 Aspiring actress Norma Jean Baker lives in squalor in the early  40s as she works at the munitions plant and dreams of being a movie star. Abused as a child and an adult, she lacks self-confidence, but photographer Ralph Johnson takes some publicity shots and convinces her to try for her dream, and supports her as she s bounced from casting couches to sleazy photo shoots. She befriends once-powerful producer Hal James, who tries to steer her toward her dream of stardom, to where she will eventually be known as Marilyn Monroe.