"Anybody who likes my house," Monroe told Life Magazine in 1962, "I am sure I will get along with."
by Julie Miller for Vanity Fair
In 1962, just months before she died at the age of 36, Marilyn Monroe welcomed a Life Magazine reporter into her Brentwood home-a tranquil, gated Spanish hacienda at the quiet end of a small cul-de-sac. She had spent the previous seven years in back-to-back high-profile marriages-to Joe DiMaggio then Arthur Miller-and told the reporter that she was adoring the process of putting together the first home she owned alone, even making a special trip to Mexico to furnish it in what the reporter described as "impetuous, charming taste."
And on Friday, 55 years after said interview, Monroe's beloved home-a 2,624 square-foot, white stucco hacienda with red tiles that was built in 1929-was put back on the market. The property boasts four bedrooms and three bathrooms, and according to listing agent Lisa Optican of Mercer Vine, the same casement windows, beamed ceilings, citrus grove, and kidney-shaped pool enjoyed by Monroe.
Optican's client, who never lived in the home, purchased the property in 2012.
"There have been owners in the past who have made changes to the property but the overall feeling and aesthetic and vibe of what attracted Marilyn to it is still there and you can feel it," Optican told VanityFair.com by phone. "It is really warm, romantic, intimate. The same courtyard, entry, and backyard with the pool and the expansive grassy yard and garden are all there. You feel it and get why she was attracted it-she wanted a home rather than just a big house in Beverly Hills."
The home, which sits at 12305 5th Helena Drive, is listed for $6.9 million.