Old School. Biblically Independent.
By Kayleigh Donaldson | Celebrity | May 13, 2026
We're never going to let Marilyn Monroe rest, are we? The legendary actress died in 1963 and since then her life has been plundered, mocked, appropriated and commodified in ways that are frequently baffling and occasionally stomach-churning. A company owns the rights to her image, which they happily sell to put on accessories and in TV ads. That company, Authentic Brands Group, also unveiled an AI version of Marilyn at SXSW last year, because of course they did. Kim Kardashian and Ripley's Believe It Or Not shredded her dress for cheap publicity. Andrew Dominick derided her in the press while promoting his deeply disturbing movie inspired by her life, one that features a speculum POV shot. And now, you can bid on X-Rays of her pelvis. Why? Because we haven't picked this dead woman to shreds quite enough, I suppose.
The auction house Julien's is doing a huge auction to "celebrate" Monroe's centenary, in conjunction with Turner Classic Movies. The sale includes random items like Marilyn's exercise weights, her used lipsticks, some script notes, photos of her friends, and her brassiere. Also on offer: two X-Rays, one of her chest and another of her pelvis. Here is the item descriptor:
A standard clear plastic Kodak Safety film; with text in the lower left corner reading in part "Cedars of Lebanon Hospital / Drs. E. Freedman and M. Elkin / Name DiMaggio, Mrs. Marilyn / Date 11/8/54 / Ref. By Dr. L. Krohn," showing the star's pelvis, spine and partial ribcage; Dr. Leon Krohn was the star's gynecologist who requested that she get this x-ray; as Marilyn fans know, gynecological issues sadly plagued her throughout life.
Yes, they're so sad that Monroe's chronic health issues led her to have several miscarriages and kept her in constant pain for many years. So tragic. Anyhoo, don't you really want to see inside her, courtesy of her gynaecologists?! Can't you wait to frame this on your bedroom wall and show it off to guests? And of course ten people have already bid on this.
Marilyn Monroe auctions have long been a source of controversy, and a sign of just how disrespected she was, even by the people she cared about. Marilyn left her estate to Lee Strasberg, the acting legend who she cherished as a friend and teacher. When he died, the rights to it all fell to his third wife, Anna, who had never met Marilyn. She decided to auction off much of it, including licensing and royalty rights. Marilyn had actually asked Lee to distribute her effects amongst her friends, which he never did. So, Anna made a reported $13 million from selling them all off after her husband died. These things were never meant to be sold off for profit, much less to people Marilyn did not know. She was a women abysmally treated by the entertainment industry, and it's only gotten worse since her passing.
This is just another act of stripping away Marilyn's autonomy in the name of "celebrating" her legend. It's gross and offensive and deeply misogynistic. And it's probably going to net some vultures a lot of money.
