THE UNTOLD STORY OF THE WORLD'S MOST FAMOUS SEX SYMBOL IS REVEALED IN LIFETIME(R)'S MINISERIES EVENT, "THE SECRET LIFE OF MARILYN MONROE" PREMIERING MAY 30TH AND 31ST

Academy Award(R) Winner Susan Sarandon stars with Kelli Garner, Jeffrey Dean Morgan and Academy Award(R) and Golden Globe(R) Nominee Emily Watson

LOS ANGELES, CA (March 30, 2015) - Kelli Garner (The Aviator, Pan Am) plays the legendary star Marilyn Monroe in Lifetime's four-hour event The Secret Life of Marilyn Monroe (#TheSecretLifeOfMarilynMonroe) premiering Saturday, May 30, and Sunday, May 31, at 9pm ET/PT. The miniseries, which uncovers many closely-guarded secrets the blonde bombshell kept from the public, also stars Academy Award(R) winner Susan Sarandon (Dead Man Walking, The Last of Robin Hood) as Marilyn's biggest secret of all, her mother Gladys, long institutionalized for mental illness. Academy Award(R) and Golden Globe(R) Award nominee Emily Watson (Hilary and Jackie) and Jeffrey Dean Morgan (Texas Rising, Magic City) also headline the cast while Sarandon's daughter Eva Amurri Martino (Californication) plays Gladys in her youth. Watson portrays Grace McKee, Marilyn's childhood guardian.

Based on J. Randy Taraborrelli's New York Times bestseller of the same name, The Secret Life of Marilyn Monroe begins with a portrait of a young Norma Jeane Mortenson as she battles a lonely and loveless existence with an absent mother. Despite the odds, Norma Jeane blossoms into a funny, smart and ambitious woman and soon reinvents herself to become the symbol of an era. She revels in stardom, yet remains a fragile artist, desperate for the approval and protection of men. The outside world never truly sees or understands the real Marilyn, a woman so different from her public persona. As her fame grows, all three of her marriages crumble beneath her quite publicly, including her relationships with Joe DiMaggio (Morgan) and Arthur Miller. Ultimately, Marilyn could never control her inner demons and the onslaught of mental illness inherited from her mother, Gladys (Sarandon) - a woman she loves, hates and wants desperately to save. Although her movie studio told the world that Marilyn's mother was dead, it is the great secret of Marilyn's life that Gladys remained a vital and troubling part of her world. As Marilyn cares for her mother, her obsession with President John F. Kennedy drives her over the edge and, ultimately, into an insane asylum. Still, as Marilyn Monroe soldiers on, she gives the performance of her life, successfully hiding her darkest secrets from the world.

Produced by Asylum Entertainment, The Secret Life of Marilyn Monroe is executive produced by Jonathan Koch and Steve Michaels (The Kennedys), Keri Selig (The Stepford Wives) of Intuition Productions, and Stephen Kronish (24), who wrote the screenplay. The miniseries is directed by Laurie Collyer (Sherrybaby).

ABOUT ASYLUM ENTERTAINMENT

Asylum Entertainment has produced a diverse slate of television long-form, feature films, gritty documentaries and provocative unscripted series - thousands of hours of programming in its twelve-year history. Notable productions include the miniseries The Kennedys, which won four of the ten Emmy Awards for which it was nominated, and Ring of Fire, which garnered four additional Emmy nods. Last year Asylum received glowing reviews for its feature documentary Happy Valley, about the Penn State sex scandal, as well as for the coming-of-age feature film Small Time. A new film about the young devotees of Charles Manson is in pre-production. Asylum's factual series include ESPN's Emmy-winning series 30 FOR 30, Beverly Hills Pawn, Addicted, Hollywood Hillbillies, and American Gangster. In April 2014 the company became a wholly-owned division of Legendary Entertainment, the prolific feature company (Godzilla, Batman, The Hangover).

ABOUT LIFETIME

Lifetime is a premier female-focused entertainment destination dedicated to offering the highest quality original programming spanning scripted series, nonfiction series and movies. As a result of the network's aggressive programming strategy that has doubled the hours of its original programming, in 2014 the network reached its strongest ranking among the key Women 18-49 demo in six years and its youngest median age in 18 years. Lifetime Television(R), LMN(R), Lifetime Real Women(R) and Lifetime Digital(TM) are part of Lifetime Entertainment Services, LLC, a subsidiary of A+E Networks. A+E Networks is a joint venture of the Disney-ABC Television Group and Hearst Corporation.