Marilyn Monroe: Iconic Homes and Styles
Marilyn Monroe's complexity is something that Ana de Armas tries to depict in the fictitious biography Blonde. The provocative movie, which was written and directed by Andrew Dominik and is based on Joyce Carol Oates's 1999 novel of the same name, is an impressionistic interpretation of the life of the legendary actor and features intertwined black-and-white and colour sequences, a changing aspect ratio, and recurring CGI foetuses. It details the adolescent Norma Jeane Mortenson's turbulent upbringing with her insane mother Gladys (Julianne Nicholson), her enduring longing for her absent father, and the greedy casting couch the golden pinup encountered; it also briefly discusses Monroe's several (rumoured) abortions, marriages to Yankee slugger Joe DiMaggio (Bobby Cannavale), and Pulitzer Prize-winning writer Arthur Miller (Adrian Brody) and in 1962 her death from an overdose of barbiturate at age 36. Here are some of the houses she lived at during her Glamourous Hollywood journey.
Mediterranean-style Mansion in Hidden Hollywood Hills
Photo: Matt Kennedy / Netflix © 2022
After stints at a place for women only, several LA apartments and motels, and her agent's Beverly Hills home, Monroe rented a home in 1952 where she and DiMaggio eventually stayed during their brief marriage. The 1938-built, 3,335 square foot, two-story, walled-and-gated Spanish-style house features four bedrooms, four and a half bathrooms, and a living room with French doors leading to a terra cotta patio with canyon views. It also includes a lounge room with a wood-beamed ceiling. The home in the Hollywood Hills has a view of Runyon Canyon.
West Hollywood Penthouse in French Normandy-style
Photo: The Agency
Prior to ending their relationship after less than a year, the baseball player travelled with his wife to New York City where they slept in a suite at the St. Regis Hotel as she shot The Seven Year Itch. (As seen in Blonde, DiMaggio vehemently opposed to Monroe's well-known skirt-blowing subway grate sequence.) She relocated to a West Hollywood penthouse in a 1930 Leland Bryant and Samuel Coine-designed building in the French Normandy style when the pair broke up. Floor-to-ceiling windows and city views may still be seen on the penthouse of the Voltaire Apartments, as it was called in 1954. The structure, now known as Granville Towers, has housed a number of well-known figures, including David Bowie and Nora Ephron.
Lake House in French Country Style
Arthur Miller and Marilyn Monroe on their wedding day.
Photo: Pinterest
Even though Monroe didn't reside there, the house had a big impact on her life. In 1956, Monroe and Miller held a civil wedding at the Westchester County Courthouse in White Plains, followed by a second Jewish ceremony and a modest reception on the lawn of Miller's agent Kay Brown's house in Westchester, New York. 1948 four-bedroom, six-bath, 4,291-square-foot house still has a separate guest suite on the first floor, a living room with a glass wall, European-style fireplaces, arched entrances, parquet floors, leaded windows, and wrought-iron accents, including balconette on the second story.
Manhattan Apartment Prewar
Photo: 6sqft.com
Although thirteenth floors are rarely seen in New York City buildings, it was the floor where Miller and Monroe lived as Miller created the script for 1961's The Misfits, his wife's final motion picture. The three-bedroom, three-and-a-half-bath, 2,190-square-foot apartment features amazing views of the city, the east river, the Queensboro Bridge, high ceilings, and a wood-burning fireplace.
Connecticut Colonia Estate
Photo: Yahoo News
The pair also spent a lot of time at Miller's 350-acre clapboard home in Roxbury, Connecticut, built in the midst of the Revolutionary War in 1769. The two discussed demolishing the four-bedroom home Miller purchased in 1949 after finishing Death of a Salesman and the construction of a brand-new one Monroe had hired Frank Lloyd Wright to create. Miller, however, objected to the renowned architect's proposal and opted against doing a complete refurbishment. Miller requested to be transported there from his sister's apartment in New York City when he was in hospice, and he resided there until his demise in 2005.
Marilyn Monroe’s Final Home (Her Home)
Photo: today.com
When Marilyn Monroe’s fragile marriage to Miller ended after half a decade, she bought her very first home in Los Angeles. She described her home as “ a charming small eight-room home in the Mexican style”. The red-tiled Spanish Colonial revival home of 1929 was gated, L-shaped, and had dual bedrooms, wood-beamed ceilings, and adobe walls. It also featured white stucco walls. Marilyn’s living room as well as her bedroom had a tiled fireplace with patio doors directed to the courtyard. She described her home as her fortress. A mere six months later, Marilyn Monroe tragically passed away.