My work is the only ground I've ever had to stand on. I seem to have a whole superstructure with no foundation but I'm working on the foundation.

In the decades following her death Marilyn Monroe has often been cited as both a pop and a cultural icon as well as the quintessential American sex symbol. Family and early life

Marilyn Monroe was born on June 1 1926 in the Los Angeles County Hospital as Norma Jeane Mortenson (soon after changed to Baker) the third child born to Gladys Pearl Baker (née Monroe May 27 1902 – March 11 1984). Lyon did not like the name Norma Jeane and chose "Carole Lind" as a stage name after Carole Lombard and Jenny Lind but he soon decided it was not an appropriate choice.

In the decades following her death Marilyn Monroe has often been cited as both a pop and a cultural icon as well as the quintessential American sex symbol. 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.