Marilyn Monroe Photograph by Richard C. Miller, 1946

A Rare Early Portrait Capturing Marilyn Monroe at the Threshold of Stardom

This original photograph of Marilyn Monroe was taken by photographer Richard C. Miller on April 30, 1946, at the Sheraton Townhouse in Los Angeles. At the time, she was still known as Norma Jeane Dougherty, a young model on the brink of transformation.

Miller had begun his career as a commercial photographer in the early 1940s, producing images for magazines and advertising campaigns. His introduction to Norma Jeane came through Emmeline Snively, founder of the Blue Book Modeling Agency, who recognized her extraordinary potential and encouraged Miller to photograph her.

Initially, Miller hesitated. Norma Jeane had already appeared on numerous magazine covers, and editors were often reluctant to reuse models who had been featured elsewhere. Despite these concerns, Miller agreed to a full day of shooting.

The session took place at the Sheraton Townhouse on Wilshire Boulevard, where Miller used the hotel’s swimming pool as a setting. Working with a Speed Graphic camera and 4×5 Kodachrome film, he captured a series of striking images that preserved Norma Jeane’s natural beauty and quiet confidence.

This photograph was taken at a pivotal moment in her life. Within months, Norma Jeane would sign her first studio contract, dye her hair blonde, and assume the name Marilyn Monroe. The image stands as a rare and powerful record of the young woman just before she became one of the most recognizable figures in modern history.

This print was later donated to The Marilyn Monroe Collection by the Milton Greene Archives, further strengthening its historical and archival significance.

Before She Became Marilyn Monroe

In March and April 1946, Dick photographed a model provided through the Blue Book Models agency, run by Emmeline Snively. Emmeline said, “I’ve got a real cute girl. You ought to see her.” The model’s name was Norma Jeane Dougherty.

“She was a cutie, and they had sold some covers of her already,” Dick said. He hesitated because the magazines did not like to use a model more than once. But on March 2, Dick and Norma Jeane took a trip. He posed her leaning against a tree, then on the beach, and finally on a fence because they had to leave the beach abruptly. “I remember the crowd was collecting very fast. A lot of men.”

“I did not shoot her for very long. The market was already saturated,” he recalls. But Dick did sell a cover of Norma Jeane to True Romance. “She was nice when she was Norma Jeane, very sweet. She came to dinner at the house. A nice, friendly girl.” Then she went to work for the studios, eventually becoming Marilyn Monroe. Dick photographed her after she became a celebrity. “I met Marilyn Monroe again on Some Like It Hot. I was the still photographer.” She smiled and said, “Hi, Dick” but was not interested in reviving their friendship.

Category:

Marilyn Photographs

Item:

Norma Jeane Dougherty Photographed Just Before Becoming Marilyn Monroe

Archival History:

Donated to The Marilyn Monroe Collection by the Estate of Richard Miller

Collector’s Note

Photographs taken in 1946 capture Marilyn Monroe at the precise moment her life was about to change forever. In these images, she is still Norma Jeane, not yet the global icon the world would come to know. Richard C. Miller’s photographs preserve that threshold moment. There is no artifice, no performance, only possibility. The fact that this original print was preserved and later donated by the Milton Greene Archives adds an additional layer of provenance, connecting two of the most important photographers to document Marilyn Monroe’s life and legacy.