Award-winning TV series, The Secret Life of Marilyn Monroe’ which uncovers many closely guarded secrets the blonde bombshell kept from the public shows on Lifetime (DStv channel 131) every Sunday at 6:00pm GMT
The all-star cast in the critically acclaimed two-part mini-series includes Kelli Garner in the title role; Susan Sarandon as Marilyn’s biggest secret of all, her mother Gladys; Emily Watson; Embeth Davidtz and Jeffrey Dean Morgan. Sarandon’s daughter Eva Amurri Martino plays Gladys in her youth.
The series begins with a portrait of a young Norma Jeane Mortenson as she battles a lonely and loveless existence with an absent mother. Despite the odds, Norma Jeane blossoms into a funny, smart and ambitious woman and soon reinvents herself to become the symbol of an era. Although her movie studio told the world that Marilyn’s mother was dead, it is the great secret of Marilyn’s life that Gladys remained a vital and troubling part of her world.
The outside world never truly sees or understands the real Marilyn, a woman so different from her public persona. As her fame grows, all three of her marriages crumble beneath her quite publicly, including those with Joe DiMaggio (Morgan) and Arthur Miller (Stephen Bogaert) while she has an unhealthy obsession with President John F. Kennedy.
The Secret Life of Marilyn Monroe airs on Lifetime (DStv channel 131) on Sunday, August 9, at 6:00pm GMT with the second instalment on Sunday, August 16, at 6:00pm GMT.