Throughout her transient however iconic profession, Marilyn Monroe was paid round $4 million in complete salaries for her varied movies. After adjusting for inflation, that is the identical as round $42 million in at the moment’s {dollars}. Marilyn was not notably accountable with cash. Marilyn spent freely on houses, garments, and jewellery, whereas additionally generously supporting household, associates, workers, and even strangers.
When she died in August 1962 on the age of 36, Marilyn left behind an property valued at simply $800,000, round $8.5 million at the moment. After money owed, taxes, and authorized charges, that determine shrank to about $370,000.
Her will outlined a handful of small however significant bequests:
$10,000 every to her half-sister and longtime assistant $5,000 in a belief for her assistant’s youngster A $100,000 belief to take care of her institutionalized mom
That is the place it will get fascinating. And that is how a little-known actress from Venezuela ended up proudly owning the vast majority of Marilyn Monroe’s picture… and the tens of hundreds of thousands these rights generated within the a long time that adopted.
(L. J. Willinger/Keystone Options/Hulton Archive/Getty Pictures)
IP Rights
After her remaining money was distributed, that left two remaining belongings:
Marilyn’s bodily property. Her mental property rights. AKA the rights to her picture, title, and likeness (and all the cash earned off these rights).
Marilyn bequeathed her bodily property to her appearing coach, Lee Strasberg. Lee and his first spouse, Paula Strasberg, have been principally surrogate mother and father to Marilyn.
Monroe’s will gave 75% of her mental property rights to Lee Strasberg and 25% to her psychiatrist, Dr. Marianne Kris.
Dr. Kris died in 1980. Upon her demise, that 25% stake was donated to the Anna Freud Centre for the Psychoanalytic Examine and Remedy of Kids in London. Anna Freud’s father, Sigmund Freud, was a pioneer in analysis on intercourse. So it is considerably acceptable that 25% of the cash generated by one of many biggest intercourse symbols of all time advantages a basis established by Dr. Freud’s daughter.
Now let’s speak about what occurred to Lee and Paula Strasberg’s 75% share.
Enter Anna Strasberg
In 1966, 4 years after Marilyn Monroe’s demise, Paula Strasberg, the spouse of appearing coach Lee Strasberg, died of most cancers. Paula had been Monroe’s on-set coach for her closing movies and was deeply embedded in her skilled life.
The next 12 months, Lee remarried. His new spouse was Anna Mizrahi, a 28-year-old actress from Venezuela. Born in Caracas in 1939 to Sephardic Jewish mother and father, Anna had immigrated to the US in 1960, labored for the United Nations, and studied appearing with Sanford Meisner. She landed just a few roles in movie and tv, together with “Keep Tuned for Terror,” “Run for Your Life,” and “The Lady from U.N.C.L.E.” She met Lee when auditioning for Actors Studio West, and the 2 married in 1968.
Lee Strasberg died in 1982. At that time, the 43-year-old Anna Strasberg all of the sudden turned the proprietor of 75% of Marilyn Monroe.
I do not know if Anna and Marilyn ever met. As an example they did meet in some unspecified time in the future. Possibly they briefly shook palms at a cocktail social gathering within the late Nineteen Fifties or early Sixties. Think about telling the 30-something-year-old Marilyn that this 20-something-year-old aspiring actress would sometime management her likeness and all the cash generated from her property. Incomes actually ten instances more cash than Monroe earned throughout her profession…
The Unintentional Monroe Mogul
So after Lee Strasberg died in 1982, 43-year-old Anna Strasberg went to work.
She signed offers that put Monroe’s title, signature, and likeness on a whole bunch of merchandise, together with clothes, cosmetics, vodka, slot machines, lingerie, and collectible dolls. Over time, Anna reworked Monroe right into a posthumous advertising phenomenon. She earned tens of hundreds of thousands of {dollars} within the course of.
Finally, Anna partnered with the superstar administration firm known as CMG. A lawsuit would later reveal that the CMG deal reportedly assured Anna a minimal of $1 million a 12 months. Nevertheless, because it turned out, Anna made greater than $7.5 million in licensing income in simply the 4 years between 1996 and 2000. In 2000, Anna created Marilyn Monroe, LLC to handle the property’s enterprise operations.
Here is a photograph from 1995 exhibiting Anna (left), the US Postmaster Common and actress Zsa Zsa Gabor, unveiling the Monroe commemorative stamp:
(Photograph by VINCE BUCCI/AFP through Getty Pictures)
The Battle Over Marilyn’s Picture
Anna’s ascent wasn’t with out controversy or authorized challenges.
In 2005, 4 lawsuits erupted between Anna, CMG, and the heirs of a number of photographers who had captured iconic pictures of Monroe. The circumstances have been filed in California, New York, and Indiana. On the coronary heart of the dispute was a deceptively easy query: Was Marilyn Monroe a authorized resident of California or New York when she died?
Anna insisted Monroe was a Californian, and as such, that enabled her to retain the appropriate to license the superstar pictures of Monroe, for which the 4 photographers owned the copyrights. If Marilyn was a New Yorker, the photographers would have been in a position to wipe out Anna’s enterprise of licensing Marilyn’s picture. In California, heirs retain the postmortem publicity rights to copyrighted images. In New York, the photographers retain the rights to their work and will due to this fact license them freely with out approval or fee.
After seven years of authorized battles and appeals, the Ninth Circuit Courtroom of Appeals dominated in 2012 that Monroe was a New York resident. It was a significant blow to Anna’s licensing operation. The courtroom resolution meant the heirs of Monroe’s photographers, not Anna Strasberg, would retain the rights to license most of the most iconic pictures of the actress.
Cashing Out on the Excellent Time
However Anna Strasberg had already seen the writing on the wall.
In January 2011, a 12 months earlier than the courtroom ruling, she offered her stake within the Monroe property to Genuine Manufacturers Group (ABG) for $20 to $30 million. She retained a minority curiosity within the model, making certain ongoing earnings whereas stepping again from direct administration.
The Anna Freud Centre, which had inherited the remaining 25% from Dr. Kris, reportedly obtained a windfall of about $8 million from the identical sale.
Underneath ABG’s management, Monroe’s model continued to thrive. ABG struck new licensing offers with magnificence and style manufacturers, and Monroe appeared posthumously in main promoting campaigns for Chanel, Dior, Snickers, Chrysler, and Coca-Cola. She additionally remained a prime title on the highest-paid useless celebrities lists, with annual earnings reaching $10 million in 2023 alone.
A Legacy Past the Enterprise
Although typically portrayed as a shrewd businesswoman, Anna’s stewardship of the Monroe property wasn’t purely business. She was deeply invested in Monroe’s legacy, not solely as a model however as an individual.
She curated three books based mostly on Monroe’s private writings and memorabilia:
“Fragments: Poems, Intimate Notes, Letters” (2010) “MM – Private: From the Non-public Archive” (2011) “Lady Ready: Drawings/Sketches” (2012, in French)
She additionally licensed the 2012 documentary “Love, Marilyn,” which featured Monroe’s writings voiced by modern actors and uncommon archival footage.
Anna continued to run The Lee Strasberg Theatre & Movie Institute, which she co-founded and led as inventive director for many years. She taught appearing, lectured all over the world, and established scholarships together with for college students in public housing and the Oneida Nation in Wisconsin.
The Last Chapter
Anna Strasberg died in January 2024 on the age of 84 in New York Metropolis. Over the earlier 4 a long time, she earned at the very least $40 to $50 million off Marilyn Monroe’s picture. Actually ten instances greater than Monroe earned herself in her profession.
In her later years, she spoke fondly of Marilyn Monroe, typically describing her as curious, passionate, and desirous to develop. She additionally mirrored on the surreal expertise of inheriting Monroe’s belongings, bins full of letters, clothes, and even information clippings Monroe had saved about her future husband, Arthur Miller.
She as soon as mentioned, “The essence of Marilyn was her absolute enthusiasm. Her research with Lee gave her confidence and made her stronger.”
Anna Strasberg could have entered Marilyn Monroe’s story accidentally, however she formed its second act with precision, ambition, and a surprisingly deep sense of stewardship.