Product Description

Beautiful, damaged, the ultimate sex symbol, publicly celebrated, privately unhappy - Marilyn Monroe's tumultuous life and untimely death continue to fascinate us.

When Marilyn Monroe became famous in the 1950s, the world was told that her mother was either dead or simply not a part of her life. However, that was not true. In fact, her mentally ill mother was very much present in Marilyn's world and the complex family dynamic that unfolded behind the scenes is a story that has never been told - until now. In this groundbreaking book Taraborrelli draws complex and sympathetic portraits of the women so influential in the actress' life, including her mother, her foster mother and her legal guardian. He also reveals, for the first time, the shocking scope of Marilyn's own mental illness, the identity of Marilyn's father and the half-brother she never knew, and new information about her relationship with the Kennedys - Bobby, Jack and Pat Lawford Kennedy.

Explosive, revelatory and surprisingly moving, this is the final word on the life of one of the most fascinating and elusive icons of the twentieth century.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #1300 in Books
• Published on: 2009-09-18
• Original language: English
• Binding: Hardcover
• 512 pages

About the Author

J. Randy Taraborrelli is the author of twelve books, including the major bestsellers Madonna: An Intimate Biography, Michael Jackson: The Magic and the Madness, and Once Upon a Time: The Story of Princess Grace, Prince Rainier and their Family.

Customer Reviews

Think you know everything about Marilyn.....


As a huge fan of MM I thought I knew just about all there was to know about this fascinating lady, but Taraborrelli proved me wrong. Using fresh research, including some files recently released by the government, the author adds more color to the affair between Marilyn and President Kennedy, info supplied by an FBI agent who was documenting the affair at the time it occurred! He also interviewed many of the main players from Marilyn's world (many no longer with us) and he was able to review unpublished notes of reporters who covered Marilyn when she was alive. Taraborrelli `s extensive research pays off with one of the most insightful books on Marilyn ever produced. The reader learns of the role Marilyn's mother actually played in her life; I won't give anything away but it is much more extensive than the public ever knew. I was also shocked to learn of the depth of Marilyn's mental problems, I mean any one familiar with her life story knows she had issues, but I never suspected how sick she truly was. This is not just a rehash of old material and I highly recommend it to all interested in this icon's story. For more fascinating Marilyn Monroe reading, do check out "Misfits Country" Marilyn brought to life during the filming of her final movie.

EVEN MORE ABOUT MARILYN
One would think that of all the billions of words written about Marilyn Monroe everything had been made public - at least twice. Not so we discover in The Secret Life Of Marilyn Monroe. Celebrity biographer Taraborrelli who is known for digging deeper than most for collecting data about his subjects really went over the top with this one. He interviewed innumerable sources, all documented in his itemized 30 pages of interviews; everyone from James Dougherty, Marilyn's first husband, to Arthur Miller, whom he found "Maddeningly difficult and not at all open, to Peter Lawford to Mitzi Gaynor.

Perhaps some of the most revelatory information found in this book comes from the files released in 2006 under the Freedom of Information Act. The author details a "truly extraordinary" 3-page document containing information by an FBI agent describing the relationship between Marilyn and Robert Kennedy.

This volume (and it is a volume - 560 pages with previously unpublished photographs) will probably stand as the ultimate word on the ill-fated star. Unfortunately, it is a sad story, sadder than many of us knew. Gladys Baker, her mother who was denied in many publicity releases, was mentally ill suffering from severe paranoid schizophrenia. Marilyn's early years were spent at the Los Angeles Orphans' Home. To come from those circumstances to become one of the most famous movie stars in the world is quite a feat. Regrettably, it seems to have taken a dreadful toll as Marilyn began to deteriorate mentally.

For those who want the definitive story of the woman called the world's greatest sex symbol, here it is, filled with details and minutia from the day she was born until the hour of her untimely death. Taraborrelli has completed a yeoman's task in presenting the story of Marilyn Monroe. One only wishes it could have had a happy ending.

- Gail Cooke

The closest we've come to the legend that was Marilyn Monroe?
J. Randy Taraborrelli is one of the top celebrity reporters of recent times and his previous books have been on living legends such as Diana Ross, Elizabeth Taylor, Madonna and of course, the late and great Michael Jackson before his untimely death.
His books and style of writing are very much fashioned towards the current climate of book readers, they're highly entertaining with most chapters being just a few pages long. Taraborrelli will tend to focus on details not normally approached by previous authors of his subjects and where stories may be conflicting he can usually have a good argument where his version seems the reasonable one. He's not always great with details if it's something that's been covered before, but if he has something to write of interest he will usually get his point across. On saying this, if it's new information he will write as much as he knows about it and gives the reader information for the first time, often with added footnotes at the bottom of the page. It makes for an interesting read and you find it hard to put the book down. This book has taken over a decade to complete as he compiled his information from his numerous sources, all documented at the back, in most cases he names the source but in some occasions they've not wanted their identity known so he's given them a false name.
This biography on Marilyn Monroe is probably one of the most anticipated books on her in a very long time. In a way it could not have been published at a more appropriate time. When it's now normal for us to watch our stars fall apart publicly (Britney Spears comes to mind), Tarborrelli has given us a new biography focusing not just the more little known private aspects of Marilyn's life, but her mental well-being in paricular. It very much reflects the current times & trends as we see human relationships played out on reality TV - here we're a witness to our very own Marilyn Monroe falling apart at the seams. In Marilyn's day this type of thing was never discussed and was hushed up. Of course, all of us who have followed Marilyn's life may know about some of her difficulties, especially in the final years of her life and the lifelong difficult relationship she had with her mother Gladys, her addictions, which, in the end, made it more difficult for her to function and destroyed her life. Tarborrelli has chosen this as the basis of his book which hasn't been covered in so much depth before.
He does have a way of writing which shows respect and empathy for the subject, but he writes how "Marilyn may have felt this...." , or "Gladys did this probably because..." With added conversations and scene-setting you wonder where the fiction ends and the facts start. I did find these observations amusing though and could picture them in my head as I read. I don't know whether he is actually equipped to write about her mental well-being or if he fully understands what went on, it's a tricky subject. But then probably a medic would be none the wiser either, judging by the treatment Marilyn received at the time. It would appear that nothing has changed much in that time when we see how Doctors are with certain individuals today. It's a very heavy subject for any writer to approach and he is a very brave man to have attempted this, especially over a much beloved person such as MM! It's a subject to debate and one that will no doubt be explored further in the future as another facet of the Monroe character reveals a more complex person than the media would like us to imagine.
J. Randy's book is one of the more interesting Monroe biographies and definately a look behind the image of the Icon we see everywhere. I enjoyed reading about the mother/daughter relationship. Most people would have giving up but Marilyn was always there for her mother. Gladys comes across as a facinating lady, not one to hide her thoughts, and I had a chuckle to myself at the thought of her parading about the sanatorium wearing the fur stole that Marilyn had given her, "They only let me wear it if I say I'm cold." Her friendship with Pat Lawford is also explored in depth. Infact there's much more here about the Kennedy's than I had anticipated. There's also things I'd never heard before like when Marilyn is being photographed by a fan after The Lawford's party for Bobby Kennedy and a secret service person confiscated the camera, only to be berated by Marilyn who demands he give the camera back, which he does and the one about River Of No Return, when for a joke the crew send in a boy to her trailer and she is lying naked on the massage table - she tells him, "stay 20 minutes and the joke's on them."
Unlike some of the old biographies, where Marilyn's films are treated very much as they were when she was alive, he acknowledges how many of them like, for instance, Don't Bother To Knock, have been reassessed since being released on DVD and how they've stood the test of time. Her relationship with Natasha Lytess is also explored during this time with comments from other students and from Natasha's unpublished manuscript.
By all accounts the book has been the most challenging in Taraborelli's career so far and he certainly has put good use of his skills in telling Marilyn's story with a new approach and refreshing perspective. He comes a long way in describing what it must have took to be Marilyn Monroe and why she continues to facinate us almost 50 years after she died. If it is at all possble to love a person more, you will come away loving Marilyn a little more after reading this book!