Las Peras

Screen icon Marilyn Monroe has been found dead in bed at her Los Angeles home.

The 36-year-old actress' body was discovered in the early hours of this morning by two doctors who were called to her Brentwood home by a concerned housekeeper.

The doctors were forced to break into Miss Monroe's bedroom after being unable to open the door. She was found lying naked in her bed with an empty bottle of Nembutal sleeping pills by her side.

The local coroner, who visited the scene later, said the circumstances of Miss Monroe's death indicated a "possible suicide".

From rags to riches

Marilyn Monroe was born Norma Jeane Mortenson on 1 June 1926 in Los Angeles.

Her mother, Gladys Baker, had mental problems which resulted in Norma Jeane spending most of her childhood in foster homes and orphanages.

She wed her neighbour, Jimmy Dougherty in 1942, but the marriage failed in 1946 due to Norma Jeane's new-found fame as a photographic model.

In 1944 while her husband was serving in the South Pacific with the Merchant Marines, Norma Jeane was discovered by photographer David Conover.

By 1946 she had signed her first studio contract with 20th Century Fox and changed her name to Marilyn Monroe.

Since 1947 she has appeared in 30 films, including The Prince and the Showgirl, Bus Stop, The Seven Year Itch, How to Marry a Millionaire and Some Like it Hot, for which she won a Golden Globe for Best Actress in a Comedy.

Her 1954 marriage to baseball star Joe DiMaggio lasted just nine months and on 29 June 1956 the star married playwright Arthur Miller.

But that marriage ended in 1961. Miss Monroe's romantic life has long been the subject of speculation and she has been linked with President Kennedy.

Millions of fans around the world will be deeply shocked by the star's premature and tragic death.

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