Norma Jeane Mortenson—later known as Marilyn Monroe—was born on June 1, 1926, in Los Angeles. This rare photograph of her at six months old captures her during her earliest months with her first foster family, the Bolenders, with whom she had lived since she was just two weeks old. Her mother, Gladys Baker, was unable to care for her newborn, and this placement marked the beginning of a childhood shaped by shifting homes, guardians, and long stretches of uncertainty.
The instability that followed—foster homes, guardianship changes, and time in the Los Angeles Orphans Home—left a lasting imprint on her life. Behind the glamorous persona she later created was a woman who had known profound loneliness from an early age. This image of her infancy offers a glimpse of the vulnerable child who existed long before she became an icon of American culture.
