Marilyn Monroe and Robert F. Kennedy: The Evidence

The Evidence Base

The relationship between Marilyn Monroe and Robert F. Kennedy is more contested than her relationship with JFK, but substantially supported by available evidence. The FBI under Hoover kept files on both. Witnesses who were present in her final weeks have given consistent testimony about his involvement in her life in 1962.

The Primary Sources

• FBI files: Declassified FBI surveillance records reference Monroe's contact with Robert Kennedy in the period before her death
• Pat Seaton Lawford: Peter Lawford's ex-wife gave multiple interviews over decades describing Marilyn's relationship with RFK and his visits to her home
• The Wolper/Jaffe recordings: Producer Robert Slatzer claimed to have recordings of phone calls; their authenticity has been disputed
• Eunice Murray: Marilyn's housekeeper gave conflicting accounts — admitting to some things she had initially denied — regarding RFK's presence at the house in the period before her death
• Investigative journalist Seymour Hersh and biographer Donald Spoto reached different conclusions from similar evidence sets

What Appears to Have Happened

After JFK effectively ended contact through Peter Lawford, Robert Kennedy reportedly took on the task of managing the situation — initially as a family damage-control exercise. What happened next is disputed: some accounts describe a genuine romantic relationship developing; others describe it as RFK managing a deteriorating situation without personal involvement.

What appears consistent across sources: Marilyn became emotionally attached to RFK. She believed he cared for her. In the weeks before her death, she was calling his office repeatedly and being unable to get through. She reportedly told friends she had been promised things that were not delivered.

The Final Weeks

In July and August 1962, Marilyn Monroe was professionally in limbo (Fox had suspended her from Something's Got to Give after absences), emotionally unmoored, and increasingly dependent on barbiturates and chloral hydrate. Her calls to Kennedy's office went unanswered. She had been effectively cut off by both brothers.

On August 3, 1962 — the day before she died — RFK was reportedly in the Los Angeles area. Some witnesses claim he visited her that afternoon. This remains unverified but persistently reported across multiple independent accounts.

What Remains Unknown

The full truth of Marilyn Monroe's relationship with Robert Kennedy — and the circumstances of her final hours — remains genuinely uncertain. Evidence has been lost, withheld, or contradicted. What is certain: she died alone, at thirty-six, in a period of profound isolation and despair. Whatever the Kennedys' role in her emotional state, they did not protect her.

"A career is born in public — talent in private."

— Marilyn Monroe