Marilyn Monroe’s memorabilia auction marks 100th birthday

Personal belongings of Hollywood icon Marilyn Monroe went under the hammer on Thursday, marking the 100th anniversary of her birth. The auction, organised by Julien’s Auctions, features 185 items from the late star’s life, including gowns, make-up, handbags, and previously unseen photographs.

Among the highlights is a 1950s evening purse estimated at $100,000, which contained Monroe’s hair comb, a tube of lipstick, cigarettes, and coins.

As of Thursday morning, the highest bid on the item was $70,000. Other intimate items included a brassiere from the 1950s, once inherited by Monroe’s acting coach Paula Strasberg, which attracted bids up to $7,000, despite an initial estimate of $1,000.

The sale also features Monroe’s personal make-up products such as lipsticks, blush, and eyeliner pencils, items that continue to inspire fans hoping to recreate the star’s signature look. Never-before-published images from her photoshoots, signed by renowned photographers Allan Grant and Milton Greene, drew significant interest, as did the olive-green front gates to her only owned home in Brentwood, which received bids of $15,000. Monroe reportedly bought the gates for about $100 in 1962.

The auction is part of nationwide celebrations in the United States to honour Monroe, born Norma Jeane Mortenson on June 1, 1926. In Palm Springs, California, more than a thousand fans dressed in Monroe’s famous white pleated dress and posed next to a statue of the star in the same outfit.

Julien’s Auctions said the collection includes countless never-before-seen photographs and slides, as well as personal items from Monroe’s last residence in Los Angeles. The 1950s star rose to fame as a sex symbol and starred in classics such as Some Like It Hot and Niagara before her death at age 36 in 1962.