James Dougherty (police officer)

Early life and marriage

Dougherty grew up in Southern California and came of age during the early 1940s. In 1942 he married Norma Jeane Baker, then a teenager; the marriage provided stability for her during a period of foster care and hardship. The couple divorced in 1946, several years before Norma Jeane adopted the professional name Marilyn Monroe and became a film star.

Career in law enforcement

Dougherty worked as a police officer in the Los Angeles region and is commonly described as having served with the Los Angeles-area police. Contemporary summaries often identify him with the Los Angeles Police Department. His professional life was that of a working law-enforcement officer rather than a public celebrity, and he lived much of his later life outside the entertainment world.

Relationship with Marilyn Monroe and later recollections

The marriage to Norma Jeane is the main reason Dougherty features in accounts of Hollywood history. He and Norma Jeane were married for several years in the mid-1940s, and their separation preceded her discovery and rise to fame. In later decades Dougherty occasionally gave interviews and recollections that biographers used to illuminate Monroe's childhood and early adult years. For broader context about Monroe's life and career, see general biographical accounts of Marilyn Monroe.

Later life and legacy

After his years in uniform and following his divorce from Norma Jeane, Dougherty led a relatively private life. He was sometimes sought by journalists and authors researching Monroe's origins, and his statements are treated by historians and biographers as one of several contemporary sources about her pre-fame life. Though not a public figure in his own right, Dougherty remains a recurring name in narratives about mid-20th-century American popular culture because of his connection to Monroe.

Notable facts

• Born April 12, 1921; died August 15, 2005.
• Best known for being the first husband of Norma Jeane, later Marilyn Monroe.
• Served as a police officer in the Los Angeles area and is commonly associated with the LAPD.
• Provided interviews and recollections used in later biographies of Monroe.

Readers interested in fuller accounts can consult contemporary biographies of Marilyn Monroe and histories of mid-20th-century Los Angeles to place Dougherty's life and era in a wider social and cultural context.