Marilyn Monroe died of a barbiturate overdose late in the evening of Saturday, August 4, 1962, at her 12305 Fifth Helena Drive home in Los Angeles, California. Her body was discovered before dawn on Sunday, August 5. She was one of the most popular Hollywood stars during the 1950s and early 1960s, was considered a major sex symbol at the time, and was a top-billed actress for a decade.