If you're of a certain age, or just don't watch much reality TV, it can be hard to get excited about the latest Kardashian sister to give birth.
I know I sometimes have a hard time telling the Duggars apart from the Alaskan Bush People.
In fact, my knowledge of celebrities is pretty limited.
I grew up watching movies from Hollywood's golden age, with stars like Cary Grant and Rock Hudson.
And of course I loved movies starring the great actresses, like Carole Lombard and Marilyn Monroe.
That's why I was so fascinated by these photos of Monroe's final public appearance: the night she sang "Happy birthday" for President Kennedy.
A night to remember
If you were one of the 15,000 people invited to the fundraiser at Madison Square Garden on May 19, 1962, you were incredibly lucky.
Called "New York's Birthday Salute to President Kennedy," the star-studded event's schedule was chock full of huge names.
Celebrities like Jack Benny and Henry Fonda mingled with the crowd.
There were performances by hit musicians including Danny Kaye, Peggy Lee, and jazz singer Ella Fitzgerald - a close friend of Monroe's.
But all of the celebrities were overshadowed as movie star Marilyn Monroe - then 35 - took to the stage in a white fur coat.
"Happy birthday Mr. President"
The crowd actually gasped as Monroe stepped out of her coat, showing off a figure-hugging, flesh-colored dress.
"You could just hear one big breath - a gasp," remembered photographer Bill Ray, "and then it was perfectly quiet."
Monroe sang her famously breathy rendition of "Happy Birthday," and left the stage to huge applause.
Stepping up to the microphone just after her, President Kennedy joked, "I can now retire from politics, after having had 'Happy Birthday' sung to me in such a sweet, wholesome way."
But sadly, the glamorous event became a tragic symbol of Monroe's career just three months later.
The death of a star
The audience at Madison Square Garden had no way of knowing, but they were watching Marilyn Monroe's final performance that night.
Only three months later Monroe, still at the height of her popularity, was found dead in her home in Los Angeles.
Despite her glamorous image, Monroe had been battling mental illness and substance abuse for years.
With her final film released a year earlier, Monroe had been fired from the set of Something's Got to Give shortly before her death, and was dealing with plenty of negative publicity.
All signs indicate that Monroe probably took her own life, although many of her fans still insist her fatal overdose was an accident.
A rumored affair
In a twist of fate, President Kennedy also died just a year after Monroe's famous performance.
Kennedy was shot and killed during a visit to Dallas, Texas in 1963.
Before they passed away, and even before Monroe serenaded Kennedy, rumors swirled that the star and the president were an item.
While there's no hard evidence that Monroe and Kennedy were romantically linked, the president was a notorious cheater.
He even had an affair with a white house intern.
As Jerry Blaine, a former Secret Service agent for President Kennedy, said, he "never saw any evidence of an affair... but I don't know what happened behind closed doors."
While Monroe and Kennedy's famous moment is marked by tragedy, the dress Monroe wore that night has also made history.
The dress
While Monroe's performance was a legendary moment for history and entertainment, it was also a fashion milestone.
Monroe stunned the audience at Madison Square Garden because at the time her "naked dress" was cutting edge.
The dress, made from souffle gauze and 6,000 hand-sewn rhinestones, was so tight that the actress had to be sewn into it before her performance.
And while the dress marked the end of Monroe's career, it was one of fashion designer Bob Mackie's earliest creations.
Mackie, who would go on to design a number of memorable outfits for Cher, was just 21 when he sketched the iconic outfit.
A record-breaker
Long after her death, Monroe is still one of Hollywood's most profitable stars.
And in 2016 she proved once again that her fans will pay anything for a piece of Monroe history.
That year, the "Happy Birthday Dress" sold at auction for $4.8 million.
Not only was it the most expensive dress over sold, but it broke the previous record set by another Marilyn Monroe dress.
The dress Monroe wore for her famous air vent scene in The Seven Year Itch sold for $4.6 million.
"The dress is part of our political history but it's also Hollywood, glamour, fashion," the president of Julien's Auctions said about the famous outfit.
"The dress is a work of art in its own right."
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