Marilyn Monroe’s Poetry, Handwritten Notes Among Items Up for Auction to Mark Actress’ Centennial Celebration

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A trove of Marilyn Monroe memorabilia is going up for auction for the first time, to mark what would have been the Hollywood icon’s milestone 100th birthday.

Heritage Auctions is releasing a collection of Monroe’s personal artifacts to the highest bidders, including handwritten letters, photographs, clothing, artwork and accessories that all belonged to the late actress. Included in the new auction are letters and notes that read like diary entries, as Monroe reflects on on her famous relationships with Arthur Miller and Joe DiMaggio. The collection also includes personal poetry, watercolor paintings and even motivational notes to self that are being revealed to the public for the first time.

All of the items have been painstakingly preserved and come from the estate of playwright Norman Rosten and his wife Hedda, who were close personal friends with Monroe until the time of her death. The couple met Monroe through their mutual connection to Miller, and Hedda Rosten would later work for the actress as a personal assistant and secretary. It is how the Rostens came to acquire many of these pieces, which also include jewelry and clothing that Monroe gifted to Hedda, like the Christian Dior wool skirt suit that the actress famously wore on her honeymoon with Joe DiMaggio (seen in photo above).

Heritage Auctions says the pieces collectively “offer a rare, unfiltered portrait of Monroe, capturing both her brightest moments and deepest struggles while illuminating her inner life with unprecedented clarity.”

The items in the collection span a roughly seven-year period between 1955 and 1962 and are being released to coincide with the 100th anniversary of Monroe’s birth, which is officially on June 1, 2026. A press release says the archive “tells the story of Monroe’s life in her own words and from those closest to her during the final seven years of her life.”

“Marilyn Monroe remains one of the most enduring and influential figures in American popular culture, a presence that has shaped generations and continues to captivate us today,” says Joe Maddalena, Executive Vice President at Heritage Auctions. “While her image and story have been revisited time and again, opportunities to encounter her in such a direct and unfiltered way are exceedingly rare,” he says. “This is not simply a collection of familiar artifacts, but a remarkable archive of primary material that offers fresh insight into her inner world and a true once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for collectors, scholars, and admirers alike.”

You can see the lots open for bidding online at HA.com.

Monroe’s centennial celebrations also include this Official Centenary Book, which features more than 200 photographs on the actress and fashion icon as seen through the lenses of photography greats like Cecil Beaton, Henri Cartier-Bresson and Richard Avedon.