The young Norma Jeane’s early life was frought with upheaval. With her mother instatutionalised and father unknown, her childhood consisted of moving from one foster home to the next. At one point, she was actually placed in an orphanage.
Norma Jeane’s love of the cinema began at an early age, when as a lonely child she would spend hours mesmerised by the big screen and dream of taking her place amongst the Movie Greats, such as Jean Harlow and Clark Gable.
Norma Jeane, achieved some degree of stability in her late teens, whilst living with her guardians Grace and Doc Goddard. In 1942 however, this stability was threatened with the news that Doc had been offered a new job, leaving Norma Jeane, little alternative but to return to the orphanage she had known as a child.
There was however, another option.
This option, took the form of the handsome Jim Dougherty who lived next door to the Goddards. After a short, almost non existent courtship, the young Norma Jeane married Jim Doughtery in the summer of 1942.