During her brief but brilliant career, Marilyn Monroe, the legendary American actress and model, made an enduring impression on the entertainment business. Monroe, who was born Norma Jeane Mortenson, experienced celebrity and sorrow throughout her life. She was a cultural icon and a Hollywood sensation at the height of her fame.
Her net worth was complicated, nevertheless, because of a number of monetary and legal concerns. Although there are conflicting estimates of Monroe’s net worth, her contributions to film and pop culture have left her with a lasting influence on society that transcends material wealth.
Marilyn Monroe Net Worth
At the time of her passing in 1962, Marilyn Monroe, an American actress, model, and singer, had a net worth of $800,000. In today’s money, after accounting for inflation, that is equivalent to around $7 million.
Marilyn Monroe made slightly less than $3 million in film salaries throughout the course of her career, which is equivalent to almost $24 million before taxes after accounting for inflation.
She wasn’t very frugal with money, excessively splurging on acquaintances, family members, and employees in addition to purchasing expensive jewelry, clothing, and other stuff for herself.
Midway through the 1950s, Marilyn and photographer Milton Greene founded their own production business, Marilyn Monroe Productions, and she worked as an executive producer on “The Prince and the Showgirl.”
Monroe was on the Smithsonian Institution’s “100 Most Significant Americans of All Time” list and was ranked #6 on the American Film Institute’s list of the 50 greatest female American movie legends.
Sadly, Marilyn’s life was tragically cut short in August 1962 when she passed soon at the age of 36 from a barbiturate overdose. Despite the fact that her untimely death was determined to be a possible suicide, many people think she was killed owing to the unusual circumstances surrounding her. Here you can also check Marilyn Monroe’s net worth by visiting Digihind.com.
Estate Value and Ownership
According to the will that was filed in Los Angeles County when Marilyn passed away, her total net worth was reduced to about $370,000 after paying down different settlement costs and estate fees.
$10,000 was left in Norma Jeane Mortenson’s will for both her longtime personal assistant and her half-sister. Additionally, $5,000 will be saved in a trust fund for her assistant’s child’s education. A $100,000 trust fund was created in the will for her mother.
Lee Strasberg, Monroe’s adored acting teacher, received a bequest of her material possessions. Marilyn was raised by Lee and his first wife Paula. All of her life, they were quite close. More crucially, Lee Strasberg ALSO obtained 75% of her residual estate, or intellectual property rights.
Dr. Marianne Kris, Monroe’s therapist, received the remaining 25%. Dr. Kris left her 25% ownership part in the business, which at the time of her death in 1980 had developed into a cottage industry, to the London-based Anna Freud Centre for the Psychoanalytic Study and Treatment of Children.
Four years after Monroe, in 1966, Paula Strasberg passed away. After a year, Lee wed Anna Mizrahi, a 28-year-old actress of Venezuelan descent. When Monroe passed away, Anna was only 23. When Lee passed away in 1982, Anna inherited 75% of Marilyn Monroe’s estate.
By securing agreements for thousands of goods and endorsements with businesses like Mercedes-Benz, Revlon, Absolut Vodka, and Coca-Cola, Anna transformed Monroe Licensing into a flourishing empire.
Marilyn Monroe, a lady Anna Strasberg very likely never met, would become one of the highest-paid deceased celebrities on earth, netting her tens of millions of dollars in the process. Animal rights activist Anna Strasberg forbade images of Monroe wearing fur from being licensed or extensively advertised.
In order to promote Monroe, Anna finally joined together with the celebrity management firm CMG. Anna reportedly received a minimum of $1 million in yearly licensing fees from CMG. Later, according to court documents filed as part of a lawsuit, Anna made “more than $7.5 million in licensing revenue” between 1996 and 2000 alone.
Anna’s 75% interest was ultimately acquired by Authentic Brands Group in January 2011 for an estimated $20–$30 million. Anna eventually purchased a home in Marilyn’s Brentwood area, which was only seven door-to-door minutes away. Today, Anna’s house is valued at $7–$10 million.
Real Estate
Undoubtedly, the house in Brentwood, Los Angeles, that Marilyn purchased just eight months before she passed away, was her most treasured possession. It was the only house Marilyn ever owned and was situated at 12305 5th Helena Dr, Los Angeles, CA 90049.
She paid $77,500 for the property in January 1962 and had to borrow from her ex-husband Joe DiMaggio for the down payment. She took out a $320 monthly mortgage for 15 years to pay for the purchase.
The house had an after-death appraisal of $90,000. Over the ensuing decades, the house was owned by half a dozen different people. It sold for $995,000 back in 1994. In 2021, it was sold for $7.25 million. The house was bought by a neighbor in 2023, who quickly started to demolish it and rebuild it in a different style.
How Did Marilyn Monroe Die?
A deadly amount of barbiturates, also known as sleeping medications, were found in her system during an autopsy. On the night Monroe passed away, her housekeeper Eunice Murray had spent the night at her residence in Brentwood, Los Angeles.
The housekeeper is alleged to have been awakened at three in the morning feeling uneasy. Upon discovering that Monroe’s bedroom light was on, she sought to enter but was unsuccessful since the door was either locked or obstructed.
Dr. Ralph Greenson, the star’s Los Angeles psychiatrist, was contacted by Murray and entered Monroe’s bedroom through a window where he discovered the actress unconscious in her bed.
Here you can also check our recent articles:
- Michael Gambon Net Worth: Examining His Wealth and Legacy
- Gisele Bündchen Net Worth: Exploring Her Impressive Fortune!
- Michael Oher Net Worth: Inside His NFL Contracts and Beyond
Marilyn Monroe Career
Marilyn abandoned her job to concentrate on modeling after working at the Radioplane Company, where she met photographer David Conover. In 1945, she began modeling for Conover and a few of his friends before being accepted by the Blue Book Model Agency.
After bleaching her hair blonde, Monroe started to appear in men’s periodicals and commercials; by 1946, she had graced the covers of more than 30 publications. She joined an acting agency in June 1946, and 20th Century-Fox head executive Darryl F. Zanuck offered her a six-month deal that would start in August and pay her $150 a week.
She took acting, dancing, and singing classes and adopted the stage name Marilyn Monroe. Marilyn made her film debut in 1947’s “Dangerous Years,” followed by “Scudda Hoo! Scudda Hay!” in 1948 after her contract was extended.
She enrolled in training at the Actors’ Laboratory Theatre at this time at the studio’s request, but Fox declined to extend her contract in August 1947 because her instructors believed she was too shy to succeed as an actress. Monroe joined Columbia Pictures in March 1948 and made an appearance in the movie “Ladies of the Chorus” (1948); however, her contract wasn’t extended.
Success
Monroe met William Morris Agency vice president Johnny Hyde, who helped her win roles in “All About Eve” and “The Asphalt Jungle” and a seven-year contract with 20th Century-Fox.
She then appeared in 1951’s “Let’s Make It Legal,” “As Young as You Feel,” “Home Town Story,” and “Love Nest” and 1952’s “Clash by Night,” “We’re Not Married!”, “Don’t Bother to Knock,” and “Monkey Business The 1952 Hollywood Foreign Press Association called her the “best young box office personality” and the 1953 thriller “Niagara” made her a Hollywood sex symbol.
Marilyn played “Diamonds Are a Girl’s Best Friend” in “Gentlemen Prefer Blondes” and “How to Marry a Millionaire,” guest-starred on “The Jack Benny Program,” and appeared on “Playboy” magazine’s first cover and centerfold that year.
Monroe’s “Playboy” appearance was unapproved; a 1949 nude photo was the centerfold and a 1952 Miss America Pageant parade photo was the cover. In 1954, she starred in “There’s No Business Like Show Business,” then in 1955’s “The Seven Year Itch,” which had the “subway grate scene” that enraged her then-husband Joe DiMaggio.
Marilyn came to Manhattan in 1955 and began private acting training with Lee and Paula Strasberg. She starred in 1956’s “Bus Stop” and 1957’s “The Prince and the Showgirl” before taking an 18-month vacation to focus on her marriage to Arthur Miller.
In 1989, the Library of Congress’s National Film Registry listed Monroe’s 1959 film “Some Like It Hot,” which starred Tony Curtis and Jack Lemmon as “culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant.”
In 1962, she appeared on CBS’s “President Kennedy’s Birthday Salute,” after appearing in 1960’s “Let’s Make Love” and 1961’s “The Misfits,” her final film. In 1962, Marilyn began filming “Something’s Got to Give” but was sick for the first six weeks owing to sinusitis.
The studio pressed her to continue by suggesting she was faking her illness. Monroe was sacked from the film and sued for $750,000, and Dean Martin refused to work with anyone else, so production was halted.
Fox invited Monroe back and signed her to a new deal with “Something’s Got to Give” and “What a Way to Go!” She then sat for “Vogue,” doing a fashion feature, and “The Last Sitting” nude images published after her death.
