Marilyn Monroe's beautiful houses: from her honeymoon home to her final LA mansion
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Tour the incredible homes of Marilyn Monroe
When it comes to silver screen stars, they don't get much bigger than Marilyn Monroe. She died more than 60 years ago, but her legacy lives on in popular culture.
Over the course of her glamorous career, the icon called more than 40 places home, including a New York penthouse she shared with her husband Arthur Miller.
Click or scroll through, and let's take a look inside some of the incredible properties where Marilyn lived...
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Where did Marilyn Monroe live?
Having spent much of her life wandering from house to house until her untimely death in 1962, Marilyn Monroe surprisingly only ever owned one home, which she bought in the last year of her life.
The icon lived in the sprawling Beverly Hills mansion for just six months before she passed away, but the iconic star wasn't born into such a palatial property.
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Where was Marilyn Monroe born?
A world away from the glitz and glamour that would come to surround her, Marilyn Monroe was born Norma Jeane Mortenson on 1 June 1926 in Los Angeles. Her mother, Gladys Baker, suffered from mental health problems and her father was absent from the star's life from the beginning.
Marilyn had two half-siblings, Berniece and Robert. Marilyn only found out about Berniece when she was 12 years old, with the pair meeting for the first time in 1944.
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Where was Marilyn Monroe from?
Just two weeks after she was born, Marilyn was taken to the foster home of Ida and Wayne Bolender by her mother Gladys (pictured here with a young Marilyn). Over the next seven years, the star kept in touch with her mother and the pair saw each other often.
Marilyn stayed with her foster parents in their modest home until she was seven years old.
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Where did Marilyn Monroe grow up?
Pictured here, Marilyn's childhood home with the Bolenders was in the city of Hawthorne in southwestern Los Angeles. She lived in the 1,300-square-foot (120sqm) home with Ida, Wayne and her foster siblings. Marilyn then moved in with her mother in the summer of 1933 but it wasn't all plain sailing, with Gladys suffering a breakdown in 1935.
Monroe was eventually moved to the Los Angeles Orphans Home Society for two years, before living with family and friends in numerous homes across Los Angeles.
Marilyn Monroe's first marital home
At just 16, Marilyn, still known as Norma Jeane, married high school sweetheart James Dougherty in 1942. The couple lived in this small apartment block for just one year until they moved on in 1943. Home to a number of small apartments, the Sherman Oaks property would have been the perfect starter house for a newly married couple.
In the summer of 1943, the couple moved on from their snug starter home and rented out a bigger house in the San Fernando region of Los Angeles.
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Marilyn Monroe and James Dougherty
After their brief time in the San Fernando Valley, the young couple upped sticks to Santa Catalina Island where Dougherty was enlisted in the Merchant Marines.
However, in 1944 he was shipped out to the Pacific and Monroe had to move in with her in-laws. As Marilyn's modelling career started to take off, the couple began to have differing views over her future and parted ways in 1946, shortly after the war ended.
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Marilyn Monroe's Burbank apartment
After her divorce, Marilyn stayed at the female-only Hollywood Studio Club for less than a year in the late 1940s, a residence for women who were in the motion picture business. She then rented a space in this apartment building in Burbank for the summer while the couple who owned the property were on holiday.
The home was close to the Warner Brothers Studios, and it was during this period that Monroe embarked on her acting career with roles in Dangerous Years and Scudda Hoo! Scudda Hay! and went to change her name to the now-iconic Marilyn Monroe.
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Marilyn Monroe's Beverly Hills pad
After her stay in Burbank, Monroe moved into the West Hollywood apartment of actor John Carroll and stayed for just five months.
Then in 1949, she upped sticks again to this home, a stone's throw away from the celebrity property hotspot of Sunset Boulevard, with Johnny Hyde, Marilyn's first talent agent. Hyde was said to have encouraged the young star to dye her hair platinum blonde.
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Marilyn Monroe's Beverly Hills pad
Marilyn is pictured here in 1950, posing in Hyde's backyard. The plush two-storey residence boasts two spacious yards with a swimming pool, a sun terrace and a guesthouse, which is where Marilyn resided during her stay.
The nearly 5,900-square-foot (548sqm) home has five bedrooms and six bathrooms and was built in 1941. It last hit the market in 2017, to rent for $21,000 (£16k) per month, but it's estimated to be worth around $9.5 million ($7.3m) as of 2024.
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Marilyn Monroe's Beverly Hills pad
This photo shows the pair together at an event in 1950, their 31-year age gap obvious.
To avoid gossip and rumours surrounding her relationship with Hyde, Monroe eventually left his Beverly Hills home and moved into the luxurious Beverly Carlton Hotel (now the Avalon Hotel) less than 10 minutes away.
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Marilyn Monroe and Joe DiMaggio's love nest
After parting with Hyde, Monroe moved into West Hollywood apartment with her drama coach Natasha Lytess. Then, in 1952 Monroe moved into this beautiful 1930s home in the Outpost Estates neighbourhood, which is still a sought-after address today. Don't be fooled by its modest appearance from the street – the Mediterranean-style home perches on the edge of a canyon and has sun-soaked terraces and a pool. Marilyn paid just $237 dollars rent per month, which would be about $2,800 (£2.2k) today.
That same year, Monroe met New York Yankees baseball star Joe DiMaggio and the pair became inseparable.
Marilyn Monroe and Joe DiMaggio's love nest
In one of the dozens of locations used in the making of Blonde, Netflix's 2022 biographical drama that tells the story of her life, some of Marilyn's real homes were used.
This picture shows Ana de Armas as Marilyn and Bobby Cannavale playing Joe DiMaggio recreating a famous photo of the couple during their marriage.
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Marilyn Monroe and Joe DiMaggio's marital home
Eventually the lovebirds started to rent this rather modest Beverly Hills home. Photographed in 2020, the home looks perfect for a small family and features colourful window shutters and a quaint garden.
But, things were not always rosy for the couple...
Marilyn Monroe's New York stint
In September 1954, around eight months after marrying Joe DiMaggio, Marilyn headed to New York for the filming of The Seven Year Itch. One of Monroe's most famous movies, it features the famous scene where her dress blows up over a subway grate.
Not long after, having been married for just 274 days, the couple divorced in October 1954.
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Marilyn Monroe and Joe DiMaggio's marital home
Marilyn and her attorney announced the end of her marriage to DiMaggio on the front lawn of their rented home.
As we can see from this image, newsmen lingered outside the house to catch a glimpse of the pair. A woman who answered the door told the reporters that, while both Monroe and DiMaggio were at home, neither had a statement and the press eventually drifted away.
Marilyn Monroe's West Hollywood penthouse
Following her separation from DiMaggio, Marilyn moved into an elegant 1930s apartment building in West Hollywood. Known today as The Granville and as the Voltaire back then, the property is no stranger to celebrities. Marilyn’s penthouse apartment was once owned and remodelled by actor Portia de Rossi, wife of Ellen DeGeneres. It sold for $1.9 million (£1.5m) in 2023.
Historic and highly elegant, both Marilyn's 2,032-square-foot (188sqm) penthouse apartment and the building itself boast gorgeous structural elements, floor-to-ceiling windows and amazing views. Despite the building's charms, little less than a year after she moved in, Marilyn left Hollywood and headed for New York City, where she married her third and final husband...
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Escape to New York
During this time in her life, Marilyn Monroe considered New York to be home, but she would travel back to California for her many business commitments. She's photographed here on the balcony at the Ambassador Hotel in New York City.
She also lived for a while in Weston, Connecticut with fashion photographer Milton Greene and his wife Amy. It was a rural idyll where she successfully dodged the press for two years, according to Greene's son, whom Marilyn babysat at the time.
A New York/LA nomad
In an attempt to take control of her career, Monroe set up Marilyn Monroe Productions together with Greene and he produced the films Bus Stop and The Prince and The Showgirl, which Marilyn starred in.
When she sporadically returned to LA, Monroe would rent out houses and apartments around the city, sometimes using them for press photos and publicity shots, as in this photo taken in 1956.
Marrying Arthur Miller
Marilyn was introduced to playwright Arthur Miller earlier in her career. Following her divorce from DiMaggio the two reconnected and embarked on a relationship.
Following Miller's divorce from his wife, they married in 1956 at a courthouse in White Plains, New York. This picture was taken of them at Miller's farmhouse in Roxbury, Connecticut before their wedding.
Marilyn Monroe's holiday home
During their five-year marriage, Marilyn and Arthur also rented out this picture-perfect windmill house in the Hamptons.
Used as a hideout to avoid the paparazzi during their very public marriage, the secret holiday home still features the rotating blades from when it was an operational windmill.
Marilyn Monroe's holiday home
The quaint home is spread over 1,300 square feet (120sqm) and set over three floors. Boasting a country kitchen with windows that look out over the surrounding lawns, the charming retreat also features a cosy living room with wood-beamed ceilings and a small staircase leading to the upper floors.
It hit the market in May 2021 for $11.5 million (£9m) and the price – rather unusually – has increased multiple times since, hiking in January 2024 to $12.5 million (£9.8m).
Moving back to the city
At the beginning of their relationship, Miller and Monroe tried to make a normal life in the quiet Connecticut town, but a clash of personalities and lifestyles reportedly soon saw the couple heading back to New York.
Here they are pictured on 22 June 1956, days before their wedding, outside Marilyn’s apartment in New York. The movie star was hugging Miller so tight he was said to ask her to stop or “I’ll fall over” according to the original caption.
Marilyn Monroe's New York City penthouse
The newlyweds reportedly moved into this penthouse in New York's Midtown East area and it's said to be where Miller wrote the screenplay for The Misfits, the last film Monroe starred in.
Dating back to 1927, the building was designed by architect Lafayette A. Goldstone and boasts a vaulted marble lobby complete with a doorman and elevator operator. Marilyn’s former apartment sold for almost $2.7 million (£2.1m) in 2023.
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Marilyn Monroe's New York City penthouse
Photographed at the Waldorf-Astoria, New York in April 1957, the famed couple enjoy a meal together a mere 10-minute stroll from their penthouse love nest on East 57th Street.
One year on from their nuptials, Monroe and Miller looked just as happy as ever.
Marilyn Monroe's New York City penthouse
However, just three years later, Monroe and Miller would announce their impending divorce, with the process finalised in January 1961.
Here Marilyn is seen leaving their New York apartment alone on 11 November 1960, looking understandably less cheery than usual.
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Marilyn Monroe's New York City penthouse
The plush penthouse, as seen in this Brown Harris Stevens YouTube video, features three bedrooms, a formal dining room and just over 2,300 square feet (213sqm) of interior space.
The luxury apartment is located in the 444 East 57th Street building, which is still popular with New York City's wealthy residents. The 1920s home also comes with a 1,000-square-foot (92sqm) private terrace with spectacular riverside views of the Queensboro Bridge.
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Marilyn Monroe's New York City penthouse
Located near Sutton Place, the ‘historical classic’ was described in the listing as pet-friendly despite its luxurious interiors and glamorous past.
The designer apartment has been recently renovated, with more contemporary décor and a chef’s kitchen with marble countertops and top-of-the-line appliances.
Marilyn Monroe's Palm Springs home
In January 1961, Monroe divorced Arthur Miller and headed back to Palm Springs, California, where she is said to have rented out this beautiful home.
Built in 1961 and designed by Charles Dubois, the star reportedly moved in not long after it was built, presumably to escape the media circus surrounding her divorce.
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Marilyn Monroe's Palm Springs home
While relatively unassuming from the outside, the 3,000-square-foot (278sqm) mid-century property features sleek open-plan living spaces with double-height beamed ceilings. Sleek and stylish, the four-bedroom home is surrounded by sliding glass doors that frame the beautifully landscaped grounds.
Outside, the backyard dazzles with a large swimming pool set against endless mountain views. Flanked by a wraparound patio and a covered terrace, it would've been the perfect alfresco entertaining spot for Marilyn to host fellow Hollywood A-listers.
A new era for Marilyn and Joe
Following her divorce from Arthur Miller, a heartbroken Marilyn was admitted to a psychiatric clinic in New York. It was her ex-husband, Joe DiMaggio, who secured her release, whisking her away to the Yankee’s Florida training camp to rest and recuperate.
While DiMaggio longed for reconciliation, their relationship was a platonic one, but he stood by her and supported her during her mental health battles. After her death, he sent flowers to her grave for 20 years.
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Moving on
As we know, following her divorce from Miller, Marilyn eventually moved to Brentwood, where she bought her first home. Sadly, of course, it was to be her last.
While the future of her former residence has been uncertain at times, Monroe's legacy as Hollywood's most iconic actress continues to live on. Let's take a look inside her final home...
Marilyn Monroe's last home
Tucked away at the end of a peaceful cul-de-sac in the upmarket Brentwood area of Los Angeles, the Hacienda-style house was the very first home the screen siren ever owned by herself – and it was where she sadly died in August 1962.
Once offering the actress a break from the spotlight, the private home sits behind secure walls and features a gated entrance.
Marilyn Monroe's last home
Purchased in 1961, at the age of 35, the star reportedly paid $75,000 – that's around $788,000 (£614k) today – for the property and lived there with her longtime housekeeper Eunice Murray.
Fast forward several decades and the iconic home was bought by owners who planned to demolish the historic property. Luckily, a worldwide outcry halted the bulldozers.
Marilyn Monroe's last home
Listed by Mercer Vine, the bijou four-bedroom home was bought in July 2023 by a mysterious entity known as Glory of the Snow Trust for just over $8.3 million (£6.5m), having previously been owned by Glory of the Snow LLC, who bought it for a little under $7.2 million (£5.7m) in 2017.
The owners of the property filed for demolition permits and, in September 2023, the LA Department of Building and Safety gave the go-ahead for a 'plan check,' which would begin the destruction process, according to The New York Post.
Marilyn Monroe's last home
Luckily for movie fans, the plans were stopped in their tracks and in June 2024 LA City Council officially designated it a protected monument.
Featuring four bedrooms and three bathrooms, the 2,600-square-foot (241sqm) house includes many of the details Monroe selected herself, after travelling to Mexico City and Tijuana to hunt down decorations for the Spanish-style home, including kitchen tiles and Aztec-style textiles
Marilyn Monroe's last home
The home was built in 1929 and features arched doorways and original beamed ceilings. The living room still has the original blue-tiled fireplace from Monroe's time at the house, while the kitchen is framed by a rustic wood ceiling and tiled floors.
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Marilyn Monroe's last home
Not long after the star moved into the property, she passed away at home at the age of 36. When Marilyn finally found a home to call her own, sadly her problems were too great for her to overcome.
A lasting legacy
It's a cruel irony that the world's most famous woman, from a broken home, always longed for a place to call her own. Thankfully, the storied home, an important piece of Hollywood's Golden Age history, will now be preserved for years to come.
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