An Everlasting Tribute

Mariah Carey named her daughter, Monroe, after Marilyn Monroe
photo: Grifoni Sarmiento/Splash News 

Mariah Carey admires Marilyn Monroe so much that she named her daughter after her. The singer and husband Nick Cannon welcomed Monroe and twin brother Moroccan Scott in April 2011. But years before that, in 1999, Carey bought a baby grand piano that once belonged to the Gentlemen Prefer Blondes star for $662,500 at a Christie's New York Auction. She's reportedly written it into her will that the piano will eventually go to the Smithsonian Institution, where it could sit alongside iconic items from pop culture like Judy Garland's ruby slippers from The Wizard of Oz and Henry Winkler's jacket from Happy Days.

black dress on actress Kate Upton !!!!

Curvaceous model Kate Upton doesn't mind that she's often compared to Marilyn, although she says there's a big difference between them. "I always thought Marilyn was so beautiful and iconic, it was amazing to even be mentioned in the same sentence as her," Upton told British Vogue in April. "But I feel like nowadays it's easy to be genuine and show your personality, whereas I don't think Marilyn had that opportunity. And clearly she had a dark side, and I don't have that."

Nicki Minaj posing at Billboard Women In Music by Theo Wargo

Nicki Minaj is known for fun and sassy songs like "Super Bass," but the artist bared her softer side in a 2012 tune called "Marilyn Monroe." In it, Minaj confesses that she sympathizes with the late entertainer. "Is this how Marilyn Monroe felt?" she asks at one point. "Must be how Marilyn Monroe felt." The most iconic song written about Monroe, however, remains Elton John's 1973 track "Candle in the Wind," featuring lyrics like "Goodbye Norma Jean," a nod to Monroe's real name, and "Your candle burned out long before your legend ever did." Fifty-two years after Monroe's death, her legacy remains strong. She ranked sixth on Forbes' most recent list of top-earning dead celebrities, with $15 million, outranking the likes of John Lennon, Albert Einstein, and — Marilyn would appreciate this — Bettie Page.