How World War II Made a Model Girl of Marilyn

Writing for Den of Geek, David Crow looks at how World War II changed the life of young Norma Jeane Dougherty, ultimately setting her on a path to stardom as Marilyn Monroe. (David has also written about how the war impacted other stars’ careers, including Clark Gable, James Stewart, and Audrey Hepburn.)

“During the height of the American war effort in the 1940s, the woman who would become Marilyn Monroe spent her days at Radioplane, a munitions factory in Los Angeles’ Van Nuys neighbourhood. There she helped build what became the first mass-produced military drones the world would ever know. It was a different kind of life from Hollywood glamour, and yet an argument has been made that she wouldn’t have achieved one without the other. Perhaps Marilyn Monroe would never have existed if Norma Jeane didn’t get the opportunity to do her part in the war, and catch the eye of a military photographer working for Ronald Reagan … “