Marilyn Monroe; born Norma Jeane Mortenson; June 1, 1926 – August 4, 1962) was an American actress, model, and singer. Famous for playing comic "blonde bombshell" characters, she became one of the most popular sex symbols of the 1950s and early 1960s, as well as an emblem of the era's sexual revolution. She was a top-billed actress for a decade, and her films grossed $200 million (equivalent to $2 billion in 2021) by the time of her death in 1962. Long after her death, Monroe remains a major icon of pop culture. In 1999, the American Film Institute ranked her sixth on their list of the greatest female screen legends from the Golden Age of Hollywood.
Born and raised in Los Angeles, Monroe spent most of her childhood in a total of 12 foster homes and an orphanage before marrying James Dougherty at age sixteen. She was working in a factory during World War II when she met a photographer from the First Motion Picture Unit and began a successful pin-up modeling career, which led to short-lived film contracts with 20th Century Fox and Columbia Pictures. After a series of minor film roles, she signed a new contract with Fox in late 1950. Over the next two years, she became a popular actress with roles in several comedies, including As Young as You Feel and Monkey Business, and in the dramas Clash by Night and Don't Bother to Knock. Monroe faced a scandal when it was revealed that she had posed for nude photographs prior to becoming a star, but the story did not damage her career and instead resulted in increased interest in her films.
By 1953, Monroe was one of the most marketable Hollywood stars. She had leading roles in the film noir Niagara, which overtly relied on her sex appeal, and the comedies Gentlemen Prefer Blondes and How to Marry a Millionaire, which established her star image as a "dumb blonde". The same year, her nude images were used as the centerfold and on the cover of the first issue of Playboy. Monroe played a significant role in the creation and management of her public image throughout her career, but felt disappointed when typecast and underpaid by the studio. She was briefly suspended in early 1954 for refusing a film project but returned to star in The Seven Year Itch (1955), one of the biggest box office successes of her career.
When the studio was still reluctant to change Monroe's contract, she founded her own film production company in 1954. She dedicated 1955 to building the company and began studying method acting under Lee Strasberg at the Actors Studio. Later that year, Fox awarded her a new contract, which gave her more control and a larger salary. Her subsequent roles included a critically acclaimed performance in Bus Stop (1956) and her first independent production in The Prince and the Showgirl (1957). She won a Golden Globe for Best Actress for her role in Some Like It Hot (1959), a critical and commercial success. Her last completed film was the drama The Misfits (1961).
Monroe's troubled private life received much attention. She struggled with addiction and mood disorders. Her marriages to retired baseball star Joe DiMaggio and to playwright Arthur Miller were highly publicized, but ended in divorce. On August 4, 1962, she died at age 36 from an overdose of barbiturates at her Los Angeles home. Her death was ruled a probable suicide.
If you want to read a whole lot more, go here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marilyn_Monroe
- 2 cucumbers
- 1 (8-ounce) package cream cheese, softened
- 3 tablespoons mayonnaise
- 1 (0.4-ounce) packet ranch dressing mix
- 2 tablespoons chopped fresh chives, divided
- 5 cherry tomatoes, each cut into 6 wedges
- Using a fork, press down the entire length of cucumbers on all sides, creating ridges. Cut cucumbers into 1/2-inch slices and place on platter.
- In a medium bowl with an electric mixer, beat cream cheese, mayonnaise, dressing mix, and 1 tablespoon chives until smooth. Place mixture into pastry bag and pipe onto each cucumber slice.
- Garnish each with a tomato wedge and sprinkle with remaining chives. Refrigerate until ready to serve.
1934 – Jane Goodall, English zoologist
1942 – Marsha Mason, American actress
Every April 3rd National Chocolate Mousse Day recognizes the decadent dessert that gained popularity in France in the 1800s.
Mousse is prepared by beating eggs or cream or both to a frothy, airy consistency and then folding the ingredients together to create a light, creamy delight.
While mousse can be either savory or sweet, for this day, we will focus on that all-time favorite, chocolate.
The words mousse and chocolate are derived from the French language, so it isn’t difficult to believe France is where to begin looking for the beginnings of this versatile creation. While we have no exact point in time when this might have been, we do know chocolate was introduced to the French around the year 1615, and they fell in love.
Then a century later, the French developed a method for making a mousse. Savory led the way, but it couldn’t have been long before the same approach was applied to chocolate.
In the United States, an advertisement in The Brooklyn Daily Eagle in 1887 included classes on how to make chocolate mousse offered by a Miss Parloa. She also advised how to make potato soup, larded grouse, potato timbale, and corn muffins.
From dark chocolate to milk chocolate, bittersweet, or any combination, there is plenty of variety when it comes to chocolate mousse.
