A PIECE OF MARILYN

Marilyn’s belongings have long been coveted by collectors and celebrities

BOOK

In 2018, her Jewish prayer book sold for $26 250 (then about R367 500). She converted to Judaism when she married Arthur Miller.

ICONIC DRESS

Kim Kardashian had to diet hard to fit into the dress Marilyn wore to sing Happy Birthday to John Kennedy in 1962. Kim wore it to this year’s Met Gala. The dress was originally auctioned in 1999 for a record price of $1,26m (then about R7,5m). Ripley’s Believe It or Not bought it for $5m in 2016 (R68,5m) and it’s now valued at $10m (R165m).

JEANS

In 1999, designer Tommy Hilfiger bought the jeans Marilyn wore in River of No Return for $37 000 (R222 000), and a pair of cowgirl boots for $75 000 (R450 000) from The Misfits. He gifted the boots to Demi Moore.

GOLDEN GLOBE

One of Marilyn’s three Golden Globes – her 1962 award for Female World Film Favourite – was sold in 2018 for $250 000 (then R3,5m). It’s one of the highest prices ever fetched at auction for a Golden Globe.

CLASSIC PIANO

In 1999, Mariah Carey bought the white baby grand piano, originally belonging to Marilyn’s mom, for $662 500 (R3,9m).

PLAYBOY

In 2009, Playboy founder Hugh Hefner bought a drawer in a Los Angeles mausoleum next to Marilyn’s for $75 000 (then R525 000). But before his death in 2017, he decided he’d rather be buried alongside his mother in New Jersey.