Loosely based on the life of Marilyn Monroe, the story of a young woman destined from childhood on to be adored by millions but unhappy in her own life. Patty Duke plays Emily Ann Faulkner as a young, friendless, fatherless rural southern girl whose mother is indifferent to her. As a teenager, Emily Ann, played by Kim Stanley, remains a loner but with one small exception - boys dote on her, drawn by her beauty and her powerful aura of feminine sexuality. Emily Ann marries young but leaves her first husband when she meets young prizefighter Dutch Seymour (Lloyd Bridges). She becomes an actress and her star rises rapidly until she hits the heights of fame - and the depths of anguish.