Two-Part Mini Series on Marilyn Monroe Comes to Lifetime

Kelli Garner plays Marilyn Monroe in the mini-series "The Secret Life of Marilyn Monroe" on Lifetime on May 30-31.

LOS ANGELES - A two-part TV drama “The Secret Life of Marilyn Monroe,” starring Kelli Garner, Susan Sarandon, Emily Watson and Jeffrey Dean Morgan is set to air on Lifetime on May 30 and 31, at 9 p.m. Eastern/Pacific Time.

The movie is based upon J. Randy Taraborrelli’s New York Times bestseller of the same name, which follows Norma Jeane Mortenson, (her last name was later changed to Baker) as she overcomes a lonely and neglected life with an absent mother. Despite hardships, she blossomed into a smart, ambitious woman who reinvents herself as Marilyn Monroe.

Marilyn is shown as unable to control her growing mental illness which she inherited from her mother, Gladys (Sarandon) — a woman she loves and hates at the same time. Although it was a kept secret, Gladys remained a troubling influence over Marilyn.

The movie is produced by Lifetime and Don Carmody Television.