Marilyn Monroe Took Being A Step-Parent Seriously And 'Wanted Them To Feel That They Knew Me'

During her short life, Marilyn Monroe never got the chance to be a biological mother — she did, however, get plenty of experience mothering her stepchildren. According to The Marilyn Monroe Collection, Monroe was known to be pregnant three times: once in 1956, while filming "The Prince and The Showgirl;" once in 1957; and once in 1958, while filming "Some Like It Hot." All three of these ended in miscarriage. Despite not having biological children, Monroe treated her stepchildren like family, and all of their phone numbers were discovered in her final address book from 1962. She also seemed dedicated to being as open as possible with her stepkids so they would "feel that they knew" her outside of tabloid gossip, according to an unearthed interview.

The "Gentlemen Prefer Blondes" star, who died at 36, opened up about how important her stepkids were to her in a conversation with Life magazine's Richard Meryman, the final interview before her death, originally published in part on August 3, 1962. The conversation was published in full for the first time in the book, "Marilyn: The Lost Photographs, The Last Interview," on May 12, 2026. In an excerpt of the book (via People), Monroe shared that she occasionally wished she could just be a mother and wife. "Sometimes I think all I've ever wanted in the world is to settle for being a happily married woman with a wonderful family, but I don't think I would trade that for what I've learned," she said.

Monroe added that when she was married, she had to "take into consideration the other person, my husband ... [and] most particularly, my stepchildren." Monroe went on, "I always wanted them to feel that they knew me as myself, whatever they might read or hear."

Marilyn Monroe had three husbands during her life: James Dougherty, who she married in 1942 (when she was just 16); Joe DiMaggio, who she married in 1954; and Arthur Miller, who she married in 1956. She talked fondly about Bobby Miller, son of Arthur, and Joey DiMaggio, son of Joe, in the interview; she was also a stepmom to Miller's daughter, Jane Miller. At one point in her last interview (via People), Monroe said, "My stepchildren are my best friends."

Elsewhere in the Life interview, she told a story about finding a magazine in Bobby's possession which featured "awful articles" about her. "I just said, 'Bobby, anything you want to know about me, come and ask me. But don't get it secondhand from these kind of things,'" she said (via People). This is similar to what she said in the original article, "Last Talk With a Lonely Girl: Marilyn Monroe," published in Life in 1962, in which she discussed the toll her fame took on her stepkids.

"All my stepchildren carried the burden of my fame," Monroe said in the interview (via The Guardian). "Sometimes they would read terrible things about me and I'd worry about whether it would hurt them. I would tell them: don't hide these things from me. I'd rather you ask me these things straight out and I'll answer all your questions." It's clear she loved her stepkids fiercely, and it's just one more thing we admire about the iconic Hollywood star.