Marilyn Monroe

Marilyn Monroe's first studio portrait after signing with 20th Century Fox in 1947. Earl Theisen/Getty Images Marilyn Monroe is one of the most famous and iconic actresses from the Golden Age of Hollywood. Many photographs of the starlet, from her iconic white-dress scene in "The Seven Year Itch" to her glittering performance for John F. Kennedy's birthday, are some of the most recognizable images ever taken. Rare images of Monroe can also fetch a hefty pricetag — the late pop artist Andy Warhol's 1964 silk-screen portrait of Monroe sold for $195 million at auction in 2022, NBC News reported. However, these rarely seen family and vintage photos show another side to Marilyn Monroe. Marilyn Monroe was born in 1926 as Norma Jeane Mortenson and was later baptized as Norma Jeane Baker, according to Biography . Here, Norma Jeane Baker is pictured bottom right with her mother and some family friends. Here, Norma Jeane Baker is pictured bottom right with her mother and some family friends. Silver Screen Collection/Hulton Archive/Getty Images Gladys Baker had two other children from a previous marriage, but neither lived with her. Norma Jeane Baker with her mother, Gladys Baker, circa 1929. Silver Screen Collection/Hulton Archive/Getty Images However, according to Biography, Baker's mother claimed he was a Consolidated studios coworker named Charles Stanley Gifford. Norma Jeane, pictured here at age 5, lived with various friends and relatives throughout most of her childhood. At points in her early life, Baker lived with her mom's sister-in-law and even at the Los Angeles Orphans' Home, according to Biography. Norma Jeane Baker playing with dogs in a rural garden, circa 1933. Silver Screen Collection/Hulton Archive/Getty Images Gladys Baker paid the couple $25 a week to look after her young daughter, according to Biography. Norma Jeane Baker out rowing with a couple of friends, circa 1941. Silver Screen Collection/Hulton Archive/Getty Images She also endured sexual assaults while in boardinghouses and foster care, according to "Marilyn Monroe: The Private Life of a Public Icon " by Charles Casillo. Norma Jeane Baker playing with penguins, circa 1941. Silver Screen Collection/Hulton Archive/Getty Images Norma Jeane's home life took a turn for the better when she moved into the home of "Aunt Ana," a family friend of the Goddards. Norma Jeane Baker pictured in her natural brunette shade in the 1940s. John Rodgers/Redferns/Getty Images Her mother was released from the psychiatric hospital she was living in and resumed living with her at Aunt Ana's house. Aunt Ana exposed both Norma Jeane and her mother to the Christian Science faith. Her mother, however, soon left. Norma Jeane Baker visits the zoo with a friend and a small child, circa 1943. Silver Screen Collection/Hulton Archive/Getty Images She left because she said she wanted to live with her Aunt Dora in Oregon. Norma Jeane would later discover, according to Biography, that mid-journey, her mother had married again, this time to an already-wed man with children. Norma Jeane Baker on the beach at Avalon, Santa Catalina Island, circa 1943. Silver Screen Collection/Hulton Archive/Getty Images The Los Angeles Times reported that the two began dating when Baker was just 15 years old. They married in 1942. Baker, now Dougherty, was only 16, but marrying helped her avoid going back into the foster care system. Norma Jeane Baker, now Norma Jeane Dougherty, with her first husband, police officer James Dougherty. Sunset Boulevard/Corbis/Getty Images "I never knew Marilyn Monroe, and I don't claim to have any insights to her to this day. I knew and loved Norma Jean," Dougherty later told United Press International in 1990, according to the LA Times. Marilyn Monroe reading to a young child circa June 1947. Bettmann/Getty Images However, she didn't legally change her name until 1956, according to The Atlantic . While her husband served overseas in the Marines, Monroe