"Originally published in Great Britain by The History Press"--Title page verso.

Before Marilyn tells the story of Marilyn Monroe's modelling career, during which time she was signed to the famous Blue Book Agency in Hollywood. The head of the agency, Miss Emmeline Snively, saw potential in the young woman and kept detailed records and correspondence throughout their professional relationship and beyond. On the day of Monroe's funeral, Snively gave an interview from her office, talking about the girl she had discovered, before announcing, rather dramatically, that she was closing the lid on her Marilyn Monroe archive that day - to 'lock it away forever'. This archive was purchased by Astrid Franse, and together with bestselling Marilyn Monroe biographer Michelle Morgan they draw on this collection of never-before-seen documents, letters and much, much more. Before Marilyn explores an aspect of Monroe's life that has never been fully revealed - by charting every modelling job she did, and illustrating the text with rare and unpublished photographs of the young model and her mentor.

Marilyn Monroe, born Norma Jeane Mortenson on June 1, 1926, is one of the best-loved movie stars and sex goddesses of all time, although she died much too young at the age of thirty six. A life-time struggle with self-confidence, tumultuous marriages, ill health, and drug and alcohol addictions, Marilyn's movie career suffered in the last years before her death This book is a brief history of Marilyn Monroe's short life. It contains a history of her early years, her modeling and early acting, her early film work, and her decline and death. It is filled with full color photos of Marilyn throughout her life, and contains a full filmography. Marilyn worked with some of the best directors of her day and pushed herself to excel in comedic, dramatic, and musical roles. She was only the second female movie star to create her own production companyâ??she may have played the dumb blond, but that was just another role for Marilyn.

An intimate memoir recalling a young photographer's relationship with Marilyn Monroe just months before her death, with extraordinary photographs, some of which have never been published. "With the precision of a surgeon, Schiller slices through the façade of Marilyn Monroe in his unflinching memoir. Revealing and readable, it’s a book I couldn’t put down." —Tina Brown When he pulled his station wagon into the 20th Century-Fox studios parking lot in Los Angeles in 1960, twenty-three-year-old Lawrence Schiller kept telling himself that this was just another assignment, just another pretty girl. But the assignment and the girl were anything but ordinary. Schiller was a photographer for Look magazine and his subject was Marilyn Monroe, America's sweetheart and sex symbol. In this intimate memoir, Schiller recalls the friendship that developed between him and Monroe while he photographed her in Hollywood in 1960 and 1962 on the sets of Let's Make Love and the unfinished feature Something's Got to Give, the last film she worked on. Schiller recalls Marilyn as tough and determined, enormously insecure as an actress but totally self-assured as a photographer’s model. Monroe knew how to use her looks and sexuality to generate publicity, and in 1962 she allowed Schiller to publish the first nude photographs of her in over ten years, which she then used as a weapon against a studio that wanted to have her fired—and ultimately succeeded. The Marilyn Schiller knew and writes about was adept at hiding deep psychological scars, but she was also warm and open, candid and disarming, a movie star who wished to be taken more seriously than she was. Accompanying the text are eighteen of the author’s own photographs, some never previously published. Many writers have tried to capture her essence on the page, but as someone who was in the room, a young man Marilyn could connect with and trust, Schiller gives us a unique look at the real woman offscreen. "In this short, splendid memoir, Lawrence Schiller offers us another cut on the scintillating diamond that is Marilyn Monroe. In clear honest straightforward prose, Schiller allows us to dwell in the heart of another time. He captures Marilyn, both in photographs and words, and in so doing he gives us intimate access into one of the great stories of the 20th century: the complicated cocktail of joy and sadness that goes along with both beauty and fame." —Colum McCann

* A collection of rare and unpublished photographs and documents that detail Marilyn Monroe's modelling career for the first time Before Marilyn tells the story of Marilyn Monroe's modelling career, during which time she was signed to the famous Blue Book Agency in Hollywood. The head of the agency, Miss Emmeline Snively, saw potential in the young woman and kept detailed records and correspondence throughout their professional relationship and beyond. On the day of Monroe's funeral, Snively gave an interview from her office, talking about the girl she had discovered, before announcing, rather dramatically, that she was closing the lid on her Marilyn Monroe archive that day - to 'lock it away forever'. This archive was purchased by Astrid Franse, and together with bestselling Marilyn Monroe biographer Michelle Morgan they draw on this collection of never-before-seen documents, letters and much, much more. 'Before Marilyn' explores an aspect of Monroe's life that has never been fully revealed - by charting every modelling job she did, and illustrating the text with rare and unpublished photographs of the young model and her mentor. AUTHOR: Michelle Morgan is the author of 'Marilyn's Addresses' (Smith Gryphon, 1995) Marilyn Monroe: Private and Undisclosed (Constable, 2007), 'Marilyn Monroe: Private and Undisclosed New Edition' (Robinson, 2012), 'The Mammoth Guide to Hollywood Scandal's (Robinson 2013) and '271 Steps: The Life and Death of Thelma Todd' (upcoming - Chicago Review Press, 2015). Astrid Franse runs Bennies Fifties USA Collectables in the Netherlands with her husband. She purchased Miss Emmeline Snively's collection of her correspondence with Marilyn Monroe, her documents about the Blue Book Agency and her unpublished photographs from a shop in America, not realising until years later the importance of her purchase. SELLING POINTS: * The first book to explore Marilyn Monroe's modelling career in great detail * Features a never-before-seen archive of material kept by the Blue Book Modelling Agency. This includes letters, telegrams, notes and much more * 2015 marks the 70th anniversary of Monroe signing with the Blue Book Agency 200 images

In this sensitive, provocative portrait of Marilyn Monroe, Gloria Steinem reveals the woman behind the myth--the child Norma Jean--and the forces in America that shaped her into the fantasy and icon that has never died. 16 pages of full-color photos.