Marilyn Monroe's 'Happy Birthday Mr. President' dress auctions for $4.8M

Officials say a dress worn by Marilyn Monroe as she famously sang Happy Birthdayto U.S. President John. F. Kennedy has sold for nearly $5 million at a Los Angeles auction.

Julien's Auctions says that the iconic, form-fitting gown was sold for $4.8 million Thursday night to Ripley's Believe It or Not.

The company says in a news release that the actress wore the Hollywood designer Jean Louis creation flesh-coloured and sparkling with over 2,500 hand-stitched crystals on May 19, 1962, for an early 45th birthday celebration for Kennedy at New York's Madison Square Garden.

Monroe's breathy rendition of the birthday song has been broadcast repeatedly since, adding to the lore surrounding the screen icon.

It was just a few months later on Aug. 5, that the 36-year-old Monroe was found dead from what the Los Angeles district attorney's office ruled was an overdose of barbiturates.