She legally changed her name to Marilyn Monroe almost a decade later. It was just days before she signed her contract with 20th Century Fox on August 24, 1946. Monroe was 20 years old at the time when she got her new name. Miller and Lyon were rumored to be romantically involved, according to The Los Angeles Times. The studio executive took the name from Marilyn Miller, a Broadway musical actor. Multiple people contributed to the creation of her full stage name, but it was Lyon who came up with 'Marilyn,' Spoto wrote. She then changed her surname to Dougherty after her first marriage to James Doughtery at 16 years old.īen Lyon, a studio executive from 20th Century Fox, took issue with the last name because he felt people wouldn't be able to pronounce it properly, according to Daniel Spoto's 'Marilyn Monroe: The Biography.' Her birth certificate states her full name as Norma Jeane Mortensen, according to a 1981 New York Times article, before she was later baptized as Norma Jeane Baker.

There's no mention of how Monroe got her iconic name in 'Blonde,' but it's a critical part of her metamorphosis.Īs shown in the movie, Monroe's real name was Norma Jeane. The closest to a confirmation that Gifford was Monroe's father was a documentary released this year, 'Marilyn, Her Final Secret.' Using a lock of Monroe's hair and a saliva sample from Gifford's great-grandchild, the documentary used DNA tests to conclude that Gifford was Monroe's long-lost father. Monroe had made efforts to reach out to Gifford, according to Charles Casillo's biography 'Marilyn Monroe: The Private Life of a Public Icon.' But the man would deny the claim. Similarly, the real Monroe never met her real father, and his identity has always been the subject of speculation.Īccording to Inside Edition, Monroe believed that her father was Charles Stanley Gifford, who had a brief affair with her mother. In the movie, Monroe's mother refers to him as a 'titan' of the acting industry, whom Monroe desperately hopes to meet. He's an unnamed voice in a series of mysterious letters to his daughter or a black-and-white image on the wall. It often indicates a user profile.ĭominik's film maintains a mystery around the identity of Monroe's biological father. Account icon An icon in the shape of a person's head and shoulders.

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