Blanche Oelrichs
| Michael Strange | |
|---|---|
Michael Strange
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| Born |
Blanche Marie Louise Oelrichs October 1, 1890 Newport, Rhode Island |
| Died | November 5, 1950 (aged 60) Boston, Massachusetts |
| Spouse(s) | Leonard M. Thomas (m. 1910-1919; divorced) 2 sons John Barrymore (m. 1920-1925) 1 daughter Harrison Tweed (m. 1929-1942; divorced) |
| Partner(s) |
Margaret Wise Brown (1940-1950) |
Blanche Marie Louise Oelrichs (October 1, 1890 – November 5, 1950) was an American poet, playwright and theatre actress. Oelrichs first used the androgynous Nom de plume of Michael Strange to publish her poetry in order to distance her Society reputation from its sometimes erotic content, but it soon became the name under which she presented herself for the remainder of her life.
Born to Charles May Oelrichs and Blanche de Loosey, Blanche Oelrichs was the youngest of four children. Her Austrian mother was the sister of Emilie de Loosey, wife of Theodore A. Havemeyer. The family spent summers in Newport, Rhode Island amidst the Astors, the Vanderbilts, and numerous other wealthy elites of American society during the Gilded Age.
Her sister Natalie, always known as Lily, married and divorced Heinrich Borwin, Duke of Mecklenburg (son of Duke Paul Frederick of Mecklenburg), after the premature death of her first husband Peter Martin of San Francisco. Her brother, Charles de Loosey was the father of Marjorie Oelrichs who was married to band leader Eddy Duchin.
Oelrichs was an involved activist for women's suffrage and a writer. French portrait artist Paul Helleu described Strange as the "most beautiful woman in America."
In 1910, Oelrichs married her first husband Leonard Moorhead Thomas, the son of a prominent Philadelphia banker, with whom she had two children, Leonard Jr. (1911–68) and Robin May Thomas (1915–44). Leonard Moorhead Thomas was a Yale University graduate who had worked in the diplomatic service in Rome and Madrid and served with the United States Army in Europe during World War I, earning the Croix de Guerre. Blanche Oelrichs developed a "literary urge" in 1914 when she began creating works of poetry and theatrical plays. Her first collection of poems was published in 1916 under the pen name Michael Strange. Her interests caused a rift with her husband and they divorced in 1919.
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