Her Father
Marilyn's biological father remains unclear. After Gladys returned to Los Angeles, she married Martin Edward Mortensen (1897–1981) on October 11, 1924. They separated on May 26, 1925, and they divorced on August 15, 1928. Martin's father, also named Martin Mortensen, was born in Stavanger, Norway on February 8, 1861, and had emigrated to the United States in 1878 where he married Stella Higgins on October 10, 1894 in Vallejo, California. Their son was born in Vallejo, California.
Biographer Donald H. Wolfe in The Last Days of Marilyn Monroe, writes his belief that Norma Jeane's biological father was Charles Stanley Gifford, a salesman for RKO Pictures where Gladys worked as a film editor. Her birth certificate lists Gladys's second husband, Martin Edward Mortensen, as the father. Although Mortensen separated from Gladys before her daughter's birth, some biographers speculate he may have been the father. In an interview with Lifetime, James Dougherty, Monroe's first husband, said Norma Jeane believed that Gifford was her father. Whoever the father was, he played no further part in Monroe's life.
Read more about this topic: Early Life Of Marilyn Monroe
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