From a hard childhood lived largely in foster homes, she ascended
to the highest of Hollywood heights-
a screen icon beyond compare. And then she died young under
mysterious circumstances, tragically
cementing her legend. The life story of Norma Jeane Baker, the girl
who would become Marilyn Monroe, is as thrilling, glamorous and
dramatic as anything seen on the big screen, and the camera was
there to capture every chapter. With intimate, rarely seen
photographs of a pretty little child growing up in California
during the 1930s right through to the classic imagery of the movie
star in the 1950s and '60s made by LIFE's legendary team of
photographers, this book is a warm portrait of a woman who was
majestic and vulnerable in equal measure. These pages prove beyond
any doubt: There has never been another like Marilyn, and there
never will be.
