Bethsabée de Rothschild
| Bethsabée de Rothschild | |
|---|---|
| Born |
September 23, 1914 London, England |
| Died | April 20, 1999 (aged 84) Tel Aviv, Israel |
| Education |
Sorbonne Columbia University |
| Spouse(s) | Donald Bloomingdale (m. 1948; div. 1951) |
| Parent(s) |
Édouard Alphonse de Rothschild Germaine Alice Halphen |
| Relatives |
Guy de Rothschild (brother) Jacqueline de Rothschild (sister) Alphonse James de Rothschild (grandfather) James Mayer Rothschild (great-grandfather) |
Baroness Bethsabée de Rothschild (assumed the name Batsheva after moving to Israel in 1951; September 23, 1914 – April 20, 1999), was a philanthropist, a patron of dance, and member of the Rothschild banking family.
Bethsabée de Rothschild was a great-granddaughter of James Mayer Rothschild (1792–1868) and the fourth and youngest child of Baron Édouard Alphonse de Rothschild (1868–1949) and his wife, the former Germaine Alice Halphen (1884–1975). Her father ran the French bank with his cousin Baron Robert Philippe de Rothschild (1880–1946). Bethsabée grew up at Château de Ferrières outside of Paris, and at the Talleyrand palace, in Paris itself. Her elder brother, Édouard Alphonse Émile Lionel (1906–1911), died at the age of four of appendicitis; she also had a brother, Guy and a sister, Jacqueline. She was educated at the Sorbonne in Paris and received her bachelor's degree in biology. Following the invasion of France in 1940, she fled with her family to New York City, where she studied biochemistry and biology at Columbia University, but never received an advanced degree.
Though born to a wealthy and influential family, Bethsabée was said to have detested the rich lifestyle and distanced herself from her family, with the exception of her sister Jacqueline, with whom Bethsabée appeared to have been close and her brother Guy. She was said to have been a modest and generous woman.
During World War II, she enlisted in the Free French forces and was part of the landing force for the Battle of Normandy. She moved with the army to liberate Paris, where she served as a liaison between the French and United States military forces. At war's end, she returned to New York and enrolled at the Martha Graham dance school.
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