NEW YORK: The flesh-colored, beaded gown Marilyn Monroe wore during her breathless rendition of “Happy Birthday” to President John F. Kennedy is going on the auction block this fall. Julien’s Auctions is offering the sequined stunner at a sale in Los Angeles on Nov. 17. The auction house believes the gown could fetch $2 million to $3 million.
The actress wore the barely-there dress at Kennedy’s 45th birthday celebration at Madison Square Garden on May 19, 1962. Made of silk gauze and covered in thousands of rhinestone beads and sequins, the Jean Louis dress was so form-fitting that Monroe had to be sewn into it.
She died less than three months later of an overdose of sleeping pills at age 36. Kennedy died the following year.
The custom-made, one-of-a-kind dress is “not only Hollywood, but political and historical,” said Julien’s president Darren Julien.
The dress was first purchased 17 years ago at Christie’s auction by the late financier Martin Zweig, who kept it in a climate-controlled display case at his Pierre Hotel penthouse in New York.
Marilyn’s gown to be auctioned
Marilyn’s gown to be auctioned
