Marilyn Monroe Collected This Iconic Cookware Brand

While the world was obsessed over Marilyn Monroe's wardrobe, beauty, and films, the Hollywood pin-up and movie star was quietly obsessed with one colorful kitchen essential. Known for starring in "Gentlemen Prefer Blondes" and "The Seven-Year Itch," Monroe also loved to cook, especially with her collection of Le Creuset cookware. Le Creuset has built its reputation on the highest quality cast-iron pots and pans coated in porcelain enamel. The actress and model owned an eight-piece set in the iconic brand's vintage color, Elysée Yellow, which debuted in 1955.

Monroe was a star in the kitchen as much as she was on the big screen. The late starlet preferred intimate dinners over Hollywood parties, and since it was hard for her to eat out, she began cooking at home, especially during her marriage to playwright Arthur Miller. And while it may not have been her reputation until long after her death, Monroe regularly cooked with her pale yellow roasting pan, saucepans, an au gratin dish, and a Dutch oven. Her eight-piece set, which was worth between $600 and $800, sold at auction at Christie's in New York in 1999 for $25,300. To date, it's the most expensive Le Creuset collection ever sold.

Just as she was a rare gem, so is the Elysée Yellow line, which Le Creuset stopped making sometime in the '70s. However, some pieces are still popping up on third-party sites like Etsy and eBay for as little as $50 up to nearly $400, depending on the piece. The brand's closest current yellow to Monroe's is Camomille. A modern five-piece set is priced at $600, and a five-quart Dutch oven alone costs $415. If you're lucky, you can find discontinued yellows Le Creuset once sold, like Quince, Mimosa, and Saffron, on the secondhand market. 

If you want to cook like the "Some Like It Hot" star, you also need her beloved cookbooks, "The Joy of Cooking" and "The New Fannie Farmer Boston Cooking-School Cookbook." According to a 1999 People article, she loved making rum cake and boeuf bourguignon, but the most talked-about recipe is Monroe's extensive giblet stuffing. 

Both her Fannie Farmer Cookbook and her famous handwritten stuffing recipe were sold in 2016 at Julien's Auctions in California. The recipe, which was worth up to $20,000, sold for $6,400. And the cookbook sold for $2,188. After you enjoy one of her meals, treat yourself to a hot fudge sundae, the star's go-to snack after acting class. And if you truly want to eat like the star, and you like living on the edge, you can whip up this two-ingredient drink she always had for breakfast.