She was the greatest goddess of cinema, the main living sex symbol of her time; Marilyn Monroe was desired by many men and is still an inspiration to many generations of women. Even more than fifty years after his death, he continues to be an unrivaled icon of fashion and cinema. Even though Marilyn Monroe is not alive today, she still continues to influence today's society by challenging the typical "model" standard. Marilyn Monroe was born Norma Jeane Baker on June 1, 1926 in Los Angeles, California. During his early years he overcame many difficulties. Marilyn's father abandoned the family before her birth, so she spent much of her childhood without knowing her father's identity. There are two possibilities: Edward Mortenson, who was named on his birth certificate, and Stanley Gifford, who worked with his mother Gladys. Marilyn moved between many foster families, when her mother was sent to a mental hospital after developing psychiatric problems. Eventually, Grace McKee, her mother's best friend, became her guardian. McKee allowed nine-year-old Marilyn to curl her hair and wear makeup until McKee married and sent her to an orphanage. She was then sent to live with her great-aunt, Olive Brunings, and Marilyn was thought to have been sexually assaulted by Olive's son. When Marilyn was sixteen, she escaped her previous life by marrying Jim Dougherty, a twenty-one-year-old airplane manufacturer. worker, from whom he unfortunately divorced four years later. By this time she had started posing for pin-ups and glamor shots, having bleached her hair blonde - which took her nine times to get the color right. Howard Hughes tried to audition her, but was beaten to the punch by 20th Century Fox, who offered to sign her to a contract. Mari...... half of the paper ......nist, June 2, 2002. Web. April 17, 2014. "The Hidden Life of Marilyn Monroe: Hollywood's Original Mind Control Slave." TheVigilantCitizen.com. The Vigilant Citizen, May 21, 2013. Web. April 23, 2014. .Warlick, Heather. "50 years later, Marilyn Monroe still influences fashion and beauty." NewsOK.com. OK News, July 30, 2012. Web. April 15, 2014. Wilson, Craig. "The legend of Marilyn Monroe lives on 50 years after her death." USAToday.com. USA Today, July 31, 2012. Web. April 16. 2014. .