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Where Did Marilyn Monroe Live? Inside the ‘Bus Stop’ Actress’ Famous Brentwood Home
More than six decades after Marilyn Monroe’s death, the actress’ one-time Brentwood, California, home is officially in the process of being declared a historic and cultural monument. She first moved into the residence in 1962, where she lived for six months before her tragic passing at age 36.
Where Did Marilyn Monroe Live?
Monroe was born Norma Jeane Mortenson on June 1, 1926, in Los Angeles. She had her first brush with stardom in the mid-’40s after her turn as a model for dozens of magazines. Upon signing her first contract with 20th Century Fox in 1946, Monroe became a pinnacle of the Golden Age of Hollywood.
Throughout the years of her heightened stardom, Monroe moved around a lot and purchased and sold several homes in the U.S. Her French Normandy-style West Hollywood penthouse and colonial Connecticut home were among the many properties in her real estate portfolio.
What Happened to Marilyn Monroe’s Brentwood Home?
Toward the end of her career, Monroe settled in Brentwood in her famous four-bedroom house. She purchased the Spanish colonial-style home, which was built in 1929, for $75,000 after her divorce from playwright Arthur Miller. Located on a quiet street in the celebrity-filled neighborhood, the Helena Drive abode became Monroe’s fortress away from the hustle and bustle of Los Angeles.
The mansion boasted adobe walls, rustic wood-beamed ceilings and a master bedroom with a tiled fireplace. In the backyard, a huge pool and lounge area was surrounded by trees to maintain the Gentleman Prefer Blondes star’s privacy.
Monroe died in the home from a drug overdose shortly after moving in. In the years that followed, it became a tourist attraction and a place where fans left flowers to memorialize the film icon.
In July 2023, the property was sold to Glory of Snow Trust for $8.35 million, per The New York Times. In order to block a planned demolition of the estate after the sale, members of the Los Angeles City Council voted unanimously to jumpstart the process to declare it a monument in September 2023.
“A lot of people have their own inner Marilyn, and I think why people identify with her and why this figure and this home resonate so deeply here in Los Angeles and beyond is because of who she was,” Councilwoman Tracy Park said in a statement, per the outlet. “I can’t imagine a person or place more worthy of these designations.”
