exhibition

A booklet containing short biographies and photgraphs of someof our featured portraits

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Marilyn Monroe

Probably the most celebrated of all actresses, Marilyn Monroe was born Norma Jeane Mortenson, 1st June 1926

At sixteen she worked in an aircraft plant and married a man she called Daddy, they divorced in 1946

Her marriage to playwright Arthur Miller was a surprise, she had no veil to match her beige wedding dress so she dyed one in coffee

She was married three times, none which lasted more than five years

She died on the 5th August, 1952 to a drug overdose, only featuring in 30 films she still remains one of the most iconic actresses

BradPitt

Brad Pitt was born in 1963 in Oklahoma, as William Bradley Pitt. In highschool he was involved in sports, debating, student government and school musicals

Attended the University of Missouri, where he majored in journalism with a focus on advertising. He occasionally acted in fraternity shows.

Before acting, he supported himself by driving strippers in limos, moving refrigerators and dressing as a giant chicken while working for “el Pollo Loco.”

Banned from entering China because of his role in Seven Years in Tibet

Lives in Los Angeles, Malibu, Goleta, California, Benerville, France and New Orleans, Louisiana

Jimi Hendrix

Jimi Hendrix was born in Seattle, Washington, on November 27th 1942 as John Allen Hendrix. His father, was fighting in World War II, so his mother raised him alone

His Father renamed him James Marshall Hendrix and taught him to play an acoustic guitar. In 1959 Jimi dropped out of high school and enlisted in the U.S. Army, but was soon disenchanted by the idea Jimi discovered

the music scene in Greenwich Village

As his music career began he also became involved in drugs such as, marijuana, pep pills and cocaine

Dying at 27, Jimi’s life was short, but his contribution to rock guitar is still being heard and very much appreciated

Adolf Hitler

Adolf Hitler was born on 20th April, 1889, in the small Austrian town of Braunau near the German border

Alois was a strict father to Hitler and savagely beat his son if he did not do as he was told

In school, he was popular with other pupils and was admired for his leadership qualities. He was a deeply religious child and for a while considered the possibility of becoming a priest.

His three serious relationships, resulted in the women attempting suicide, two of which were successful

He commited suicide alongside his ex girlfriend, there bodies were burnt as requested. It is said he was holding a photograph of his Mother

He is responsible for the deaths of over 46 million people

AlbertEinsteinAlbert Einstein was born at Ulm, in Württemberg, Germany, onMarch 14,

He trained to be a teacher of physics and mathematics. However, he later obtained a doctor’s degree

In 1909 he became Professor Extraordinary at Zurich.

In 1933 he emigrated to America to take the position of Professor of Theoretical Physics at Princeton

Einstein’s gifts inevitably resulted in his dwelling much in intellectual solitude and, for relaxation, music played an important part in his life

He died on April 18, 1955 at Princeton, New Jersey.

Michael Jackson

Jackson was born August 29, 1958, in Gary, Indiana, to an African-American working-class family

His father formed the Jackson 5, in which Michael was the lead vocalist, showing remarkable depth and range for such a young perfomer

At the age of 13, Jackson launched a solo career in addition to his work with the Jackson 5

Throughout his career, he had sold over 750 million albums and had performed to his fans over 1,880 times

On June 25, 2009, Jackson suffered cardiac arrest in his Los Angeles home. He died later that morning. He was 50 years old.

The moral right of the contents has

been asserted.

First published by ‘National Portrait Gallery publishing, 2012, South

Kensington, LondonSW7 2RL

Generously supported by the The Blavatnik Family Foundation

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Publication designed by Ceara Elliot

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