Marilyn Monroe leans over the back of the front seat of a car on the set of 'The Misfits,' directed by John Huston, Nevada, 1960.Ernst Haas—Getty Images
When Marilyn Monroe died on Aug. 5, 1962, she left behind a series of contradictions. The actress panicked easily, but basked in public attention. She was sometimes troubled by her status as a sex symbol, yet she was willing to profit from it. It was a see-saw life, as TIME’s obituary for the Hollywood icon made clear:
She had always been late for everything, but her truancy was never heedlessness. Beset by self-doubt and hints of illness, she would stay alone, missing appointments, keeping whole casts waiting in vain. In the past year, her tardiness was measured in weeks instead of hours. In 32 days on the set of Something’s Got to Give, she showed up only 12 times, made only 7 ½ usable minutes of film. When fired from the picture, she sent telegrams of regrets to all the grips on the lot.
…She seemed euphonic and cheerful, even while 20th Century-Fox was filing suit against her in hopes of salvaging $750,000 damages from the wreckage of Something’s Got to Give. She offered a photographer exclusive rights to nearly-nude shots of her from the set because, she said, “I want the world to see my body.” Last week, she negotiated still another sale of a nude photograph to a picture magazine.
She spent her last day alive sunbathing, glancing over filmscripts. playing with two cloth dolls—a lamb and a tiger. She went to bed early, but later her housekeeper noticed light spilling through the crack under her bedroom door, and summoned doctors. They broke in through her windows and found Marilyn Monroe dead. By her bedside stood an empty bottle that three days before had held 50 sleeping pills. One hand rested on the telephone and the other was at her chin, holding the sheets that covered her body.
Marilyn Monroe on the patio outside of her home, 1953.Alfred Eisenstaedt—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty ImagesMarilyn Monroe posing in a studio, 1949.J.R. Eyerman—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty ImagesMarilyn Monroe in dance class, 1949.J.R. Eyerman—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty ImagesMarilyn Monroe in Griffith Park, Los Angeles, California, 1950.Ed Clark—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty ImagesMarilyn Monroe in Griffith Park, Los Angeles, California, 1950.Ed Clark—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty ImagesMarilyn Monroe strikes a pose, 1950.Ed Clark—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty ImagesMarilyn Monroe talking on the phone during an interview for the movie "Clash by Night," while producer Jerry Wald looks on, 1951.Bob Landry—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty ImagesMarilyn Monroe at the Club Del Mar, where she received the Henrietta Award for Best Young Box Office Personality, given by the Foreign Press Association of Hollywood, 1952.Loomis Dean—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty ImagesMarilyn Monroe at home, 1953.Alfred Eisenstaedt—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty ImagesMarilyn Monroe wearing her famous gold lamé gown designed by Bill Travilla for a publicity still for the motion picture "Gentlemen Prefer Blondes," 1953.Ed Clark—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty ImagesMarilyn Monroe and Jane Russell in a scene from the movie "Gentlemen Prefer Blondes," 1953.Ed Clark—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty ImagesA tearful Marilyn Monroe standing outside her home to face dozens of reporters after the announcement of her divorce from Joe DiMaggio, 1954.George Silk—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty ImagesActor Robert Mitchum wrestles with Marilyn Monroe in a scene from the film "River of No Return," 1954.John Swope—The LIFE Images Collection/Getty ImagesMarilyn Monroe sits on a piano in a scene from "River of No Return," 1954.J.R. Eyerman—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty ImagesMarilyn Monroe attends the premiere for 'East of Eden' at the Astor Theater, New York City, 1955.Michael Rougier—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty ImagesMarilyn Monroe and playwright Arthur Miller sit in a Thunderbird convertible, 1956.Paul Schutzer—The LIFE Images Collection/Getty ImagesAmbassador Winthrop Aldrich, ex-envoy to Britain, chats with Marilyn Monroe as her husband, Arthur Miller, looks on at the April in Paris Ball, Waldorf Astoria Hotel, 1957.Peter Stackpole—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty ImagesMarilyn Monroe looks startled while holding a flaming sparkler in the Rockefeller Center Sidewalk Superintendents Club during a ceremony for the soon-to-be built Time & Life Building, 1957.Walter Daran—The LIFE Images Collection/Getty ImagesProducer Kermit Bloomgarden (right) visits with Arthur Miller (center) and his wife, Marilyn Monroe, in their apartment, 1958.Robert W. Kelley—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty ImagesMarilyn Monroe peers out at husband Arthur Miller from behind a door to see if he approves, 1960.John Bryson—The LIFE Images Collection/Getty Images
