Anna Strasberg, widow of Actors Studio founder Lee Strasberg and inheritor of Marilyn Monroe’s estate, died aged 84 on January 6, 2024.

She was born Anna Mizrahi in Caracas, Venezuela in 1939, to Sephardic Jewish parents who had emigrated from Mandatory Palestine. Anna was convent-educated, and moved to New York in 1960. 

“I worked in the cultural department of the United Nations, which fostered closer ties among the world’s countries through the sharing of arts and cultural programmes,” she told Scott Fortner, in an interview for his MM Collection blog. “Eleanor Roosevelt headed it. It was a wondrous place to work, with people greeting you in many different languages.”

One day, when Marilyn Monroe visited the department head Jeff Sparks, Anna welcomed the actress and escorted her to his office. In addition to her work at the UN, Anna studied acting with Sanford Meisner, and starred alongside Richard Conte in Stay Tuned for Terror (1965), although the Argentine sci-fi movie would not be released for almost a decade. She also appeared in episodes of US TV shows like Run For Your Life and The Girl From U.N.C.L.E.

In 1966, Paula Strasberg – wife to Actors Studio founder Lee Strasberg – died of cancer, aged 57. She had been his closest confidante for 30 years, and also an on-set coach to Marilyn Monroe for her last four films (and one unfinished) before her death in 1962.

Anna first met Lee Strasberg when she auditioned for Actors Studio West in Los Angeles, and they married in 1968. During this period, she appeared in Riot On Sunset Strip, a teen rebellion picture starring Aldo Ray and Mimsy Farmer, plus further TV spots in The Rat Patrol, The Felony Squad, and Judd For the Defence. 

In 1969, Anna and Lee welcomed their first child, Adam, followed by another son, David, in 1971.

Anna’s first screen credit under her married name was a short film shown in public libraries and elementary schools. In Winter of the Witch (1969), the English actress Hermione Gingold starred as a centuries-old witch forced to adapt to modern society when a young mother (played by Anna) moves into her crumbling New York mansion. 

After a lecture tour of Europe with Lee, Anna became interested in teaching. The Lee Strasberg Film and Theatre Institute was founded in New York in 1969, with a secondary campus in Los Angeles including the Marilyn Monroe Theatre on Santa Monica Boulevard in West Hollywood. 

Lee Strasberg died in 1983, aged 80, leaving his estate to Anna and their two sons. Sadly, Lee was estranged from his two older children by Paula Strasberg, and disinherited them both. Although John Strasberg later admitted to having no contact with his stepmother, actress Susan Strasberg was seen with Anna and Lee on several occasions before the rift. Anna was also said to have been supportive when Susan’s young daughter was seriously ill. 

While Susan’s two published memoirs indicate that Lee had long been a distant father, Anna has often been depicted as a divisive figure. Her bid to replace Lee as artistic director was initially opposed by the Actors Studio board, but a legal action to reclaim more than 1,000 hours of class tapes helped to secure her future. The Institute continued to grow under her leadership, and a few years later, the Lee Strasberg Studio opened in London. 

As well as teaching classes, Anna produced and directed plays at the Institute. She taught in NYU’s Graduate Film & Television programme, and lectured at Brown University and Trinity College in Dublin. She held master classes and seminars on method acting throughout the United States, including for the Oneida Nation in Wisconsin (where she assisted with establishing the first Oneida Nation Theatre), and in Europe, South America and Japan. 

She also established the Lee Strasberg Creative Centre, which provides opportunities for playwrights, directors and actors to develop new work, and administers a scholarship programme for students, including residents of the NYC housing authority. 

In 1984, Anna returned to the screen in Aurora, a film starring Sophia Loren as the mother of a blind boy (played by her real-life son, Edoardo Ponti.) The Italian star was a good friend, and they also shared a god-daughter, actress Drew Barrymore. They were reunited in The Fortunate Pilgrim (1988), a TV miniseries based on Mario Puzo’s novel about the struggles faced by Italian immigrants to the US during the early 20th century. 

However, the most controversial aspect of Anna’s career was her handling of the Marilyn Monroe estate, the majority of which had been inherited by Lee and Paula Strasberg in 1962. Marilyn was struggling financially at the time of her death, and her estate and bequests to friends and family were tied up in probate for several years. 

In 1983, Anna hired Roger Richman – an agent for the estates of numerous dead celebrities – to oversee merchandising for Marilyn’s estate. This had become a matter of concern due to a surge in unauthorised products sold under her name. Emboldened by a California Supreme Court ruling that stars who ‘merchandised’ themselves while alive could pass control of such publicity to their heirs, Richman approved the use of Marilyn’s image on commercials for vodka and cosmetics, as well as T-shirts and dolls.

Dr. Marianne Kris, Marilyn’s former psychiatrist, had inherited the remaining quarter of her estate. After her death in 1980, Dr. Kris’s portion was donated to a London-based clinic for emotionally disturbed children. In 1989, the Anna Freud Centre sued Anna Strasberg, alleging that she had failed to release residuals from Marilyn’s films, and delayed finalising contracts with Twentieth Century-Fox, the Bradford Exchange, and Franklin Mint. The case was resolved in Anna’s favour. 

In 1994, Millington Conroy – nephew of Marilyn’s former business manager, Inez Melson – was sued by Anna for withholding the return of personal property removed by Melson from Marilyn’s home after her death. In 2007, a court ordered that the items be returned to Marilyn’s estate. 

Anna terminated her partnership with Roger Richman in 1996, and entered a new agreement with CMG Worldwide, an intellectual property management firm which had successfully lobbied the state of Indiana to pass licensing laws protecting a celebrity’s likeness for up to 100 years after their death. Ultimately, CMG would help to generate $7 million a year for Marilyn’s estate from around 700 licensed products, including slot machines, wine, purses, lingerie and pottery.

Then in 1999, Anna sold around one thousand items from Marilyn’s estate at Christie’s. Among the lots was the sequined dress worn by Marilyn when she sang ‘Happy Birthday Mr President’ to John F. Kennedy at Madison Square Garden. The dress sold for nearly $1.3 million, setting a record as the most expensive dress in auction history. Raising $13.7 million in total, the event attracted worldwide publicity. 

25 years later, Marilyn remains the most coveted celebrity on the auction circuit. For those unable to afford the soaring prices for her clothing and other items, the auction catalogue – entitled The Personal Property of Marilyn Monroe – and others that followed, provide a uniquely detailed view of Marilyn’s daily life, and a valuable source for researchers.

In 2006, the family of Sam Shaw entered litigation with CMG and Marilyn Monroe LLC, who were pursuing a stake in the commercial use of the late photographer’s images of Marilyn. Then in 2007, a court ruled that although she died in her Los Angeles home, Marilyn was still a resident of New York and therefore, California’s post-mortem right of publicity did not apply (let alone Indiana’s.) And in 2008, CMG reached a settlement with One West Publishing, owner of copyrighted images of Marilyn by photographers Andre de Dienes and George Barris.

Anna oversaw the release of three books drawn from Marilyn’s archives: Fragments: Poems, Intimate Notes, Letters (2010); MM – Personal: From the Private Archive (2011); and a French publication, Girl Waiting: Drawings/Sketches (2012.) She also authorised a feature-length documentary, Love, Marilyn (2012), directed by Liz Garbus, with Marilyn’s writings voiced by actors and accompanied by rare footage and interviews. 

Anna terminated her CMG contract in 2010, and subsequently sold Marilyn’s estate to Authentic Brands Group (ABG), a New York-based licensing company, while retaining a minority interest. Additionally, the Anna Freud Centre earned a £5 million windfall from the sale. ABG then inked further deals with the Shaw Family Archives and the estates of fellow photographers Tom Kelley, Milton Greene and Bruno Bernard. 

In 2013, Anna filed suit against the auction house Profiles in History for its unauthorised sale of a so-called ‘letter of despair’ written by Marilyn to Lee Strasberg during filming of Some Like It Hot in 1958. The letter sold for $156,000, and although Anna claimed it had been stolen, a court ruled that the sale was legal. 

Since 2011, ABG has partnered with beauty brands and fashion retailers, and Marilyn has also been featured in commercials for Christian Dior, Chrysler, Snickers, and Coke. In 2023, she was listed among the Highest Paid Dead Celebrities by Forbes magazine, with earnings of $10 million in the preceding year. 

Anna’s business acumen and fierce protectiveness towards both her late husband’s and Marilyn’s legacies has often overshadowed her deep admiration. In 2018, Julien’s Auctions approached collector Scott Fortner to curate a sale. This involved several visits to Anna Strasberg’s home in New York. 

Anna herself answered the door and welcomed me into her home. It was the same apartment she had shared with Lee. The same home Marilyn visited countless times when visiting Lee and Paula. It was much the way Susan Strasberg had described it in her book Marilyn & Me. The apartment was large with high ceilings, and windows overlooking Central Park. Countless books lined the shelves of floor-to-ceiling bookcases in all of the main rooms.

There were photographs everywhere throughout the apartment. Pictures of Anna with Lee, and photos of her together with her sons and her grandchildren. There were photos of Lee together with great icons of movies and television, including Sally Field, Marlo Thomas, and Sophia Loren … When I asked Anna about the photos of Marilyn, she said, ‘This was Marilyn’s home also. She spent a lot of time with Lee in this house. I want her represented here too.’

We talked about Lee and Marilyn. We talked about Marilyn’s estate and what it had been like for Anna through the years. I was surprised to discover that Lee hadn’t even known he was mentioned in Marilyn’s will. He learned of it only after she had died. I had always assumed that Lee knew he would inherit Marilyn’s estate and belongings. I was obviously incorrect.

I asked Anna what it had been like for him to discover that he was in her will, and the process of receiving her estate. ‘I wasn’t there when Lee found out that he was in Marilyn’s will,’ she said. ‘We didn’t receive Marilyn’s things right away. They came a few years later. When the boxes arrived, Lee was so moved by seeing the memories of her. Everything in the boxes was in a state of disarray. An assistant was hired to help catalogue what we had received to ensure that her possessions would be protected. It was a process of discovery: a discovery of Marilyn’s writing and how beautifully she expressed herself in her poems.’

Anna shared with me her efforts around distributing Marilyn’s personal possessions to people that had been part of her life. For example, the mirrored dining room table that was in Marilyn’s East 57th Street apartment had been selected by friend and designer John Moore. Marilyn had enlisted his assistance in redecorating the new home she was sharing with Arthur Miller. Anna gave the table to Moore considering his friendship with Marilyn and his connection to the item.

During our visits to the storage facilities, Anna and I discovered a vast collection of vintage newspaper clippings spanning the late 1940s through 1962. Normally this wouldn’t have been an exciting find for anyone. In this case however, it just happened to be Marilyn Monroe’s personal collection of news and media clippings, with stories about her circled in red wax pencil … Quite amazingly, included are clippings from the late 1940s, documenting that Marilyn was collecting articles and mentions of the man who would be her husband someday: Arthur Miller. The collection of newspapers and magazines had been part of Marilyn’s estate.

Toward the end of the day I climbed up to the top shelf to grab a box that was near the back of the rack. It was one of the very last boxes for us to audit. I set it down next to Anna and we opened it. We discovered that it wasn’t memorabilia or merchandise inside, but clothing. I started to pull the pieces out one at a time. There were skirts in black and brown. There were also several pairs of black pants, and then, a pair of black and white checked pants that are so synonymous with Marilyn.

That’s when it hit me: These were Marilyn’s clothes … At the initial moment of discovery I told Anna, ‘Bear with me, I’m having a Marilyn Monroe moment,’ and she literally laughed out loud, and we revelled in the joy.

During our times together Anna shared with me some of what she’d learned about Marilyn through Lee and through curating her personal property. ‘The essence of Marilyn was her absolute enthusiasm,’ she said. ‘Marilyn was always learning and wanting to excel … Her studies with Lee gave her confidence and made her stronger.’

Very few people in the Marilyn world have ever even met Anna Strasberg, let alone spent time with her the way that I now have, and it’s been an amazing and enlightening experience. I won’t share intimate details of our conversations because they’re private between Anna and me. However, what I will share is some of what I discovered about who Anna is as a person: she is thoughtful, encouraging, and kind … She is passionate about Marilyn, who she was and what she stood for. Anna often says, ‘Marilyn will live on forever.’ She is passionate about her work and teaching the craft of acting. She is passionate about Lee, and speaks of him with great affection while telling countless stories about him and their life together. Above all else though, she is passionate about family. ‘Without family you have nothing,’ she would often tell me. ‘Family is everything.’