Late actress Marilyn Monroe's iconic 'nude' dress has been auctioned for $4.8 million.

When it was being auctioned here on Thursday, the dress, which is said to be so tight that Monroe had to be sewn into it, was snatched up by museum chain "Ripley's Believe It or Not" for $4.8 million, breaking the record for the most expensive dress sold at auction, reports mirror.co.uk.

Edward Meyer, vice president of the museum chain, dubbed the dress the "most iconic piece of pop culture that there is".

The dress is likely to stay at the Hollywood branch of "Ripley's Believe It or Not" before moving to different branches across the world.

"This dress, this story, this momentous occasion represents a defining moment in history. This auction will remind the world why Marilyn Monroe remains an icon," Martin Nolan, executive director of Julien's Auctions, said.

The dress was famously worn by Monroe during a Democratic fundraiser at New York City's Madison Square Garden in 1962, where she sang Happy Birthday to late President John F. Kennedy.

Monroe's performance at the event was one of her last public appearances as she died of a drug overdose just a few months later.