Barbara Hutton
| Barbara Hutton | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Born |
Barbara Woolworth Hutton November 14, 1912 New York City, New York, U.S. |
| Died | May 11, 1979 (aged 66) Beverly Hills, California, U.S. |
| Cause of death | Heart attack |
| Occupation | Philanthropist, heiress |
| Years active | 1933–1979 |
| Spouse(s) |
"Prince" Alexis Mdivani (m. 1933; div. 1935) Count Kurt von Haugwitz-Reventlow (m. 1935; div. 1938) Cary Grant (m. 1942; div. 1945) Prince Igor Troubetzkoy (m. 1947; div. 1951) Porfirio Rubirosa (m. 1953; div. 1954) Baron Gottfried von Cramm (m. 1955; div. 1959) Prince Pierre Doan (m. 1964; div. 1966) |
| Children | Lance Reventlow |
| Relatives | Dina Merrill (paternal first cousin) |
Barbara Woolworth Hutton (November 14, 1912 – May 11, 1979) was an American debutante/socialite, heiress and philanthropist. She was dubbed the "Poor Little Rich Girl," first when she was given a lavish and expensive debutante ball in 1930, amid the Great Depression, and later due to a notoriously troubled private life.
Heiress to the retail tycoon Frank Winfield Woolworth, Hutton was one of the wealthiest women in the world. She endured a childhood marked by the early loss of her mother at age five and the neglect of her father, setting the stage for a life of difficulty forming relationships. Married and divorced seven times, she acquired grand foreign titles but was maliciously treated and often exploited by several of her husbands. While publicly she was much envied for her possessions, her beauty and her apparent life of leisure, privately she remained deeply insecure, often taking refuge in drink, drugs, and playboys.
Hutton had one child, Lance Reventlow, with her second husband, but was an indifferent and insecure parent and the subsequent divorce ended in a bitter custody battle. She later developed anorexia nervosa and perhaps therefore prevented further childbirth. Her son died in a plane crash in 1972 at the age of 36, leaving her devastated. She lived another seven years, dying of a heart attack at age 66. At her death, the formerly wealthy Hutton was on the verge of bankruptcy as a result of exploitation, as well as her compulsive generosity and spendthrift ways.
Born in New York City, Barbara Hutton was the only child of Edna Woolworth (1883–1917), a daughter of Frank W. Woolworth, the founder of the successful Woolworth five-and-dime stores. Barbara's father was Franklyn Laws Hutton (1877–1940), a wealthy co-founder of E. F. Hutton & Company (owned by Franklyn's brother Edward Francis Hutton), a respected New York investment banking and stock brokerage firm. She was a niece by marriage of cereal heiress Marjorie Merriweather Post, who was for a time (1920–1935) married to E.F. Hutton; thus their daughter, actress-heiress Dina Merrill (born Nedenia Hutton), was a first cousin to Barbara Hutton. Dina Merrill related on A&E's Biography of the Woolworths, that for a time Barbara lived with them following the death of her mother and abandonment by her father.
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