Marilyn Monroe: The Final 24 Hours of a Hollywood Icon

In the early hours of a Saturday morning, Marilyn Monroe woke up feeling restless.

She had a restless night of sleep and looked at herself in the mirror, noticing her thinner figure and tired appearance.

She realized she needed a manicure and pedicure, but before that, she needed to talk to someone.

She contemplated calling one of her ex-husbands, her psychiatrist, or even the White House.

As a Hollywood legend, the last day of Marilyn Monroe's life remains a mystery.

On August 4, 1962, the 36-year-old actress spent the day at her Los Angeles home.

By the next day, she would be found dead in her bed, n^ked and clutching a telephone receiver, with an empty bottle of Nembutal capsules nearby.

When news of her apparent suicide broke, America was shocked to learn that the star had spent her Saturday night alone.

Even after forty-four years, the details of what happened during those hours are still unclear.

Was it suicide or murder?

Was Monroe driven to despair by the recent end of her love affair with President Kennedy?

Just two months prior, she had sung “Happy Birthday, Mr. President” at Madison Square Garden, but he abruptly ended their relationship.

Did she then start a new relationship with his brother, Robert F. Kennedy?

Rumors circulated in Hollywood that she was planning to hold a press conference on Monday.

The official verdict from the coroner was “probable suicide.”

Monroe was portrayed as an unreliable actress who relied heavily on pills and suffered from depression.

Her critics argued that she had simply spiraled into self-destruction.

Her fear of abandonment, stemming from a childhood spent in orphanages and foster homes, haunted her.

She dreaded becoming like her mother, who spent most of her life in a psychiatric clinic.

A year before her death, Monroe had checked into a psychiatric clinic and was even locked in a padded cell until her ex-husband, Joe DiMaggio, intervened.

On that August day, Monroe's critics believed she was an aging s** symbol with a failing career.

Pale, thin, and lifeless, her hair damaged from bleach, she refused to leave the house without her makeup artist and hairdresser.

She had been fired by Fox and replaced on her last film, Something's Got To Give.

Rumors of her promiscuity and an abortion added to her troubles.

It seemed plausible that she would take her own life.

However, others insisted that Monroe had never been happier.

Moving from New York to Los Angeles represented a fresh start for her.

She had purchased her first house and was in the process of refurbishing it.

Although she relied on medication and therapy to cope with her failed marriage, her career was back on track in the week leading up to her death.

She graced the covers of Life and Paris-Match magazines.

Fox rehired her after seeing the promising footage of Something's Got To Give.

She was scheduled to return to work on Monday.

Her previous 23 films had grossed over $250 million.

The question remains: which portrayal of Monroe is accurate?

Every year seems to bring new pieces to the puzzle.

In 2004, alleged transcripts of tapes that Monroe recorded for her psychiatrist were published, revealing a woman far from suicidal.

Recently, a letter written by Monroe to her acting teacher, Lee Strasberg, was made public.

Although written eight months before her death, the letter detailed Monroe's plan to establish an independent film production company with Marlon Brando.

When it comes to Monroe, conspiracy theories abound.

The Barbican will be celebrating the 80th anniversary of Monroe's birth next Saturday, introducing Sandra Shevey, the first biographer to claim definitively that Monroe was murdered.

Similar to the case of Princess Diana, every detail about Marilyn's last days has been dissected.

The intriguing aspect of Monroe's death is that everything – and nothing – could be true.

Even the time of her death is disputed.

Monroe's doctor reported it as 4:25 am on Sunday, August 5, but evidence suggests she died around eight hours earlier.

The coroner's report stated that Monroe's death resulted from a massive overdose of Nembutal capsules, but there was no trace of drugs in her stomach or evidence of oral consumption.

Sgt Jack Clemmons of the LAPD even suggested that her body appeared posed on the bed, unlike typical overdose victims.

Crucial forensic evidence disappeared shortly after her death.

Key witnesses from that night, including police officers, friends, a psychiatrist, an attorney, and her press agent, have contradicted each other and changed their stories over the years.

The true events of that fateful Saturday remain elusive.

Monroe's agent, Pat Newcomb, stayed at her house on Friday night.

She reported that Monroe woke up feeling irritable due to lack of sleep but was excited about a furniture delivery from Mexico.

When her housekeeper, Eunice