What Marilyn Monroe’s Diaries Didn’t Say — The Silent Yearning to Be a Mom
OPINION: This article may contain commentary which reflects the author’s opinion.
Marilyn Monroe, Hollywood’s enduring icon, is often remembered for her dazzling screen presence and tragic life. Yet beneath the glittering façade lay a deeply personal and largely untold story: her quiet but profound desire to become a mother—a dream she never realized. While much has been written about her struggles with relationships, mental health, and addiction, Monroe’s yearning for motherhood remains one of the more poignant and lesser-known aspects of her life.
A Troubled Childhood Shaping Maternal Longing
Born Norma Jeane Mortenson on June 1, 1926, Monroe’s early years were marred by instability. Her mother, Gladys Baker, suffered from paranoid schizophrenia and was institutionalized when Marilyn was still a child, leaving her to grow up in foster care and orphanages. This absence of maternal love and security profoundly shaped Monroe’s emotional world and, biographers suggest, seeded her longing to create the family she never had.
Growing up without a stable mother figure, Monroe’s childhood was marked by feelings of abandonment and loneliness. These formative experiences likely influenced her deep desire for maternal connection and the hope to build a family of her own.
The Silent Evidence of Motherhood Dreams
Monroe rarely spoke openly about wanting children, and her personal diaries and interviews contain few direct mentions of motherhood. However, evidence points to a heartfelt wish to be a mother. Over her lifetime, Monroe experienced at least three pregnancies, none of which resulted in a live birth. According to a 2022 article in Women’s Health Magazine, “Marilyn loved children and she was desperate to be a mother. Sadly, she never carried a baby to term.”
Actress Mira Sorvino, speaking in the 2022 CNN series Reframed: Marilyn Monroe, reflected on Monroe’s private longing: “She wanted to be a mom. I think she wanted to love a baby.” While this is an interpretation rather than Monroe’s own words, it resonates with those who have studied her life closely.
Glimpses From Monroe’s Personal Writings
Monroe’s Fragments: Poems, Intimate Notes, Letters (2010) offers rare insight into her inner thoughts. Though her writings reveal her yearning for emotional stability and unconditional love, explicit references to motherhood are scarce. In a 1962 Life magazine interview, Monroe spoke candidly about her loneliness and struggles but did not mention children.
This absence of direct commentary makes it challenging to fully understand Monroe’s true feelings about motherhood, leaving much to be pieced together from indirect clues and the perspectives of those who knew her.
Fact, Fiction, and the Challenge of Monroe’s Legacy
Marilyn Monroe’s life has inspired numerous books, films, and dramatizations, often blending fact with fiction. The 2022 film Blonde, based on Joyce Carol Oates’ novel, dramatizes Monroe’s pregnancies and abortions, portraying a tragic battle to become a mother. However, such portrayals are fictionalized and not based on concrete historical evidence or Monroe’s own accounts.
This blurring of reality and myth underscores the difficulty in separating Monroe’s authentic personal experiences from the sensationalized versions that populate popular culture—particularly regarding her private desires and vulnerabilities.
Conclusion: A Legacy Marked by Maternal Yearning
Though Marilyn Monroe’s maternal dreams remain largely unspoken in her own words, the evidence suggests a woman deeply yearning to be a mother—shaped by a childhood marked by loss and longing. Despite multiple pregnancies and her personal struggles, Monroe was never able to carry a child to term. Her silent hope for motherhood adds a moving, human dimension to the icon’s complex legacy—reminding us that behind the star was a woman with deeply personal desires and unmet dreams.
