Marilyn Monroe and Mental Illness
 After
Marilyn Monroe was born, her father abandoned
the family, leaving his wife Gladys and Marilyn
to fend for themselves in a difficult time.
Marilyn’s mother worked as a film cutter
for RKO Studios for a short period of time.
The mental illness that had been in the family
for generations surfaced in Gladys shortly after
the birth of her daughter. Gladys was committed
to various mental institutions for the remainder
of her life due to depression, leaving Marilyn
to spend many years in numerous foster homes
and an orphanage.
Career Troubles
Marilyn Monroe inherited her mother’s
mental illness, and it affected many areas of
her life, including her work. In 1955, her depression
started to have an impact on her acting career.
While filming “The Seven Year Itch,”
she often forgot her lines and muddled-up scenes,
resulting in an increase in the film’s
budget due to the retakes.
Marilyn’s career problems escalated as
she began using sleeping pills for her insomnia,
and drinking heavily and steadily, to the point
where she neglected her work entirely. When
filming the aptly named movie “Something’s
Got to Give,” she was let go due to her
regular late arrival on the set. Eventually,
she ended up in a mental hospital for a brief
period of time.
Hardships in her Personal Life
Marilyn’s personal life was plagued by misfortunes, causing
her to sink deeply into a state of
despair and misery. After two miscarriages and a failed marriage to playwright
Arthur Miller, Marilyn depended on drugs and alcohol to help ease the
pain. Again, while working on the set of “The Misfits,” she
was frequently found inebriated and under the influence of drugs.
Marilyn Monroe’s Untimely Death
When co-star Clark Gable died suddenly of a heart attack, Marilyn
was so troubled by his death that she cried for two whole days and could
not eat or sleep. Marilyn Monroe’s mental illness would prove to
be her undoing. Two months later, she was found dead in her home in Los
Angeles with an empty bottle of sleeping pills next to her body. The coroner
deemed that the death was most likely a suicide as no evidence of foul
play was suspected.
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