Harriman, Pamela Beryl Digby Churchill Hayward

Harriman, Pamela Beryl Digby Churchill Hayward
▪ 1998

      British-born socialite and American political figure (b. March 20, 1920, Farnborough, Hampshire, Eng.—d. Feb. 5, 1997, Paris, France), made a name for herself first as the wife or lover of a succession of prominent wealthy and powerful men and later as a doyenne of the Democratic Party. She was a successful fund-raiser for the party in the 1980s and for Bill Clinton's 1992 presidential election campaign and in 1993 was rewarded with the ambassadorship to France. The vivacious daughter of a British aristocrat, Pamela Digby saw that her chance of attaining prominence lay in influencing prominent men. In 1939, shortly after World War II broke out, she accepted the marriage proposal of Randolph Churchill, who was expecting to be killed in the fighting. He was not killed, and the marriage ended in 1946, but not before she had acted as confidante and hostess for her father-in-law, Winston Churchill, and given birth to a son—also named Winston and later a Conservative MP. She had also had liaisons with diplomat W. Averell Harriman and broadcast journalist Edward R. Murrow, both of whom were married at the time. Following her divorce from Churchill, she moved to Paris, where her lovers included Prince Aly Khan, the Fiat automobile heir Gianni Agnelli, and Baron Elie de Rothschild. Moving to New York City in 1960, she married Broadway producer Leland Hayward. After his death 11 years later, she again took up with the very wealthy Harriman, who also had recently been widowed. They were married a month later, and she became a U.S. citizen. With her husband's encouragement and support, Harriman formed a political action committee and became a valuable asset to the Democrats. His death in 1986 left her with a huge fortune, but a court battle with other heirs diminished it considerably. France made Harriman a Commander of the Legion of Honour's Order of Arts and Letters in 1996, and she was posthumously given the Legion's Grand Cross.

* * *


Universalium. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Поможем написать реферат

Look at other dictionaries:

  • W. Averell Harriman — Infobox Governor name=William Averell Harriman order= 48th office=Governor of New York term start=January 1, 1955 term end=December 31, 1958 lieutenant=George De Luca predecessor=Thomas E. Dewey successor=Nelson A. Rockefeller order2=… …   Wikipedia

  • Pamela Harriman — Pour les articles homonymes, voir Digby et Harriman. Pamela Harriman Mandats Ambassadrice des États Unis en France 58e ambass …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Pamela Harriman — Infobox US Cabinet official name=Pamela Churchill Harriman image size=250px caption= order=58th title=United States Ambassador to France term start=1993 term end=1997 predecessor=Walter Curley successor= Felix Rohatyn president=Bill Clinton birth …   Wikipedia

  • Art, Antiques, and Collections — ▪ 2003 Introduction       In 2002 major exhibitions such as Documenta 11 reflected the diverse nature of contemporary art: artists from a variety of cultures received widespread recognition for work ranging from installation to video to painting …   Universalium

  • Averell Harriman — William Averell Harriman William Averell Harriman (* 15. November 1891 in New York, NY; † 26. Juli 1986 in Yorktown, NY) war ein US amerikanischer Politiker der Demokratischen Partei, Geschäftsmann und …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Averell Harriman — Averell Harriman. William Averell Harriman (Nueva York, 15 de noviembre de 1891 – Yorktown Heights, Nueva York, 26 de julio de 1986), político del Partido Demócrata de los Estados Unidos, hombre de negocios y diplomático …   Wikipedia Español

  • W. Averell Harriman — William Averell Harriman (* 15. November 1891 in New York City; † 26. Juli 1986 in Yorktown Heights, New York) war ein US amerikanischer Politiker der Demokratischen Partei, Geschäftsmann und Diplomat …   Deutsch Wikipedia

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”