"I want to grow old without a facelift; I want to have the courage to be true to the face I made. Sometimes I think it would be easier to avoid old age, die young, but then you would never finish your whole life, would you? You would never know yourself completely (Monroe) Although this statement did not come true, Marilyn Monroe had a life. memorable filled with ups and downs Who knew such a successful young woman had such an unstable life On June 1, 1926, a baby girl was born to Gladys Mortensen at 9:30 a.m. in Los Angeles, California. really knows who her father is, as her mother was with many men at the time she got pregnant, but I think it was either Martin Edward Mortensen or Charles Gifford. Her birth name was either Norma. Jeane Baker, or Norma Jeane Mortensen; known as Marilyn Monroe. She has two older half-siblings on her mother's side whom she has never met. Almost immediately after giving birth, Gladys Mortensen brought Norma to live with Ida and Albert Bolender, who raised her until she was seven years old. It's unclear why Gladys asked someone else to raise her little girl, but being a single working mother during the Great Depression wasn't easy. Others believe she simply didn't have the interest or commitment to raising a child. In 1933, after Norma's 7th birthday, her mother removed her from foster care and decided that she would try to raise her on her own. They never had a stable place to live and Norma was not used to the rowdiness and drinking in her new home. Several months later, Gladys began to become very depressed and avoid everyone around her. Unable to manage her life, she entered a nursing home and then the hospital. The rest of Norma's life would now be filled with chaos as she had nowhere to go besides foster care. In 1935, when Norma was nine years old, her mother was declared legally insane. Grace McKee, Gladys' best friend; asked to become Norma's legal guardian. While waiting for the court to appoint a new guardian, she was sent to live at the Los Angeles Orphans Home until she was eleven. In 1937, McKee and Ervin "Doc" Goddard married and became Norma's guardian. After six months with "Aunt Grace" and her family, she was sent to live with distant relatives in Compton...