Marilyn Monroe is descended from the Scottish Highlands.
The blonde Hollywood bombshell was born Norma Jeane Mortenson in Los Angeles in 1926 and took her screen name from her mother Gladys Monroe and it has now been revealed through DNA evidence that she is a descendant of the Munro clan from the village of Edinkillie, near Forres, in Moray, northeast Scotland.
The star’s mother could trace her own father’s line back to John Munro, a prisoner of war exiled to America after the Battle of Worcester during the English Civil War in 1651.
And an undertaking by the Clan Munro DNA project has confirmed that Marilyn’s ancestors were related to a Munro family from Edinkillie, establishing her link to the Scottish Highlands.
Another member of the Moray family, William Munro, emigrated to Jackarta in the 19th Century and his descendant, Roelof Zeijdel, told Scotsman.com: "I was most proud to discover my clan Munro heritage, but very amazed that DNA could show also I was related to this big star that everybody knows."
Back in 2016, Clan Munro USA launched an appeal to find relatives of the late star, with free DNA tests being offered to Munros with Highland origins.
Margaret Bardin, volunteer administrator of the Munro DNA project at Family Tree DNA, said at the time: "We have a limited number of free tests and it’ll be first-come first-served!"
Next weekend, hundreds of members of Clan Munro will hear details of the late star’s Scottish family during a clan gathering in the Highlands.
Marilyn died of a barbiturate overdose at the age of 36 in 1962.
Marilyn Monroe’s Scottish roots
