'Imperfection is beauty, madness is genius and it's better to be absolutely ridiculous than absolutely boring.'

Marilyn Monroe was born Norma Jeane Baker in Los Angeles in 1926, the daughter of a salesman and a troubled mother. By the time she died at thirty-six from a drug overdose, she had become one of the most recognisable figures in film history.

After a fragmented childhood spent in foster homes, she began working as a model and soon caught the attention of Twentieth Century Fox. In the 1950s she lit up the screen in comedies such as Gentlemen Prefer Blondes, The Seven Year Itch and Some Like It Hot, combining innocence and allure in a way no actress had before.

Off screen, however, Monroe's search for love and stability proved elusive. Her brief marriage to Joe DiMaggio ended in disappointment, and her later relationship with Arthur Miller, who wrote The Misfits for her, was overshadowed by her growing emotional turmoil.

In this perceptive study, Sheridan Morley examines the complexities behind the legend, revealing the intelligence, fragility and determination of the woman who became an icon of her age.