Talking about her parent's nationality and ethnicity, Marilyn Monroe was born on June 1, 1926, in America, to her Mexican mother, Gladys Baker, and an American father, Charles Stanley Gifford. Additionally, her father was of Alaska Native descent, and her mother was a Latino. However, she didn't have any of her parents by her side when she grew up. At one point, she even wrote that she was an orphan. Follow to know why she did it and more about her family.
Blonde, a Netflix original film, portrays the life of Marilyn Monroe with a heavy dosage of fiction. It starts with her early years, bringing to light her difficult upbringing and providing background information for the issues that Monroe struggles with all throughout her life.
She tries to fill the gap left by her father's absence and her mother's troubled connection with them with other relationships, particularly with the men in her life. Oftentimes, it appears that Monroe would have had a different outcome if she had grown up in a loving and supportive home. We all know that she never had parents by her side when she grew up.
Watching/listening to Marilyn Monroe's early days, many people even speculated she was an orphan. Well, she wasn't. However, she was no less than an orphanage. As a result, her parents have been a subject to many of her fans and viewers of the Netflix movie. They want to know more about her parents, especially their nationality. Well, let's find it out.
Previously, we touched on if Marilyn Monroe was Spanish and if she really killed herself. Likewise, find out if she had a relationship with Charlie Chaplin's son.
Marilyn Monroe's Parents’ Nationality & Ethnicity: While Her Mother Was From Mexico, Her Father Was Born and Raised in America; Her Family Explored!
Marilyn Monroe was born on June 1, 1926, at Los Angeles County Hospital in Los Angeles, California, to her parents, Gladys Baker and Charles Stanley Gifford. While her mother was Mexican by nationality and Latino by ethnicity, her father was from Rhode Island, America.
Marilyn had never known who her father was, despite rumors that Charles Stanley Gifford, her mother's boss, might have been the person. Gladys Pearl Monroe's mother was married to Martin Edward Mortensen before the birth of Marilyn. But three and a half months before Marilyn was born, they split up. Gladys made the decision to include Edward's name—spelled slightly differently as "Mortenson"—on her birth certificate in order to dispel illegitimacy suspicions.
Despite writing 'E. Mortensen' as her father on her first marriage certificate, Marilyn had little to no contact with Edward despite knowing his name. However, many conspiracy theorists thought that Charles Stanley Gifford might be Marilyn's father due to their physical similarity. When Marilyn was born, Gladys Pearl was a film cutter at Consolidated Film Industries, and Charles was her shift foreman.
Despite widespread suspicion that Charles might be Marilyn Monroe's father, this was just supposition. However, a lock of hair was retained to conduct a DNA test due to the uncertainty surrounding Marilyn's parentage. In the documentary Marilyn, Her Final Secret, which was released in April 2022, filmmaker Francois Pomès told the story of discovering Marilyn's biological father. He explained,
The hair that we used from Monroe was collected by the person who embalmed her body the day she died and we were able to draw up 22 percent of her genetic profile from that thanks to a DNA fragment found in the keratin.
Scientists were able to confirm that Charles was Marilyn's biological father, thanks to a saliva sample donated by Charles' great-grandchild. While Blonde makes a brief mention of Marilyn's biological father, 'Marilyn, Her Final Secret' might be the movie to see if you truly want to learn more about him and her family, and the process of finding out who her father was.
Right after Marilyn Monroe was born, her mother was entirely unprepared to raise her, both psychologically and financially, and she never asked Gifford for help. Gladys gave her daughter to Albert and Ida Bolender, who raised her in foster care. The young Monroe resided here for seven years, receiving weekend visits from her mother.
Gladys didn't want to give up her even though her foster parents had once said they wanted to adopt her. Gladys moved to Hollywood in 1933 and brought Marilyn with her. Gladys shared a home with George and Maude Atkinson. Gladys had a mental breakdown in 1934, which led to her being committed to a hospital; she spent the rest of her life there. Marilyn Monroe then became a state-appointed ward. Little Marilyn once even said she was an orphan and had never met her parents when questioned about them. Monroe wrote the following in a piece for Modern Screen magazine:
Before I was born, my father was killed in an automobile accident during a business trip to New York City. A short time later, my mother became critically ill, and while I was still too young to know- much about what was happening, I became an orphan.
Marilyn Monroe's mother was still alive and living in Norwalk, California, at this time. When a Hearst gossip columnist found her, her name was revealed. Monroe made an effort to contact her father, but Gifford remained distant from her. Gifford's paternity as Monroe's biological father wasn't made public until a DNA test in 2022.
Additionally, Blonde is now streaming on Netflix.
Before leaving, find out if Merilyn Monroe had two boyfriends at the same time.
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