Marilyn Monroe is possibly the greatest Hollywood star of all time. She rose from orphan to icon by creating an on screen character America could not peel their eyes away from. As a signifier she represents both the dark underbelly of Hollywood and the American dream. She became the worlds most famous film star, transcending all expectations, and did it all while battling anxiety, depression and drug addiction.

The severe psychological toll of her fabricated star persona, systemic studio exploitation and childhood trauma, all contributed to her lonely death at age 36.  While Hollywood perfected her glamorous public image, her personal life suffered under the weight of failed marriages, and heavy reliance on tranquillisers and alcohol to cope with chronic insomnia and anxiety on set.

Monroe actively tried to break out of her caricature by taking on gritty or unhinged characters, such as her chilling, critically acclaimed performance as a mentally unstable babysitter in the 1952 psychological thriller Don't Bother to Knock.

Her relationships with Joe DiMaggio, Arthur Miller, Frank Sinatra and President John F. Kennedy (and his younger brother Attorney General, Robert F. Kennedy) would prove disastrous and result in long running rumours and conspiracy theories about her death that are as hard to debunk as they are to dismiss.

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