Marilyn Monroe standing between President John F. Kennedy (R) and Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy on May 19, 1962, at Hollywood executive Arthur Krim’s Manhattan townhouse, following a rally for the President’s 45th Birthday at Madison Square Garden.Cecil Stoughton—Courtesy of Lelands Auction
The image, shown here, was taken that night at an after-party at the Manhattan townhouse of Hollywood exec Arthur Krim, by official White House photographer Cecil Stoughton. A print of that image is now for sale, which the auction house Lelands says it was discovered after Stoughton died in 2008; Lelands claims it could be the only surviving version of the photo that Stoughton printed himself from the original negative. (Another version of the photo is part of the LIFE Images Collection.)
Also pictured are the President’s brother, Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy, on the viewer’s left, and Harry Belafonte, who sang “Michael Row the Boat Ashore” that night, in the center back. The bespectacled smiling man on the right is the historian Arthur Schlesinger, Jr., who admitted later that he was indeed as starstruck as he looks. Monroe had also brought her ex-father-in-law Isidore Miller, playwright Arthur Miller’s father, to meet the President that night. “I thought this would be one of the biggest things in his life” as an “immigrant,” a 1964 LIFE magazine feature reported her saying.
“[I]t was Marilyn who was the hit of the evening,” according to TIME’s recap of the concert in 1962. “Kennedy plainly meant it when he said, ‘I can now retire from politics after having had Happy Birthday sung to me in such a sweet, wholesome way.’”
Marilyn Monroe and John F. Kennedy: The Only Known Photograph of an Enduring American Moment
Marilyn Monroe and John F. Kennedy remain two of the most iconic figures in American history—symbols of Hollywood glamour and political power whose brief intersections have fueled decades of fascination. Among the many stories and myths surrounding them, one image stands apart: the only known photograph of Marilyn Monroe and John F. Kennedy together.
A Snapshot from a Defining Era
The photograph was taken on May 19, 1962, at a Democratic Party fundraiser held at Madison Square Garden in New York City. The event was staged as an early celebration of President Kennedy’s 45th birthday and drew a constellation of political leaders, celebrities, and cultural tastemakers. In the image, Monroe and Kennedy appear amid the crowd—close enough to share the frame, yet distant enough to leave room for interpretation.
The Night That Cemented a Legend
That evening, Monroe delivered her sultry, breathy rendition of “Happy Birthday, Mr. President,” a performance that instantly entered American pop culture. Draped in a sheer, crystal-studded Jean Louis gown, she embodied Hollywood allure at its peak. Kennedy, charismatic and composed, represented the optimism and confidence of the early 1960s—a moment when politics and celebrity blurred under the bright lights of New York.
Why the Photograph Matters
Despite countless rumors and cultural retellings, no other verified photograph captures Monroe and Kennedy together. This single image has therefore become a visual anchor for an entire era—symbolizing fame, power, desire, and the fragile intersection of private lives with public spectacle. It endures not because of what it proves, but because of what it suggests.
According to another biographer, Donald Spoto, Monroe and JFK met four times between October 1961 and August 1962. Their only “sexual encounter” is believed to have taken place two months before the concert in a bedroom at Bing Crosby’s house on Mar. 24, 1962, her masseur Ralph Roberts has said.
So, while rumors of their affair may have ramped up after her performance at Madison Square Garden, their interest in each other may have been winding down at that point, Roberts has claimed. Referring to their March encounter, he said, “Marilyn gave me the impression that it was not a major event for either of them: it happened once, that weekend, and that was that.”
And yet, especially given Monroe’s death and Kennedy’s assassination not too long after, the idea of their relationship still holds its grip on many Americans’ imaginations.
A Frozen Moment in American History
Just over a year later, both figures would be gone—Monroe in August 1962 and Kennedy in November 1963—transforming the photograph into something more than documentation. It became a relic of a vanished moment, a reminder of the promise and peril of the 1960s, and a testament to how images can outlive the people within them.
In the end, the only known photograph of Marilyn Monroe and John F. Kennedy is not merely about two famous individuals sharing space. It is about America at a crossroads, captured in a single frame—glamorous, hopeful, and forever suspended in time.
