Who Was Marilyn Monroe's Sister? All About Berniece Baker Miracle

Berniece Baker Miracle wrote a memoir about life with her sister Marilyn Monroe

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Published on December 23, 2023 12:00PM EST

Marilyn Monroe then known as Norma Jeane Mortenson poses for a portrait in 1946 in Los Angeles, California. ; Berniece Miracle in 1994. . Photo:
Richard C. Miller/Donaldson Collection/Getty ; Remi BENALI/Gamma-Rapho/Getty

Marilyn Monroe lived a life in the spotlight, which her sister Berniece Baker Miracle documented in the only authorized biography of the star's life.

In 1994, Miracle published My Sister Marilyn: A Memoir of Marilyn Monroe, which she co-wrote with her daughter Mona Rae Miracle. The book details how the sisters bonded despite their estrangement as kids and the effects of Monroe’s fame.

Despite much of Monroe's life being in the public eye, she rarely spoke about her sister. Miracle was born in 1919, seven years before Monroe, to the same mother as the Hollywood star. The pair didn't meet until Monroe was 18, but they formed a close bond.

“She was a wonderful sister,” Miracle told The New York Times in 1994.

Here is everything to know about Marilyn Monroe's sister.

Miracle and Monroe share the same mother

A young teenage Norma Jeane Baker posing with her half sister Berniece Baker Miracle, circa 1944.
Screen Archives/Getty

Miracle was born to Gladys and Jasper Baker on July 30, 1919, in Venice, California.

In 1921, the Bakers divorced. According to The New York Times, Miracle was raised by her father and stepmother, with no connection to her birth mother.

Gladys married and divorced Martin Mortensen and then had a brief relationship with Charles Stanley Gifford. The pair welcomed Monroe (born Norma Jeane Mortensen) on June 1, 1926, but Gifford did not help to raise her. Shortly after her birth, Gladys placed baby Norma Jeane in foster care.

They met when Monroe was 18

According to The New York Times, the sisters didn’t find out about each other until 1938, when Monroe was 12 and Miracle was 19.

At the time, the elder sister was married to Paris Miracle, and about to become a mother. Monroe was living between family friends, foster parents and an orphanage, so the sisters didn’t meet until 1944.

"By then she was married to her first husband, Jim Dougherty, and came to Detroit by train to visit us," Miracle told the Times in 1994. "From then on, we stayed in touch. She used to call me when she was married to Arthur Miller and having trouble.”

After they met in person, Monroe wrote a postcard to Miracle and her husband. “I just can’t tell you both how I enjoyed meeting you,” she wrote. “I want to thank you for everything, I had a wonderful time. Love, Norma Jeane.”

Despite Monroe’s work and travel schedule, the sisters stayed in touch

A postcard written by Marilyn Monroe ddressed to Mr. and Mrs. Paris Miracle, her half-sister Berniece and her husband, postmarked Oct 28, 1944. — A postcard written by Marilyn Monroe addressed to Mr. and Mrs. Paris Miracle, her half-sister Berniece and her husband, postmarked Oct 28, 1944.
Courtesy of Sotheby's/Newsmakers/Getty

In a 33rd birthday card Miracle sent to Monroe in 1959, she wrote about wanting to get together soon.

“Dearest Marilyn, I’d love to fly up and visit you this summer during part of my vacation,” Miracle wrote in the card, which is displayed in the digital Marilyn Monroe Collection. “Please phone or write me as to when you will be home, and the best time to come. Give my regards to Arthur. Love, Berniece.”

Miracle’s book was praised for its insight into Monroe’s life

Berniece Baker Miracle and daughter Mona Rae Miracle attend the 94th Annual American Booksellers Association Convention and Trade Show on May 28, 1994.
Ron Galella, Ltd./Ron Galella Collection/Getty

While there have been many unauthorized biographies of Monroe's life, her sister’s 1994 account is the only one approved by the family. It includes intimate personal stories and family photos.

"Berniece Miracle finally opens up her family album — and translates an American legend into flesh and blood,” Life magazine wrote at the time of its release. “MY SISTER MARILYN is a big hug across the decades to a sweet, talented, loving girl."

Miracle helped plan Monroe’s funeral

Joe DiMaggio attends the funeral of film star Marilyn Monroe with his son Joe Junior and Monroe's half-sister Bernice Miracle.
Keystone/Getty

When Monroe died in 1962, her ex-husband Joe DiMaggio, business manager Inez Melson and Miracle all worked together to plan her funeral.

Miracle told The New York Times that she chose Monroe’s casket in addition to the green dress the actress was buried in. Per Entertainment Weekly, Miracle's book details how she cobbled together ”safety pins, a sheet, and several garments of various sizes and thicknesses — to be used in making the dress conform to Marilyn’s normal body shape” so that the actress would look like herself.

To manage the crowds they expected at Monroe’s services, Miracle, DiMaggio and Melson didn't invite many of Monroe's Hollywood friends and released a statement to explain.

"We sincerely hope that the many friends of Marilyn will understand that we are deeply appreciative of their desire to pay last respects to Marilyn whom we all loved," they wrote. "We hope that each person will understand that last rites must of great necessity be as private as possible so that she can go to her final resting place in the quiet she has always sought."