Marilyn Monroe gown sells for millions

The flesh-colored dress, adorned with 2,500 hand-stitched crystals, had been expected to fetch between $2-3 million, Julien's Auctions in Beverly Hills said.

It went to Ripley's Believe It or Not!, an American media empire specializing in bizarre and historically significant items which owns a chain of museums, including one in Hollywood.

The dress was so tight on Monroe that the legendary actress wore nothing underneath and had to be sewn into it at the last minute before stepping on stage at Madison Square Garden in 1962 to sing to JFK in her trademark sultry voice, according to the auction house.

Monroe died of an overdose less than three months after the performance, while Kennedy was murdered a year later.

The singer and actress, one of the world's most bankable stars before her death aged just 36 in Los Angeles, remains at the top of the list for collectors of celebrity memorabilia.

Five years ago, the billowing frock she wore on a subway grate in "The Seven Year Itch" -- the scene that turned her into a screen icon -- sold for a record $5.5 million.