Marilyn's first attempt to break into the world of show business was as a young model. She learned the rudiments of posing before a camera from Emmeline Snively, at the Blue Book Modeling Agency.
Marilyn's first modeling job was an unglamorous assignmentbegin a hostess for the Holga Steel Company at a trade show. On her second assignment, on location at Malibu beach with a group of models for the Montgomery Ward store catalogue, she was sent home on the second day. A devasted Norma Jeane learned from MIss Snively that she was dismissed because she was just "too sexy" and it was felt nobody would bother looking at the clothes.
As her film career slowly got into gear, Marilyn modeled swimsuits and did cheesecake shots right through until the early fifties.

Marilyn's view on modeling:

"It's kind of funny. You smile for the camera, you hold very stil, you act as if you're having a good time, but it's a day when you're really having terrible cramps.
I guess I shouldn't say this, but sometimes modeling seemed so phony and fake I just had to laugh. They thought that was great, they had a great smile from you and they just snapped away, thinking that, well, I was having a good time. Sure, sometimes it was fun. But modeling can also be a little crazy. I once aksked why I had to wear a bathing suit for a toothpaste ad. He looked at me as if I was some kind of crazy."