Sumith Prasad
Netflix’s drama film ‘Blonde’ offers a fictionalized account of the life of Marilyn Monroe, one of the most renowned actresses of all time. More than her career and emergence as a Hollywood icon, Andrew Dominik’s film prominently follows her personal life, exploring her quest to meet her unknown father, her relationships with her second and third husbands, and her wish to become a mother. In the film, Monroe badly aspires to become a mother but abortions and miscarriages put an end to her dream. Inspired by the same, we found out whether Monroe ever had children and miscarriages in real life. Let us share our findings!
Marilyn Monroe: Motherhood Dreams and Lost Pregnancies
No, Marilyn Monroe did not have any children. Even though she had married thrice, sharing her life with James Dougherty, Joe DiMaggio, and Arthur Miller, Monroe wasn’t able to give birth to a child. As per confirmed reports, Monroe got pregnant three times and all three pregnancies happened after marrying her third husband Arthur Miller. In September 1956, Monroe had her first miscarriage. It was followed by an ectopic pregnancy in 1957, which required an emergency termination. In 1958, after filming Billy Wilder’s renowned film ‘Some Like It Hot,’ the actress reportedly had another miscarriage.
Monroe suspected that her drug abuse was the reason behind her third miscarriage, as per Donald Spoto’s book ‘Marilyn Monroe: The Biography.’ “Could I have killed it by taking all the Amytal on an empty stomach? I took some sherry wine also,” Monroe wrote to Norman Rosten and his wife Hedda, as per Spoto’s book. The miscarriages troubled Monroe severely as she failed to fulfill her dream of becoming a mother. She tried to fill the void in her life by spending time with the children of her colleagues and friends.
Monroe also became a regular attendee of charities benefitting children, such as the Milk Fund for Babies and the March of Dimes, so that she could spend time with children. She became a mother, at least for a few minutes or hours, to those children. “She [Monroe] loved children so much. My daughter, other people’s children—she went for them all. If she’d had one of her own to care for, to grow up with, I’m sure it would have helped her immensely,” Allan Snyder, one of Monroe’s closest friends, told Spoto for his book.
The miscarriages Monroe had also pushed her into depression, according to J. Randy Taraborrelli’s ‘The Secret Life of Marilyn Monroe.’ “It doesn’t overstate it to say that she [Monroe] was never the same after the miscarriage,” Edward Lovitz, a long-time acquaintance of Arthur Miller told Taraborrelli. “Arthur told me that he thought she needed psychiatric help, that she would start to scream at him for no apparent reason. He wasn’t sure if it was the drugs she was taking, the alcohol she was drinking, or just her mind breaking down on her. He told me that she had stopped going to her psychiatrist after she lost the baby.”
According to Lovitz, Miller wanted to try for another baby but the couple had grown distant by the time. In addition to Monroe’s miscarriages, there are several rumors that the actress had multiple abortions. However, Monroe’s gynecologist, Dr. Leon Krohn, had dismissed those rumors. “[…] the rumors of her [Monroe’s] multiple abortions are ridiculous. She never had even one. Later there were two miscarriages and an ectopic pregnancy requiring emergency termination [of a pregnancy], but no abortion,” Krohn told Spoto for his book. Furthermore, there is speculation that suggests that Monroe was pregnant in 1960, allegedly upon having an affair with fellow actor Yves Montand. However, the same isn’t confirmed and remains a rumor.
Read More: Was Marilyn Monroe Really Forced to Have Abortion For a Movie Role?
