Marilyn Monroe has remained an icon of popular culture for decades. An actor and model from the '50s and '60s, her life ended tragically when she overdosed on drugs at the age of 36, in the prime of her life. There are many facts you already know about Monroe, including her three marriages, the most high-profile of which was to baseball player Joe DiMaggio, that iconic photoshoot standing on the air grates, and that "Happy Birthday, Mr. President" serenade moment.

RELATED: Kirk Douglas: 10 Fascinating Facts About The Hollywood Icon 

Her life was marred with controversy, hardship, and struggling to be viewed as more than the stereotypical "blonde bombshell" who oozed sex appeal. But looking beyond the surface, there are some interesting facts you might not know about the Hollywood icon.

10 Her Real Name is Norma Jean

This is one of the better-known facts about this actor, model, and singer from the '50s and '60s. Marilyn Monroe was just a stage name. She was actually born in Los Angeles in 1926 as Norma Jeane Mortenson.

She has also gone by the name Norma Jeane Baker, which has to do with some confusion over her parentage. Her mother Gladys, from a poor Midwestern family, married Martin Edward Mortensen at the time of Monroe's birth, though it is unknown if he was truly her father. She was given his surname at birth but sometimes went by the surname Baker, the name of her mother's first husband, John Newton Baker.

9 Her Films Grossed $200 Million

While Monroe was often criticized as being more popular because of her "blonde bombshell" status than she was for actual acting talent, there's no denying the numbers. Whatever the reason, people went to see her moves in droves.

So much so, in fact, that her films grossed $200 million for the decade that she was a top-billed actor, which equates to about $2 billion today. And even today, she continues to be a popular figure with her face on everything from T-shirts to posters and other merchandise.

8 She Spent Most of Her Youth in Foster Homes

Monroe spent most of her childhood in foster homes. Despite her mother's best intentions, she was not mentally or financially capable of caring for a child on her own. Gladys first placed Marilyn with foster parents and she would visit on weekends.

RELATED: Instant Icon: 20 Dresses That Put Hollywood Stars On The Map 

She tried to move Marilyn back home with her once she was able to buy a house, but after being diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia and being committed to a mental hospital, Monroe became a ward of the state. She then went from staying with her mother's friend to back with her foster parents and then in homes for orphans.

7 She Was Abused

Sadly, Monroe was the victim of sexual abuse as a child. First, by her foster father George Atkinson. Then second by the husband of her mother's friend Grace Goddard, Erwin "Doc" Goddard, who reportedly molested her.

Grace became Marilyn's legal guardian in 1936 and it was shortly after Marilyn went to live with them that Erwin molested her. She left a few months later and lived with various relatives and friends. Her most permanent home was with Grace's aunt Ana Lower in 1938, but she went back to live with the Goddards in 1941 when she was in high school due to Lower's health problems.

6 She Married at 16

Monroe got married at 16 but it wasn't a marriage of love. At the time, she was living with the Goddards. Erwin's job required him to relocate to West Virginia but California child protection laws did not allow him to take Monroe out of the state. That meant she would have had to return to the orphanage.

To avoid that, she got married to the 21-year-old neighbor, a factory worker named James Dougherty. He enlisted in the Merchant Marine in 1943 and she went with him.

5 Her career as a Model Took-Off Quickly

While her husband James was shipped out to the Pacific, Monroe started working for a Radioplane Company where she met photographer David Conover. In 1945, she began modeling for him and signed a modeling contract that year.

RELATED: 20 Pics Of Bombshell Brunettes Every Dude Can't Stop Staring At 

By 1946, she had appeared on 33 magazine covers like Pageant and Peek and was considered to be a great pin-up versus fashion model. By that time, she had straightened and dyed her curly brown hair blonde. She divorced James that year as he did not agree with her having a career.

4 A Studio Exec Gave Her the Stage Name

The stage name Marilyn Monroe was actually decided on by a studio executive at 20th Century Fox, Ben Lyon. While her auditions didn't impress, she was signed to a six-month contract anyway to prevent a rival studio from getting their hands on her.

Lyon picked the name Marilyn because it reminded him of the Broadway star Marilyn Miller. And Monroe picked Monroe because it was legitimately her mother's maiden name. While she had the name ready to go, she didn't get any film projects for the first six months of her acting "career" so she used the time to take acting, singing, and dancing classes.

3 She Was a 'Cheesecake Girl'

Monroe became known as a "cheesecake" girl, a slang term used to describe what we call today pin-up. Back then, the word cheesecake was a more acceptable term to describe seminude photos than pin-up, which was considered taboo in the early 20th century.

By 1951, she had appeared in supporting roles and bit parts in many films and was receiving thousands of fan letters every week. And she was given the name "Miss Cheesecake of 1951" by the army newspaper Stars and Stripes.

2 Three Movies Defined Her Career

While Monroe appeared in many films, it was three movies from 1953 that really solidified her career as an actor and her position as a major sex symbol and bankable Hollywood performer. The first was Niagara, a Technicolor film noir where she played a femme fatale out to murder her husband.

The second was the satirical musical comedy Gentlemen Prefer Blonde where she memorably performed the song "Diamonds Are a Girl's Best Friend." And the third was How to Marry a Millionaire, which became her biggest box office success at the time.

1 She Fought For Her Rights

Monroe can be considered a trailblazer in fighting for women's rights in Hollywood. Even though she had become one of the biggest stars for 20th Century-Fox, she was still getting paid less than other stars, and her contract hadn't changed since 1950.

The network also refused to put her in anything but comedies or musicals. She pushed back and eventually got a new contract, a $100,000 bonus, and a starring role in the film adaptation of The Seven Year Itch.

NEXT: America's Next Top Model: 10 Contestants Who Rule Instagram 

Next Jennifer Lawrence: 10 Facts To Know About Her Career