Marilyn Monroe’s Life in Foster Care and the Trauma That Shaped a Hollywood Icon

Marilyn Monroe is remembered as a symbol of glamour in classic Hollywood, celebrated for her unforgettable performances, timeless beauty, and lasting cultural influence. Behind the carefully crafted Hollywood persona, however, was Norma Jeane Mortenson—a child who spent much of her early life moving through foster homes and orphanage dormitories. Marilyn Monroe’s life in foster care reveals a story of instability, loss, and resilience, offering critical insight into the emotional trauma and mental health struggles that followed her throughout her life.

Early Childhood and Experience in Foster Care

When Marilyn Monroe was born on June 1, 1962, in the charity ward of Los Angeles General Hospital, she was named Norma Jeane Baker. She was the third child of Gladys Baker, who worked as a film cutter at a Hollywood studio, where she reportedly met Charles Stanley Gifford, who may likely have been Norma Jeane’s father. At the time of her birth, however, Norma Jeane did not know her father’s identity for certain. She entered the world amid uncertainty and hardship. Her mother, Gladys Pearl Baker, struggled with paranoid schizophrenia and poverty, while the ambiguity surrounding her father left Norma Jeane with unanswered questions about her family. These circumstances shaped a childhood defined by instability, foster care, and repeated transitions. Norma Jeane spent her early years moving through a series of foster homes, former orphanage dormitories, and temporary guardianships. Each placement added layers of resilience, hardship, and complexity to the young girl who would one day become the world-famous movie star known as Marilyn Monroe.

Ida and Wayne Bolender

Norma Jeane’s earliest experiences of stability came not from her biological parents, but from the foster families and guardians who stepped in during her mother’s repeated crises. Just two weeks after her birth in 1926, Gladys Baker placed her daughter in the care of Ida and Wayne Bolender.

The Bolender household was structured, religious, and reportedly full of care. Ida Bolender ran the home with what Marilyn biographies stipulate as a “firm but compassionate approach,” and Norma Jeane grew close to the other foster children in the house. During these years, Marilyn returned frequently to her mother’s care for occasional visits and sleepovers, though Gladys’ mental instability often disrupted these moments. One documented incident occurred when Norma Jeane was three, when Gladys attempted to kidnap her daughter from the Bolender home by stuffing her daughter into a duffel bag before Ida Bolender stopped her. The Bolenders reportedly wished to adopt Norma Jeane and provide her with a permanent home, but Gladys Baker refused to consent. Despite placing her daughter in foster care, Gladys remained determined to retain her parental rights and repeatedly opposed adoption efforts, believing she would one day resume full custody herself. When Norma Jeane was around seven, the Bolenders agreed that she should return to live with her mother. For a brief period, Gladys appeared capable of providing a home, securing housing near the Hollywood Bowl, and attempting to establish a sense of normalcy. That idea collapsed in 1934, when Gladys suffered a severe mental breakdown after a series of tragedies and was subsequently institutionalized.

Hollygrove Los Angeles Orphans Home

Though Norma Jeane was not technically an orphan, she spent part of her childhood at Hollygrove, a Los Angeles orphanage, from 1935 to 1937, following her mother’s hospitalization. During this time, she attended Vine Street Elementary School, located just a few blocks away. Her frequent moves between foster homes, guardians, and the orphanage, however, made consistent schooling nearly impossible. These interruptions left her with gaps in her education. She later dropped out of school when she got married at 16.

While the orphanage offered structure and basic care, Norma Jeane often felt isolated and alone, navigating the challenges of a childhood marked by disruption and neglect. Even in this environment, her imagination and dreams remained a constant source of comfort. From her bedroom window at Hollygrove, she could see the RKO studio’s water tower, a symbol of the Hollywood world she would soon join.

Grace McKee and “Aunt Ana”

Following her hospitalization, Norma Jeane became the legal ward of Grace McKee (later Grace Goddard), a close family friend of Gladys. However, Goddard was unable to provide full care of Norma as well as her own 3 biological children, so Norma Jeane was given a “half orphan status.” This meant she could live with other caretakers while Goddard remained her primary guardian. These years of shifting guardianship shaped much of Norma Jeane’s early life. Goddard arranged many foster placements for Norma, all while continuing to be visited frequently by her mother, contributing to an unsettled childhood marked by impermanence and uncertainty. On occasions, Norma Jeane was sexually assaulted by some of her foster parents, compounding the trauma of her upbringing. Later, Norma Jeane found a longer period of calm while living with Edith Ana Lower, known to her as “Aunt Ana.” Lower became her legal guardian, taking her out of the orphanage circuit and providing structure, moral guidance, and emotional steadiness during Norma Jeane’s adolescence—one of the few extended stretches where she remained in a single household. She later recalled Aunt Grace as someone who showed genuine concern and care during an otherwise uncertain childhood:

If not for Grace, I would have been sent to a state or country institution where there are fewer privileges, such as being allowed to have a Christmas tree or seeing a movie sometimes. I lived in the orphanage only off and on. Most of the time I was placed with a family, who were given five dollars a week for keeping me. I was placed in nine different families before I was able to quit being a legal orphan. (From Marilyn’s posthumous biography “My Story,” 2006)

Marilyn was able to “quit” being an orphan, as she puts it, by marrying James Dougherty at age 16 when Grace and her husband were planning to move, and could not take her with them. As Marilyn later put it, she was only able to “quit” being an orphan by marrying Grace’s 20-year-old neighbor James Dougherty, at age 16, when Grace and her husband decided to move and were unable to bring her along. Though the marriage began out of necessity, James said, after her death years later, “I never knew Marilyn Monroe…I knew and loved Norma Jeane.” By the time they divorced four years later, she was 20 and was beginning to make history as Marilyn Monroe.

After Gladys’s Hospitalization

After her institutionalization, Marilyn’s mother, Gladys Baker, never fully regained stability. She was released from the hospital at intervals but remained mentally unstable, often living in poverty and struggling to maintain a steady home. She moved between temporary residences and relied on family and friends for support, ultimately leading a life marked by continued hardship until she died in 1962, the same year Marilyn passed away. Because of Gladys’ ongoing mental health challenges and the stigma surrounding her instability, Norma Jeane (now called Marilyn Monroe) was often pressured to lie about her mother. Studio officials and guardians advised her to claim she was an orphan, to say her parents had died, and to hide the truth about Gladys’ life. Marilyn visited her frequently in the hospital, sent her money regularly, and tried to care for her as much as she could; at one point reportedly encouraged her mother to take her prescribed medicine to treat her schizophrenia. Due to the shared trauma and familial predisposition, it has been widely speculated that Marilyn may have developed similar mental illness challenges of her own (possibly bipolar personality), including bouts of depression and emotional instability. Their relationship remained strained until Marilyn’s highly debated suicide in 1962. Marilyn’s mother died of congestive heart failure in 1984 in a senior care facility in Florida after spending years in and out of mental institutions.

Rise to Fame as a Hollywood Icon

Despite the tumultuous childhood hardships of her early life, Marilyn Monroe transformed from Norma Jeane, a young girl moving between foster homes, orphanages, and temporary guardianships, into one of the most celebrated figures in Hollywood. Her experiences navigating instability and her mother’s mental health struggles molded her sensitivity and vulnerability—qualities that came through in her performances.

Monroe’s rise to fame began during World War II when she was discovered while working in a munitions factory. Soon after, she began modeling, taking classes under acting teacher Lee Strasberg. She eventually signed a contract with Columbia Pictures, and later Twentieth Century Fox, marking the launch of her acting career. She said she admired predecessors like Betty Grable and Jean Harlow (who was the inspiration for her platinum blond hair), yet created a persona all her own. Monroe’s early film roles, including classics like Gentlemen Prefer Blondes and How to Marry a Millionaire, showcased her talent, charisma, and screen presence. Even as she rose to stardom, Marilyn’s life bore the lasting imprint of her upbringing. Her experiences in foster care and with her mentally unstable mother lent her performances a rare vulnerability and depth, setting her apart in Hollywood’s Golden Age.

Marilyn Monroe’s Marriages and Mental Health

Marilyn Monroe’s relationships to others reflected the lasting impact of her childhood in foster care and her experiences with a mentally unstable mother.

James Dougherty

Her first marriage, to James Dougherty, was primarily a tool that allowed her to legally exit foster care. While the union provided temporary stability, Monroe later admitted, “My marriage [to Dougherty] didn’t make me sad, but it didn’t make me happy either,” suggesting an emotional ambivalence that stemmed from her unresolved trauma, and an early pattern of survival rather than connection.

Joe DiMaggio

Biographers observe that Marilyn’s 9-month marriage to Joe DiMaggio revealed how deeply her trauma affected her ability to trust and maintain stability in relationships.

The clash between DiMaggio’s desire for privacy and control and Marilyn’s highly visible Hollywood persona intensified existing emotional strain, leading to frequent conflict and eventually, the deterioration of their marriage.

Concerns over potential abuse also arose when Monroe appeared with bruises on her arms the day after filming the famous white dress scene in The Seven Year Itch. Within weeks, she filed for divorce, citing “mental cruelty.” Marilyn later reflects on their marriage in her autobiography “My Story“:

“…publicity is something that makes [DiMaggio] wince more than anything else. Publicity was one of the problems in our courtship. He dislikes being photographed or interviewed. If he is even so much as asked to participate in some publicity stunt, he registers a big explosion.”

Arthur Miller

Her five-year marriage to playwright Arthur Miller further underscored ongoing struggles with self-worth and emotional regulation stemming from her childhood. Their marriage became part of tabloid conversations and intense media attention, placing Marilyn’s private vulnerabilities under constant observation.

This pressure was compounded when Monroe discovered an entry in Miller’s diary describing her as an “embarrassment” in front of friends—a comment that deeply wounded her. Their divorce ended in 1961 on grounds of “incompatibility” as Monroe began to struggle with addiction to drugs and alcohol.

Her relationships and reaction to conflict illustrate how childhood adversity can shape adult attachments. Marilyn longed for stability, and she searched for it her whole life. The lingering effects of abuse and foster care trauma led to much vulnerability and emotional instability that followed her until her death. Even in adulthood, she continued to search for stability and belonging through carefully constructed relationships that echoed her early experiences.

Legacy and Remembrance After Monroe’s Death

As an adult, Marilyn often recreated the sense of “chosen family” she never had as a child, forming intense attachments that mirrored the foster care relationships of her youth.

She grew especially close to her acting coach, Lee Strasberg, and his wife, Paula, effectively adopting them as another surrogate family. The Strasbergs took Marilyn into their home and devoted extraordinary emotional attention to her, at times prioritizing her needs over those of their own daughter, Susan.

Marilyn’s behavior within the household reflected a familiar pattern shaped by foster care trauma: she sought reassurance and belonging but struggled with direct emotional intimacy. On one occasion, she was worried about the Strasbergs’ son, John, feeling left out, so she gave him a present, rather than directly communicating her sympathy.

This dynamic revealed how deeply her early instability affected her adult relationships: she longed for closeness, yet struggled with connection, something many children with experience in foster care deal with.

Marilyn Monroe leaves behind a legacy of cinematic brilliance, cultural influence, and enduring fascination. Yet her story reminds us that even the most glamorous public figures often carry private struggles rooted in early life experiences.

Marilyn Monroe’s life in foster care, her experiences in a former orphanage dormitory, and her complex relationship with her mother shaped the woman behind the icon and underscore the importance of stability, advocacy, and mental health support for children in care. Today, while the foster care system has evolved—eliminating orphanages, emphasizing permanency, and providing better support—Marilyn Monroe’s life in foster care story serves as a powerful reminder that there is still work to be done. By remembering the life of young Marilyn Monroe alongside the Marilyn Monroe we know, we honor her strength, her creativity, and the potential of all children in foster care to rise above hardship when given the right guidance and opportunities.