to “The Genius and the Goddess,” a book about their relationship.
Playboy publisher Hugh Hefner reportedly paid a private seller $75,000 for the crypt next to the late actress. He was interred there in 2017. Monroe was both the cover and centerfold for the first Playboy issue published in 1953.
She put $5,000 in a trust fund for the education of her assistant's child, and she left a $100,000 trust fund for her mother. 75 percent of Monroe's intellectual property and estate were left to her acting coach, Lee Strasberg, and the remaining 25 percent was given to her New York psychiatrist Dr. Marianne Kris.
While Blonde takes inspiration from real events, figures, and long-held rumors from the actor's life as a jumping point to imagine what Monroe may have thought and felt, the film is by no means a biopic. Like Oates' book, it's a definite work of fiction, dabbling in the experimental and including fantastical elements.
The True Story of The Charlie Chaplin Jr., Eddy Robinson Jr and Marilyn Monroe Throuple. Like the novel by Joyce Carol Oates that it is based on, Blonde—which is now streaming on Netflix—is a fictional story inspired by Marilyn Monroe's life.
When Monroe died, she was single and childless. She had a net worth of $800,000, approximately $7 million today. Monroe lived lavishly and spent her money freely on clothing, jewelry and her home. She was also extremely generous to her friends and employees.
Richard Poncher, who owned the crypt above Marilyn, was even buried face down so that he could stare at her in the afterlife. His widow has since removed his remains and auctioned off the crypt.
According to Biography, DiMaggio organized to have roses delivered to Monroe's Los Angeles crypt three times a week for 20 years after her death. “I'll go to my grave regretting and blaming myself for what happened to her,” DiMaggio is quoted as saying after her passing.
Years ago, Marilyn Monroe had taken a promise from Joe DiMaggio that she wanted roses sent to her every week, and he kept that promise. Until he died in 1999, he would send fresh roses to her grave a few times a week. She had said, “Six fresh long-stemmed red roses, three times a week … forever.”
