Long before the world knew her as Marilyn Monroe, a teenage Norma Jean Dougherty sat for one of her earliest professional modeling sessions, captured in this strikingly oversized original photograph by H. Maier Studios, which produced some of the most coveted of all her photos. The majority of H Maier Studios photos date to 1943-45. The image shows an unmistakably youthful Norma Jean, her signature waves not yet platinum, gazing into the camera with the same natural warmth and magnetism that would soon make her the most photographed woman in the world. According to PSA, this is the only known graded example of this particular Maier Studios image, a genuine one-of-one survivor from the earliest chapter of an icon's origin story.

The photograph's substantial 11” by 14” size sets it apart from typical period modeling prints, suggesting it was produced as a showcase or portfolio piece rather than a simple contact print, and its reverse carries the embossed Maier Studios blind stamp confirming its studio origin. Photographs from Monroe's pre-fame modeling years are exceedingly difficult to find in any form, let alone at this scale and condition, as most of her earliest sessions survive only through small proof prints or magazine reproductions. PSA/DNA has certified this as an authentic Type I photograph. For collectors of Golden Age Hollywood and twentieth-century pop culture, this is a foundational image: Norma Jean Dougherty, unknown to the world, on the very threshold of becoming Marilyn Monroe.