But she was always prepared to triumph in her career. Monroe certainly didn't experience overnight success - she cycled through a couple of movie studios, and saw film contracts expire. To gain experience for a role in B movie Ladies of the Chorus (1948), she performed in a burlesque show under the name 'Mona Monroe.' For a working-class role in the film Clash by Night (1952), she observed workers in a cannery (and apparently was offered a job beheading fish). However, she also worked hard by taking lessons and giving her all to the parts that came her way. READ MORE: Inside Marilyn Monroe and Joe DiMaggio's Roller Coaster Romance Becoming an A-List movie start didn't come easyĪs she started out in the movie industry, Monroe did submit to the casting couch. I never felt like a star before in my heart.' Monroe later noted the experience 'was the best thing that ever happened to me. She did 10 shows in four days, despite freezing temperatures that contributed to her developing pneumonia. Her routine, which featured her onstage in a sparkling purple dress, was a huge hit. Monroe demonstrated her gratitude to these fans by interrupting her honeymoon with second husband Joe DiMaggio to visit troops in Korea in February 1954. After she'd transformed into an actress called Marilyn Monroe, army publication Stars & Stripes dubbed her 'Miss Cheesecake of 1951' as her film career was taking off. Monroe became a model and went on to take risqué pin-up photos that would be hugely popular with soldiers in Korea. There, she was discovered by a photographer searching for subjects to inspire the troops. During the war, she went to work in a factory that made military drones.

In the early years of World War II, Monroe was a teenaged housewife named Norma Jeane Dougherty. Here are six fascinating facts about her life that reveal a more nuanced picture of the real woman behind the legend: Monroe cut her honeymoon short to entertain the troops As with many pop-culture figures, some overly hyped aspects of Monroe's story - such as her reputation as a 'dumb blonde' and the mystery around her death - have often overshadowed other aspects of her legacy. Marilyn Monroe died on August 5, 1962, yet she's remained an unforgettable icon for more than half a century.

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