New Documentary Reframes Marilyn Monroe's Legacy Through Her Secret Battle With Endometriosis

A new documentary is reframing the legacy of Marilyn Monroe through the lens of endometriosis — a chronic, often misunderstood disease she reportedly battled in silence.

A new documentary is offering a sobering reexamination of Marilyn Monroe's life — one that reframes years of public mischaracterization through the lens of a painful, chronic illness she reportedly battled in silence.

The film, "End of the Cycle," explores the devastating realities of living with endometriosis, a disease in which tissue similar to the uterine lining grows outside the uterus.

Incurable and diagnosable only through surgery, the condition is said to affect more than 265 million women worldwide — and Monroe is believed to have been among them, at a time when the disease was barely understood by the medical community.

Through candid personal testimonies and a careful look at Monroe's reported health history, the documentary sheds light on an issue that, despite its scale, remains chronically overlooked.

The icon, who longed to have children and build a family, endured multiple miscarriages, unexplained hospital visits, and a reputation for being "difficult" — all of which, the film argues, were likely rooted in the disease.

"The way she's been portrayed all these years has not been accurate," co-director Sammy Jaye said at a recent screening held at the Whitby Hotel. "If anyone mentions Marilyn Monroe in a negative way, you can revert back to this and know that she was going through [the disease] at a time when she couldn't have said anything, and there wasn't social media."

Jaye, who has also lived with endometriosis, noted that Monroe would have celebrated her 100th birthday on June 1. "You look at what has and hasn't changed over the past 100 years with treatments and medicines … not much has changed," she added.

The historical record backs up the film's claims. Anthony Summers, author of the 1985 book "Goddess: The Secret Lives of Marilyn Monroe," confirmed her diagnosis through her own physician.

"The condition was so severe that it destroyed her marriages, her wish for children, her career and ultimately her life," Summers wrote. "In days before effective conservative surgery or effective medical therapies, it led to progressively increasing use of strong analgesics, tranquilisers and hypnotics — and drug dependency."

One particularly striking moment featured in the documentary involves a handwritten note Monroe taped to her stomach before undergoing an appendectomy in April 1952. Addressed to her doctor, it was a desperate plea to preserve her reproductive organs.

"Save please (I can't ask enough) what you can — I'm in your hands. You have children and you must know what it means — please Dr. Rabwin — I know somehow you will!" the note read. "Thank you — thank you — thank you — For God's sakes Dear Doctor no ovaries removed."

Decades later, the struggle endures. Amy Schumer, who stars in the documentary, described living with endometriosis as "unforgiving," saying, "It's a special kind of hell to be in that position of isolation."

Fellow cast member Julianne Hough shared that she suffered a ruptured cyst while competing on "Dancing With the Stars," and was consumed by fear about her fertility. "I was just like, 'Oh my gosh, I'm scared I'm never going to have kids,'" she recalled. "The fear is just overwhelming."

"End of the Cycle" is currently available to stream for free on The Endometriosis Collective website.