Marilyn Monroe
Marilyn Monroe was born in the charity ward of the Los Angeles County Hospital.[1][10] According
to biographer Fred Lawrence Guiles, her grandmother, Della Monroe Grainger, had her baptized
Norma Jeane Baker by Aimee Semple McPherson.[1] Although she took a stagename of Marilyn
Monroe in 1946, she did not legally change her name until February 23, 1956.[11] Her mother was
Gladys Pearl (Monroe) Baker.[12] Her family is believed to have been Anglo-Spanish originally; and
possibly related to the Sepulvedas. [13] For many years it was believed Gladys' second husband Martin
Edward Mortenson (18971981) was Monroe's father. His name was listed on her birth certificate. [14]
Foster homes
Mentally unstable and unable to care for Monroe, Gladys placed her with foster parents Albert and Ida
Bolender of Hawthorne, California, where she lived until she was seven.[15] In her autobiography My
Story, Monroe states she believed Albert was a woman.
One day, Gladys announced she bought a house