Posing seductively in a swimsuit and smiling for the cameras on her first wedding day, these photos provide a rare glimpse into the early life of Marilyn Monroe.
Other images from her childhood show her playing in the garden aged around ten and enjoying a family holiday on the beach as a toddler.
Later pictures show the glamorous Hollywood icon having supper with her second husband, baseball player Joe DiMaggio, and sharing a laugh with photographer George Barris on the set of 1962 hit Something’s Got to Give.
Left: A young Marilyn poses for the camera in a swimsuit. Right: The star aged around ten playing in the garden
As a toddler: This image shows the star during an outing to the beach with Marilyn front left and her mother, Gladys, rear left
Left: Marilyn and James Dougherty on their wedding day, 19 June 1942. Right: Marilyn with her third husband, playwright Arthur Miller
Marilyn Monroe poses for the cameras as she enjoys dinner with her second husband, baseball player Joe DiMaggio
The photos feature in a new book titled Making Sense of Marilyn by Andrew Norman who claims to offer a ‘brand new perspective’ on the star.
They trace her early years, showing her taking trips with family and friends before her first wedding day, when she married 21-year-old factory worker James Doughtery in 1942 aged just 16.
Marilyn Monroe is arguably the biggest star in the history of Hollywood, with her name and look transcending the film industry to make her a household name before her untimely death in August 1962.
Yet despite her enormous fame the actress remains somewhat of an enigma, with very little known about her private life or the circumstances which led to her death.
Author Andrew Norman, who worked as a GP in Dorset before a spinal injury ended his medical career, has previously penned biographies of such famous faces as Sir Francis Drake, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, Thomas Hardy, T. E. Lawrence, Agatha Christie, Jane Austen and Robert Mugabe.
Left: Marilyn as a teenager. Right: Marilyn in a photo-shoot in 1950, 12 years before hear death by probable deliberate overdose
The photos feature in a new book titled Making Sense of Marilyn by Andrew Norman. Pictured: Marilyn, centre, out boating with friends
He says that, despite probable suicide and a host of contradictory reports about her life, there do still exist enough reliable materials to shed new light on the star.
‘Trustworthy and reliable first-hand accounts of Marilyn do exist,’ he writes.
Following Marilyn’s death, Inez Melson, Marilyn’s business manager from 1954 to 1956, was appointed by attorney Aaron R. Frosch who was a witness to Marilyn’s will and the court to act as administrator.
It is thanks to Inez that two filing cabinets containing Marilyn’s personal effects were saved for posterity.
Norman added: ‘Film documentaries of the life and death of Marilyn contain invaluable, first-hand, eyewitness accounts from such important people in her life as George Barris, Hyman Engelberg, Eunice Murray, and Cyd Charisse.
‘In this way, by teasing out what is authentic from what is inauthentic, it is possible to shed new light on the enigmatic character of Marilyn Monroe, who is regarded, arguably, as the world’s most famous ever movie star.
‘To make sense of this complex, endlessly fascinating, and all too fragile person, it is necessary to embark on a journey that proves to be both rewarding, and an infinitely moving experience.’
Making Sense of Marilyn by Andrew Norman is published by Pen and Sword, and can be purchased here.
Monroe (pictured on a movie poster and the cover on Time in 1956) became one of the most popular sex symbols of the 1950s and was emblematic of the era’s attitudes towards sexuality
Dame Edith Sitwell and Marilyn chat on the sofa in Hollywood in 1953. Marilyn Monroe is arguably the biggest star in the history of Hollywood
Sharing a laugh on the movie set: Marilyn with George Barris in 1962 on the set of Something’s Got to Give