Both Girls Lived in Unhappy Households
Berniece Baker and Marilyn Monroe had more than just a maternal line in common; both girls grew up in households that often were fraught with turmoil. After Monroe’s mother left her care to receive treatment in a state ward for her mental illness, she was sent to various orphanages and never found much comfort in this routine. Baker’s household was similar in feeling; after Gladys Baker left her father, he remarried to a stern woman who was much older than himself and he didn’t have much affection to spare for his children.