By Sewe Ishola

The iconic dress worn by Hollywood actress, Marilyn Monroe for her rendition of “Happy Birthday’’ to then U.S. President John Kennedy at a 1962 gala was sold on Thursday  at an auction in Los Angeles.

It went for $4.8 million.

Darren Julien, the President and Chief Executive Officer of Julien’s Auctions, made this known in a statement and mentioned the name of the buyer.

Julien said “Ripley’s Believe it or Not purchased the Jean Louis designed dress covered in sequins”.

“With its colour matching her skin tone, the dress, which was so tight that Monroe had to be sewn into it, gave the impression that she was nude. Monroe singing ‘Happy Birthday Mr President’ is certainly one of the most famous impromptu performances in American history,” he said.

He explained that Monroe, one of the 20th century most famous sex symbols, wore the dress as she sang “Happy Birthday to You’’ to Kennedy in a breathy performance at a May 19, 1962 fundraiser for the Democratic Party in Madison Square Garden in New York.

Actress Marilyn Monroe sings “Happy Birthday” to President John F. Kennedy at Madison Square Garden, for his upcoming 45th birthday.

The star of the films “Some Like it Hot’’ and “Gentlemen Prefer Blondes’’ died of drug overdose less than three months later.

“The late fund manager Martin Zweig bought the dress in 1999 for 1.26 million dollars at a Christie’s auction. Zweig, who saw the dress as an investment, kept it in a climate-controlled display case mounted on a mannequin,’’ Julien said.

Monroe would have been 90 years old this year.