A portrait from Marilyn’s last photo session, by Allan Grant. The pictures were taken to accompany the Life interview, and despite claims to the contrary by some photographers, are indeed the last ever taken of Monroe.

At a party in August, Marilyn signed the guest register. Under “residence” she wrote: “Nowhere.” Three days later, she was dead. The coroner’s verdict was that her death was a “probable suicide” from an overdose of barbiturates. Unanswered questions about her death created a cottage industry of speculation over the ensuing fifty years.