On August 5, 1962, housekeeper Eunice Murray discovered Marilyn Monroe dead in her Brentwood bedroom, an apparent overdose of barbiturates ruled a 'probable suicide' by the Los Angeles County coroner. The actress, born Norma Jeane Mortenson, had become the era's defining sex symbol through films like 'Some Like It Hot' and 'Gentlemen Prefer Blondes,' and her death at 36 spawned decades of conspiracy theories.
Monroe's final months had been turbulent. Twentieth Century-Fox fired her from the unfinished film 'Something's Got to Give' after repeated absences, though the studio quietly began renegotiating her contract before her death. She had been romantically linked, credibly or not, to both President John F. Kennedy and his brother Robert, fueling speculation that persists to this day about the circumstances surrounding her death.
Her housekeeper found her lying face down, one hand on the telephone, with an empty bottle of Nembutal on the nightstand. Los Angeles police and the coroner's office ruled the death a probable suicide, noting a history of depression and previous overdose attempts, but the toxicology findings—high barbiturate levels without the expected residue in her stomach—left room for enduring doubt.
Monroe left behind no children and a modest estate, most of which she willed to her acting coach and, ultimately, to Lee Strasberg's widow. Her image, endlessly reproduced by Andy Warhol and countless imitators, became bigger than her actual film career, a haunting emblem of Hollywood's capacity to manufacture and then discard its own icons.