Before Norma Jeane Mortenson (also Baker) became Marilyn Monroe, she began modeling in hair care ads, portraits and more. Here, see part of her career journey.
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1945, Marilyn Monroe: Model to Actress
Image Credit: Donaldson Collection/Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images Blue Book Model Norma Jeane Mortenson (later Marilyn Monroe) poses for a hair products advertisement in 1945 in Los Angeles.
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1946, Marilyn Monroe: Model to Actress
Image Credit: Richard C. Miller/Donaldson Collection/Getty Images Marilyn Monroe then known as Norma Jeane Mortenson poses for a portrait in 1946 in Los Angeles.
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1946, Marilyn Monroe: Model to Actress
Image Credit: Getty Images Marilyn Monroe then known as Norma Jeane Mortenson poses for a portrait in 1946 in Los Angeles.
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1947, Marilyn Monroe: Model to Actress
Image Credit: Michael Ochs Archives Marilyn Monroe poses for a portrait in 1947.
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1947, Marilyn Monroe: Model to Actress
Image Credit: Getty Images Marilyn Monroe poses for photographer Earl Theisen in 1947 in Los Angeles.
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1949, Marilyn Monroe: Model to Actress; The Red Velvet Series of Nudes (1949)
Image Credit: Getty Images In 1949, 22-year-old Monroe received $50 to pose nude for a Los Angeles photographer against a red velvet backdrop. Monroe had initially refused to pose until financial desperation led her to agree, according the Monroe biography “Marilyn: Her Life in Her Own Words.” “I was desperate,” Monroe explained. “What else could I do?” She insisted on anonymity and used the alias “Mona Monroe.”
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1950, Marilyn Monroe: Model to Actress
Image Credit: L. J. Willinger/Keystone Features/Hulton Archive/Getty Images Marilyn Monroe circa 1950.
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1954, Marilyn Monroe: Model to Actress
Image Credit: Corbis via Getty Images Marilyn Monroe models for English photographer Baron, in Palm Springs, Calif., 1954. Monroe began her career as a photographer’s model in 1946 and after several small parts in films and a high powered studio publicity campaign, became an international star.
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1954, Marilyn Monroe: Model to Actress
Image Credit: Baron/Hulton Archive/Getty Image Marilyn Monroe (1926-1962). See her transformation from Norma Jeane Baker to Marilyn Monroe in photos