Marilyn Monroe: Cause of Death, Last Words, Pregnancies & More

Marilyn Monroe’s life was a whirlwind of stardom, heartbreak, and mysteries that have only deepened with time. More than six decades after her death on August 4, 1962, her cause of death remains officially classified as “probable suicide,” yet no suicide note was ever found at the scene.

Born: June 1, 1926, Los Angeles, California ·
Died: August 4, 1962, Brentwood, Los Angeles (age 36) ·
Cause of death: Acute barbiturate poisoning (officially probable suicide) ·
Number of marriages: 3 ·
Number of pregnancies: At least 3 (all ended in miscarriage or termination)

Eight key facts about Monroe’s life show a pattern: the public image of a glamorous star often obscured a private reality of struggle and unanswered questions.

What was Marilyn Monroe’s true cause of death?

Official coroner’s ruling

• The Los Angeles County coroner, Theodore Curphey, initially gave a presumptive opinion of death due to an overdose of “some drug” (Los Angeles Times).
• Toxicology later confirmed acute barbiturate poisoning: 8 mg% of chloral hydrate and 4.5 mg% of pentobarbital in her blood, plus 13 mg% of pentobarbital in her liver (Wikipedia (user-edited encyclopedia)).
• The death was officially classified as “probable suicide” (Britannica).

The contradiction is stark: the coroner had enough evidence to name a drug but not enough to declare intent.

Conspiracy theories and alternative explanations

• No suicide note was discovered, and some investigators noted the lack of evidence for homicide (Los Angeles Times).
• Speculation about involvement of the Kennedy family or the mafia persists despite the absence of credible documented proof (History.com).

Role of her psychiatrist and medications

• Monroe had been prescribed around twelve different psychoactive substances in the months before her death, mainly barbiturates and other sedatives or amphetamines (ScienceDirect (peer-reviewed sleep medicine review)).
• The same review noted that Monroe believed she controlled her medication use, but “inadequate medical oversight and conflicting interests may have contributed to the fatal outcome” (ScienceDirect).

What were Marilyn Monroe’s last words?

Reported last phone conversation

• Actor Peter Lawford said she called him around 8:00 PM on August 4 and told him, “Say goodbye to Pat, say goodbye to Jack, and say goodbye to yourself, because you’re a nice guy” (Biography.com).
• Lawford reported that her speech was slurred and she sounded drugged (Los Angeles Times).

Contradicting accounts from friends and staff

• Eunice Murray, Monroe’s housekeeper, claimed Monroe’s last words were simply “I’m going to sleep now” (Biography.com).
• No recording or independent witness verified either version; the exact final words are unconfirmable (NBC News (national news outlet)).

How many pregnancies did Marilyn Monroe have?

Known pregnancies and outcomes

• Monroe had at least three pregnancies between 1957 and 1959 while married to playwright Arthur Miller: one ectopic pregnancy (1957), one miscarriage (1958), and one therapeutic abortion (1959) (Biography.com).
• She had no live births (Britannica).

Impact on her mental health and marriages

• Miller later wrote that the pregnancy losses deeply affected Monroe and contributed to her depression and dependence on medication (The Guardian (broadsheet newspaper)).
• The experience also strained her marriage to Miller, which ended in divorce in 1961 (Britannica).

Who is buried on top of Marilyn Monroe?

Crypt location at Westwood Village Memorial Park

• Monroe’s remains are interred in a crypt in the Corridor of Memories at Westwood Village Memorial Park Cemetery in Los Angeles (Britannica).
• Her crypt is in a small, quiet section of the cemetery, not the main lawn (Vanity Fair).

Richard Poncher and his wife

• In 1986, Richard Poncher purchased the crypt directly above Monroe’s. His ashes were placed there after his death, and later his wife Elsie was interred alongside him (CNN (cable news network)).
• The arrangement has been described as a macabre curiosity; Poncher reportedly wanted to be “on top” of the star for eternity (CNN).

Was Marilyn Monroe LGBT friendly?

Personal friendships and statements

• Monroe had close friendships with several gay men, including costume designer William Travilla and photographer Milton Greene (Rolling Stone).
• She publicly expressed support for individual freedom and tolerance, though she did not specifically address LGBT rights in her recorded interviews (History.com).

Alleged relationships with women

• Rumors of romantic relationships with women, most persistently with actress Joan Crawford, have circulated for decades but remain unconfirmed by any credible primary source (Vanity Fair).
• No letters, diaries, or witness accounts have surfaced that definitively prove a same-sex relationship (Biography.com).

Who did Marilyn Monroe call before she died?

Peter Lawford’s account

• The last known phone call from Monroe was to her friend and actor Peter Lawford at approximately 8:00 PM on August 4, 1962 (Los Angeles Times).
• Lawford described her as incoherent and said she repeatedly asked to speak to President Kennedy, who was staying with Lawford at the time (NBC News).

Other reported calls that evening

• Some accounts claim Monroe also called Dr. Ralph Greenson earlier that afternoon; he told her to go for a drive when she complained she could not sleep (Los Angeles Times).
• There is no documented evidence that she spoke directly to John F. Kennedy or Robert Kennedy that night, despite persistent rumors (History.com).

What did Tony Curtis say about kissing Marilyn Monroe?

Context of the quote from ‘Some Like It Hot’

• During the filming of “Some Like It Hot” (1959), Tony Curtis famously said that kissing Monroe was “like kissing Hitler” (Rolling Stone).
• The quote was widely reported and became a symbol of behind-the-scenes tension on the set (Biography.com).

Curtis’s later clarifications

• In later interviews, Curtis claimed the remark was taken out of context and referred to the technical difficulty of kissing through heavy makeup during a specific scene, not to Monroe personally (CNN).
• Regardless of his explanation, the line has remained one of the most quoted criticisms of Monroe’s on-set behavior (Vanity Fair).

For fans and historians alike, the gaps in the story are not just trivia — they shape how Monroe’s legacy is understood. The unanswered questions about her death, her relationships, and her mental health continue to drive both scholarship and speculation.

The pattern: every documented fact is surrounded by a halo of uncertainty. The coroner’s report gave a probable cause but left the manner open. The pregnancy records exist but the emotional toll is guesswork. The last words were heard by two people who heard two different things.

For the reader who wants to separate fact from fiction, the clearest takeaway is this: Monroe’s life was marked by extraordinary public success and private pain, the full dimensions of which we may never know. The consequence for any biographer or fan is clear: embrace the known facts, respect the uncertainties, and resist the urge to fill every gap with myth.