Norma Jeane is an observant, deeply insecure young woman who relies heavily on others to define her identity. Throughout her childhood in foster care and an orphanage, she cultivates a survival instinct based on pleasing those around her. As she grows into an aspiring actress, she wrestles with the disconnect between her intellectual ambitions and the highly sexualized image the world demands of her.

Gladys is Norma Jeane's mother, a woman working at a film studio who struggles deeply with paranoid schizophrenia. She projects her own self-hatred and fear of contamination onto her daughter. Her deteriorating mental health severely limits her ability to parent, rendering her an emotionally distant and unpredictable presence in Norma Jeane's early life.

Bucky is a young man working for an embalmer and at an aviation plant. He marries Norma Jeane after a three-week courtship arranged by his mother. While initially charmed by his young wife's dutiful nature, he quickly finds her emotional neediness suffocating. His conflicting desires regarding his wife's modesty and sexuality highlight the paradoxes she faces in the world.

Isaac Shinn is a powerful Hollywood agent who takes on Norma Jeane's early career. Though he genuinely cares for her well-being and eventually proposes marriage, he simultaneously views her as his personal creation and commodity. He is deeply invested in the Marilyn Monroe persona and feels entitled to control both her image and her personal choices.

Cass is the son of a famous father, carrying deep abandonment wounds that mirror Norma Jeane's own. He forms one-third of the intensely emotional Gemini love triangle. Passionate and highly sensitive, Cass provides Norma Jeane with a sense of twin-like kinship, though his own insecurities and substance abuse threaten their stability.

A legendary former baseball player adjusting to a life past his athletic prime. He pursues Norma Jeane seeking a traditional, uncomplicated companion. Deeply insecure about being eclipsed by her rising fame, he constantly tries to control her public image, preferring her to be highly sexualized only in private while remaining utterly devoted to him.

An intellectual and respected writer who seeks to save Norma Jeane from the exploitative machinery of Hollywood. Unlike her previous lovers, he attempts to understand the divide between her true self and her fabricated persona. He offers her a chance at a quiet, domestic life away from the cameras, viewing himself as her protector.

Della is Norma Jeane's grandmother, who provides the only true sense of early stability in the girl's life. She attempts to protect her granddaughter from Gladys's instability, establishing a brief period of safety before her passing leaves Norma Jeane entirely in her mother's care.

Elsie serves as a foster mother to Norma Jeane during a relatively stable period of her youth. While she genuinely cares for the girl's well-being, Elsie's primary allegiance remains to her own marriage. When she notices her husband's inappropriate gaze toward her foster daughter, she pragmatically decides to marry the teenager off to protect her home.

Bess is Bucky's mother and a friend of Elsie's who helps arrange her son's marriage to the teenage Norma Jeane. She expects traditional, demure behavior from her daughter-in-law and represents polite society's expectations. Bess views Norma Jeane's developing modeling career and overt sexuality with profound distaste.

Like Cass, Eddy G is a man burdened by his identity as the despised son of a famous father. He joins Cass and Norma Jeane to form a tight-knit, unconventional romantic trio. He is fiercely loyal to their dynamic and shares a profound sense of shared alienation from the broader Hollywood culture.

Otto is a relentless photographer who capitalizes on Norma Jeane's financial desperation. He represents the overarching gaze of the media and the commodification of women's bodies. Unconcerned with his subjects' comfort or dignity, he is driven purely by the profit derived from capturing their vulnerability.

Warren is Norma Jeane's foster father whose lingering, inappropriate stares create tension in the household. His inability to control his lustful gaze toward the teenager directly leads his wife to arrange Norma Jeane's premature marriage, permanently altering the young girl's life trajectory.

The President of the United States, who pursues a covert relationship with Norma Jeane. He is accustomed to having his desires met instantly and treats his romantic conquests as disposable commodities. His interactions with Norma Jeane are marked by a stark lack of empathy, viewing her entirely through the lens of her sex symbol status rather than as a human being.

The President's brother-in-law, who acts as a facilitator for his illicit affairs. He is fully aware of Norma Jeane's fragile mental state, history of trauma, and substance abuse, yet remains entirely complicit in delivering her to the President's quarters.

A methodical government agent and assassin who operates under the belief that he is protecting America from evil. He tracks Norma Jeane's movements, representing the constant, unseen surveillance and the severe political paranoia surrounding her high-profile connections.

A powerful and intimidating Hollywood studio executive. He holds total control over the casting process and uses his authority to extract sexual favors from aspiring actresses. His private office, filled with stuffed dead birds, reflects his predatory nature and his desire to possess and silence beauty.

Norma Jeane's loyal and sympathetic makeup man. Unlike the executives and lovers who demand pieces of her, Whitey offers genuine care and pity for her deteriorating condition. He repeatedly covers for her absences and serves as one of the few constants in her chaotic professional life.