Marilyn Monroe was born Norma Jeane Dougherty on June 1, 1926, in Los Angeles, California. Dubbed the “Blonde Bombshell,” she was one of the most popular actresses of the 1950s and early 1960s. Norma Jeane had an unsettled childhood and bounced around orphanages and foster homes. She married James Dougherty just days after her 16th birthday, in 1942. James served in the Merchant Marine during World War II, and Norma Jeane took a job at the Radioplane Munitions Factory. Her job was to spray fire retardant on airplane parts and inspect parachutes. However, one day in 1945, an Army photographer named David Conover took her picture for a series of “women war workers” for Yank magazine. Conover was assigned to the job by US Air Force Captain Ronald Reagan. After that, Norma Jeane went to work for Blue Book Modeling Agency and became a successful model, appearing on numerous magazine covers. It was during this time that she dyed her hair blonde. She tried nine different shades of blonde before settling on platinum. A year after her first modeling pictures, she was given a screen test by 20th Century Fox.