Occupation: Actor
Place of Meeting: 20th Century Fox
Year Relationship began: 1946
Type of Relationship: Romance

By the time Ben Lyon met Norma Jeane he had been a star in his own right for nearly 20 years. They met in 1946 at 20th Century Fox where he was then a casting director. He gave Norma Jeane her first movie screen test and signed her to her first motion picture studio contract.  He is known as the man who 'discovered' Marilyn Monroe. 

Allegedly, there was more to the Lyon/Monroe relationship - according to writer Sheilah Graham, Lyon had been sleeping with Marilyn and promising to further her career.

Years after Marilyn had become a fully-fledged star, she sent Lyon an autographed photo of herself.  The inscription read: "You found me, named me and believed in me when no one else did. My love and thanks forever."