In some ways, it seemed in August 1962, Marilyn Monroe was trying to pull her life together. She had just bought her first house in California’s Brentwood neighborhood for $75,000, she was on the cover of Life magazine and she had just been rehired on the film Something’s Got to Give.
But in other ways, it seemed like the bleakest of times for model-turned-Hollywood star. She had divorced her third husband, playwright Arthur Miller, the year prior, there were rumors about an alleged affair between her and President John F. Kennedy, and her normally picture-perfect appearances had been replaced with nails in need of a manicure and pedicure.
On August 5, 1962, Monroe was found dead in her home at 12305 Fifth Helena Drive. She had a phone receiver in her hand and was lying face down without any clothes on. By her side was an empty pill bottle that had held 50 capsules of Nembutal, a drug often used as a sleeping pill.
