Marilyn's Father"s."

Marilyn's mother, Gladys Baker, married twice before she had Marilyn. Her first husband was Jackson Newton; he fathered two of Marilyn's siblings, Berniece and Robert. They divorced in 1922, but then she remarried again in 1924 to a man named Martin Mortenson. After 7 months, they divorced in 1925. In 1926, Norma Jeane was born and Gladys listed Martin as her father and gave her his last name. Though throughout Marilyn's childhood, she would go by Baker. It's very unlikely that he would be Marilyn's father considering he and Gladys hadn't seen each other well over a year. Allegedly, Gladys mentioned Marilyn's true father as being Stanley Gifford. A man whom she had an affair with after her divorce. Gladys told him of the pregnancy and he left.

Marilyn believed deeply that Gifford was her father and reached out to him at the age of nineteen. When she phoned she said, "This is Norma Jeane, I'm Gladys's daughter" in which he hung up. Again in 1951, she managed to locate him near Palm Springs and drove to meet him. While there she pulled over to a payphone and called and his wife answered. She told Marilyn, "He doesn't want to see you. He suggests you see his lawyer in Los Angeles if you have a complaint. Do you have a pencil?" Marilyn finally gave up and didn't try to reach out again. Then in 1961, Gifford finally made an attempt to contact her through a letter in which he wrote, "Best wishes for your early recovery. From the man you tried to see nearly ten years ago. God forgive me." She received the card and reportedly told a friend, "It's too late." 

© All Rights Acknowledged. Norma Jeane at 19 years old (1945). Photo by David Conover.