Anthony Summers, the author of the 1985 biography Goddess: The Secret Lives of Marilyn Monroe, detailed Monroe’s struggle with a debilitating condition. He remarked, “It was so severe that it destroyed her marriages, her wish for children, her career, and ultimately her life. In the days before effective conservative surgery or medical therapies, it led to progressively increasing use of strong analgesics, tranquilisers, and hypnotics – resulting in drug dependency.”
Bryan Johns, president and chief executive of the ICON Collection, which played a significant role in the exhibition Marilyn Monroe: Hollywood Icon at the Academy Museum of Motion Pictures, highlighted how Monroe’s health struggles were often overlooked.
Johns stated, “She suffered from terrible, debilitating endometriosis and was frequently hospitalized and under medical care for it throughout her life. Despite informing the studio of her health issues, the studio often dismissed her claims and accused her of fabricating them to maintain control over her – shaping the narrative for the gossip columnists.”
A source familiar with Monroe’s medical history informed Radar that what many perceived as unreliability or emotional instability was frequently linked to the severe pain and the medications she used to manage it. “It basically caused her to become a tablet junkie,” the source explained.
Another Monroe historian commented, “The tragedy is that she lived in an era when women were expected to endure in silence. Available treatments were limited, and reliance on prescribed drugs became increasingly common for patients with chronic conditions.”
