The iconic celebrity memorabilia worth millions – from Marilyn Monroe’s £4m dress to James Bond’s £5.2m Aston Martin
MANY people would dream of owning a classic James Bond car, a piece of jewellery worn by Elizabeth Taylor or Marilyn Monroe's 'Happy Birthday, Mr. President' dress.
But some super-rich fans have gone to new extremes to get their hands on these pieces of celeb history by paying millions — with one collector even shelling out huge money for a lock of Elvis Presley's hair.
Now a pair of Michael Jordan's game-worn Air Jordan 1s from Chicago Bulls' 1985 season are the latest to break records, after being sold for $560,000 (£457,000) at auction.
The iconic red, white, and black trainers, that boast the 57-year-old's signature, were only given an estimate of around £123k by Sotheby's.
But MJ's sneakers smashed the previous $437,500 world record for basketball shoes — despite the pair consisting of a US size 13 left shoe and 13.5 right shoe, with Jordan wearing mismatched trainers for the majority of his career.
It's far from the first expensive sale, however.
Here's a look at more iconic celebrity memorabilia that sold for huge money...
Michael Jackson's jacket — £50,000 (paid by Kim Kardashian)
Kim Kardashian previously shocked fans when she gifted a jacket, previously owned by Michael Jackson, to her daughter North — despite it costing her more than £50,000.
The reality star and husband Kanye won the jacket, which was worn by the late pop-star for Elizabeth Taylor's 65th birthday party in 1997, at an auction.
Celeb memorabilia you can buy now
Fancy your own piece of history? Here's some of the celeb memorabilia you can buy now - and they're won't all cost millions...
Harrison Ford's Star Wars Blaster Gun - signed by the star - is available for $2,328 (£1,900) from Hollywoodmemorabilia.com.
Steve Hackett's signed Red Starburst electric guitar has an asking price of $456 (£373), for any Genesis fans.
For any Space fans, there's an American League baseball up for grabs - signed by famous astronauts Neil Armstrong and Alan Sheppard - with an asking price of $15,137 (£12,300).
For those with a strong stomach, there's also a pair of bloody shorts worn by - and signed by - Sylvester Stallone from his days on Rocky. They're on sale for $1,554 (£1,270).
And Burt Reynolds also signed a Smokey And The Bandit replica jacket for fans, which can be snapped up for $916 (£748).
Kim told her followers at the time: “Kanye and I gave North this jacket, and this was Michael Jackson's jacket that he wore with Elizabeth Taylor.
“North is a really big Michael Jackson fan and we knew she would love this.”
Elizabeth Taylor's jewellery collection — £94million
A collection of jewellery previously owned and worn by Elizabeth Taylor fetched an incredible £94million in 2011 at an auction that hit headlines everywhere.
With recaps of some of her top movies — including Cat On A Hot Tin Roof — playing to guests, the actress herself could then be heard saying in one clip: "It looks as if everything is going to sell much higher than the estimated prices, doesn't it darling? Keep bidding!" Business Insider previously reported.
It's fair to say, the auction didn't disappoint — with around 80 items sold overall.
The highlight lot was a necklace featuring a 16th century pearl, which sold for £7.6million.
Meanwhile, a diamond ring that Richard Burton gave the star fetched £7.2million.
Dorothy's red slippers — listed for £6million
Judy Garland clicking her heels together at the end of The Wizard of Oz and saying, “There’s no place like home!” is an iconic moment of cinema.
And fitting something so memorable, one pair of the shoes worn by Garland in the movie previously fetched a hefty sum when they were auctioned off.
A pair of the glittering red numbers went for a huge $666,000 initially, before another was listed in 2018 for a reported £6million.
It's unclear if it was the same pair each time as a few different ones were used as props during filming.
The Dukes of Hazzard's 'The General Lee' — £8million
John Schneider, aka Bo Duke, left fans all revved up in 2007 when he decided to sell his personal 1969 'General Lee' Dodge Charger, which was famously used in The Dukes of Hazzard.
The car was painted up and used in the series, along with several others — but the fact it was owned by Schneider himself appeared to set it apart from the crowd.
It ended up selling for £8million in an eBay auction at the time, CNN reports.
"I'm excited as I can be but I'm not going to believe it until my banker calls and says 'buy me a beer'," Schneider reportedly said after the auction ended.
Marilyn Monroe’s 'Happy Birthday, Mr. President' dress — £3.9million
As the original blonde bombshell, Marilyn Monroe was one of Hollywood’s biggest and brightest stars.
And her serenade of US President John F. Kennedy became the stuff of legend after it was broadcast to the world in 1962.
In fact, it became such a hit that in 1999, the dress worn during the performance — which was covered in 2,500 rhinestones — went under the hammer and fetched millions.
It initially cost New York based company Gotta Have It! a staggering $1.26million at the time.
But it's since sold again for £3.9million, Julien’s Auctions announced in 2016.
It beat the previous record-holder for most expensive dress ever sold at auction — Monroe’s white costume from The Seven Year Itch, which sold for £3.7million in 2011.
John Lennon Rolls Royce Phantom V — £1.8million
When it comes to Beatles memorabilia, there seems to be no limits to how much fans will pay — and a classic example was John Lennon's Rolls Royce Phantom V.
The late musician famously customised the car with added extras like a backseat that could change into a double bed, an eight-track tape player, a record player, a fridge and a radio telephone.
While it was black when he bought it, Lennon had it painted in a psychedelic pattern on a bright yellow background.
He eventually donated it to the Cooper Hewitt Museum of Design, who later sold it in 1985 for £1.8million to a Canadian businessman, Jimmy Pattison.
Pattison donated the car to the province of British Columbia for display.
James Bond Aston Martin DB5 — £5.2million
Bond legend Sean Connery is one of the most popular 007 stars in history — and his movie Goldfinger featured many memorable gadgets and gizmos.
But perhaps most iconic of all was the vintage 1965 Aston Martin DB5 which featured in the film, complete with ejector seat.
The prop from the movie, which came fitted with its own replica machine guns, tyre slashers and smoke screen dispensers, ended up selling for £5.2million at an auction in 2010.
A total of six interested bidders battled it out for the prized motor, eventually selling to a buyer who was present in the room.
William Shakespeare’s autograph — £3.9million
Everybody loves getting the autograph of their favourite star, but what if they died almost 400 years ago?
The great bard William Shakespeare’s signature is thought to only still exist on six parchments, making them something of an extreme rarity.
And as exclusive as they are, the price for one is huge, estimated to be around £3.9million each.
Lock of Elvis' hair — £94,000
For many, Elvis Presley was and still is The King of Rock and Roll.
With a string of mega-hits to his name, there aren’t too many who don’t know or haven't heard something by the late singer, who died in 1977.
Fans still go wild for Elvis memorabilia and in 2002 a lock of the Suspicious Minds singer’s hair raked in £94,000.
Darth Vader's helmet — £735,000
Many Star Wars fans would dream of owning a classic prop from one of the movies — especially one connected to Darth Vader.
And a particularly keen fan went as far as paying £735,000 last year for Darth Vader's mask and helmet, worn in The Empire Strikes Back.
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The fibreglass costume — the “holy grail” of sci-fi artefacts — was worn by Brit actor David Prowse in 1980’s Star Wars blockbuster.
Both items are lined with foam and rubber padding, and two of the three straps that secured the mask to the actor’s head were still present when they went to auction.
The Empire Strikes Back, starring Mark Hamill, Harrison Ford and Carrie Fisher, was the second film of the franchise, released three years after Star Wars, Episode IV, A New Hope.