Inside Marilyn Monroe’s West Hollywood Apartment Building Once Occupied by David Bowie and Nora Ephron
The life of Marilyn Monroe took her from an orphanage and abusive foster homes to the height of Hollywood stardom. She moved around a lot during that trajectory, reportedly living in over 40 places during her lifetime.
The peak of her popularity was mostly spent in California, living in impressive residences at times by herself and at other times with her husbands while trying to make chaotic marriages work. While Monroe famously fell victim to the dark side of the entertainment industry, her story has done little to dissuade other stars from inhabiting the locations where she once lived.
Monroe lived in several places during her time in California
While still in high school, Monroe met her first husband, a factory worker named James Dougherty. The two married in 1942 and lived in Sherman Oaks and the San Fernando region of LA while they were a couple.
After they divorced in 1946, Monroe moved into a women-only residence and various apartments in West Hollywood while attempting to get her career off the ground, according to Architectural Digest. Three years later, she moved into the Beverly Hills home of her agent Johnny Hyde, who left his wife for Monroe. Hyde died in 1950 after a heart attack, but Monroe wasn’t single for long.
In 1952, she began dating New York Yankees star Joe DiMaggio, and the two lived together in a two-story Spanish-style villa in the Hollywood Hills with 3,335 square feet of space. The home has four bedrooms, four-and-a-half baths, and a two-car garage. The amenities include a fireplace in the master suite, a pool, spa, and a terrace that provides a gorgeous view of Runyon Canyon.
Their marriage only lasted nine months, and after her relationship with her third husband Arthur Miller briefly took her to New York, Monroe returned to Cali and bought her own house for the first time for $75,000. In her words, the Mediterranean-style Brentwood property was “a cute little Mexican-style house with eight rooms.”
Unfortunately, she could not enjoy her new situation for very long, as she died only six months after buying the home. You can read about Monroe’s various living arrangements in this Love Property article.
The star moved into a penthouse after splitting with DiMaggio
Monroe’s relationship with DiMaggio fell apart after the famous subway-grate scene in The Seven Year Itch. (The ball player’s reaction to the scene is one of the few moments of reality in Blonde.)
After they broke up, she moved to a penthouse in West Hollywood in what was then known as the Voltaire Apartments for a few months. It was the seventh apartment she rented in the area.
Built in 1930 and designed by Leland Bryant and Samuel Coine, the Normandy-style penthouse stretches 2,032 square feet of living space across two floors with floor-to-ceiling windows with scenic views of downtown LA amid classic Art Deco architecture. It also has two bedrooms, two bathrooms, and a kitchen with Venetian plaster and steel cabinetry.
The property has been updated a few times over the years, but the allure of the space is still as strong on modern celebrities as it was on Monroe.
The Voltaire has a new name, but the same star appeal
According to the conveniently named IAmNotaStalker, the Voltaire was renamed Granville Towers in the 1980s. Regardless of the name, the building’s prime location makes it an enduring piece of Hollywood history.
Legends like David Bowie, Nora Ephron, and Rock Hudson called the complex home back in the day. In more recent years, the likes of Portia de Rossi, Mickey Rourke, and Brendan Fraser have lived there. Monroe’s old apartment was put on the market last November for a cool $2.49 million.
