May 31, 2019

Which actress was named California’s first honorary Artichoke Queen?

A. Sigourney Weaver

B. Greta Garbo

C. Melissa McCarthy

D. Norma Jean Mortenson

Norma Jean Mortenson, also known as Marilyn Monroe, was named California’s first honorary Artichoke Queen in 1948 by what would later be known as the Castroville Artichoke Food & Wine Festival. There are numerous versions of how Norma Jean came to be crowned. But, according to Kathryn Parish, chair of the Castroville Artichoke Food & Wine Festival, Norma Jean came to the Monterey Bay area on a press trip for the grand opening of a jewelry store in Salinas. The artichoke industry, hoping to connect with a young headed-for-Hollywood starlet, sponsored a lunch with Norma Jean and officially crowned her Artichoke Queen right then and there. The rest is (delicious) history.

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