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Marilyn Monroe met her future husband, Arthur Miller, in 1950, per Biography. They met through film and theatre director Elia Kazan, who Monroe was casually seeing at the time. Monroe was 24 years old and an actor struggling to find work, while Miller was 35 years old and was already a well-established playwright. His magnum opus, “Death of a Salesman,” premiered the previous year. When they met, he was also married to his first wife, Mary Slattery. Of course, Monroe would marry Joe DiMaggio in 1954, about four years after meeting Miller.
Nonetheless, the two reportedly developed an affair shortly after meeting — an affair which likely lasted on and off until they divorced their respective spouses around 1955 and 1956, and married each other (per the Guardian). Monroe fell deeply in love with Miller and became sick of her Hollywood life. She supposedly wanted to elope with him away from the cameras. According to Architectural Digest, shortly after they wed, she told him, “I hate Hollywood, I don’t want it any more. I want to live quietly in the country and just be there when you need me. I can’t fight for myself any more.”
Additionally, her biographer, Jeffrey Meyers, said that Monroe converted to Judaism for Miller to “express her loyalty and get close to both Miller and his parents.” As fans will recall, they also tried — multiple times — for a baby together, but each attempt sadly ended in a miscarriage, likely due in part to Monroe’s endometriosis.
