Marilyn Monroe (born Norma Jeane Mortenson; June 1, 1926 – August 4,1962) was an American actress, writer, model, singer and filmmaker. Between 1946 and 1962, she made 44 movies. Famous for playing comic "blonde bombshell" characters, she became one of the most popular sex symbols of the 1950s and was emblematic of the era's attitudes towards sexuality. Although she was a top-billed actress for only a decade, her films grossed $200 million by the time of her unexpected death in 1962.