In 1982, at the age of fifty, the late actress left $800,000 as a will. Her estate was split among Lee Strasberg, her acting coach, and her half-sister, Anna. Although Monroe was not close to her stepmother, she considered her friends to be her parents. Her estate also went to Lee Strasberg’s wife, a Venezuelan actress named Anna. The couple has been estranged since the death of Monroe’s stepmother.
In her will, Marilyn left clear instructions for who should inherit her assets. After her death, she left the majority of her wealth to Lee Strasberg and his acting coach, Marianne Kris. Another portion of Monroe’s estate was given to the Anna Freud Centre in London, which aids children with mental illnesses. Clearly, Monroe would have approved. And, as her surrogate parent, Lee Strasberg is a great friend of Monroe’s.
Although it is not known how much money she left to her children, Monroe’s will clearly outlines her priorities. The actress left her half-sister, Bernie Miracle, $10,000, to her personal secretary May Reis. She also left $5,000 to her parents, Norman and Hedda Rosten. Her second wife, Anna Mizrahi, was left a $100,000 trust. This trust passed to her daughter Anna Mizrahi.
Because of her troubled childhood, her mother left her daughter in foster homes and orphanages at two weeks old. She never knew about her half-sister until she was twelve years old. Marilyn was a fan of poetry and made bequests to a friend and his wife. The actress also left her money to friends, and it is believed that her father’s wealth passed to the poet’s wife and her half-sister.