Inez Melson

Inez Melson (March 3, 1900 — July 6, 1985) was an American business manager.
Biography
Inez Mary Conroy was born on March 3, 1900 in Montana. On December 27, 1945, she married accountant Harold Wesley "Pat" Melson (1904—1967). They divorced in the next years and Inez went on to have a daughter, Emmy Lou Melson.
In 1951, Melson was hired by actress Marilyn Monroe as a financial advisor, after being recommended by Monroe's husband, baseball player Joe DiMaggio. Developing a strong relationship, Monroe, who grew up disconnected from her own relatives, spent Thanksgiving with Melson's family, while Melson began to take care of Monroe's mentally ill mother, Gladys Pearl Baker. She regularly gave Monroe a report of her progress, becoming Gladys' legal guardian in 1952. In 1954, upon Monroe's divorce from DiMaggio, Melson testified in court. In the next years, she continued to care for Monroe's business affairs and accompanied her to many events.
On August 5, 1962, Melson was one of the first people to be informed of . Along with Monroe's half-sister, Berniece Baker Miracle, and Monroe's ex-husband DiMaggio, Melson chose Monroe's dress and decided to only invite Monroe's closest friends to the funeral, which was held on August 8 at the Westwood Village Memorial Park Cemetery.
After her death, Melson pursued to look after Monroe's mother and was appointed special administrator for her estate by the Los Angeles Superior Court. She was also allowed access to Monroe's office at 20th Century Fox. In the next years, she gave numerous interview on the actress, until her own death on July 6, 1985 in Los Angeles County, California. Up until then, Melson had obtained some of Monroe's belongings, such as a filing cabinet, clothings and jewellery. The artifacts later landed in the possession of her nephew, Millington Conroy, who commissioned the memorabilia to be auctioned by Odyssey Group, Inc. This was prevented when Anna Strasberg, widow of Monroe's acting coach Lee Strasberg, filed lawsuit. In 1996, the jury concluded Melson had wrongfully converted Monroe's belongings. They were obtained by Strasberg, who consigned them to Christie's, netting $13.4 million.

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