Marilyn Monroe’s Famous Picture Ended Her Marriage To Joe DiMaggio

It's probably one of the most famous pictures in Hollywood history. The one of Marilyn Monroe, laughing as her skirt is blown up by a blast from a subway vent. It was part of a promotional photo shoot for the movie, The Seven Year Itch. Her husband, Joe DiMaggio, was furious over it. He thought it was porn. A short time later they divorced.

Marilyn Monroe's real name was Norma Jean Baker and almost her entire life was a tragedy. Her mother was sent to a mental institution when Norma Jean was five. So she lived in a series of foster homes where she was neglected and abused and later lived in an orphanage.

She quit high school at 16 and got married. When her first husband joined the military, Norma Jean worked as a paint sprayer in a defense plant. It was there that a photographer spotted her, took her picture and she became a popular pin-up girl. She divorced her husband when she began working as a model. She was paid $50.00 for nude calendar picture, but the calendar sold a million copies.

So 20^thCentury Fox signed her to a movie contract and began giving her feature roles. She married DiMaggio in 1954 and their marriage lasted less than a year, but DiMaggio never stopped loving her. She died in 1962 and for the next 20 years he had half a dozen red roses delivered to her grave three times a week. He never spoke about it publicly, he never wrote a book and never remarried.

The famous picture that ended their marriage was taken on this date, September 15^th,
1954.