Sylvia Ashley
| Sylvia Ashley | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Born |
Edith Louisa Sylvia Hawkes 1 April 1904 Paddington, London, England |
| Died | 29 June 1977 (aged 73) Los Angeles, California, U.S. |
| Other names | Sylvia Hawkes Lady Ashley Princess Sylvia Djordjadze |
| Occupation | Model, actress |
| Spouse(s) |
Anthony Ashley-Cooper, Lord Ashley (m. 1927; div. 1934) Douglas Fairbanks (m. 1936; his death 1939) Edward John Stanley, 6th Baron Sheffield and Stanley of Alderley (m. 1944; div. 1948) Clark Gable (m. 1949; div. 1952) Dimitri Djordjadze (m. 1954; her death 1977) |
| Parent(s) | Arthur Hawkes Edith Florence Hyde |
Sylvia Ashley (1 April 1904 – 29 June 1977) was an English model, actress, and socialite who was best known for her marriages to British aristocrats and American movie stars.
Ashley was born Edith Louisa Sylvia Hawkes in Paddington, London, England, a daughter of Arthur Hawkes and Edith Florence Hyde. (Although she preferred giving her year of birth as 1906, the England and Wales Civil Registration Index, Vol. 1a, Page 26, shows it was recorded during the June quarter of 1904, District of Paddington.) Her sister, Lillian Vera Hawkes (6 March 1910 – 1 January 1997), married British film producer Basil Bleck.
Hawkes was married five times:
Using her middle name Sylvia, she worked as a lingerie model and became a Cochran Dancer, the British equivalent of a Ziegfeld Follies girl. After this brief career in the chorus line of musical comedy, she went on to appear in a number of West End plays. In 1924, she made her debut in Midnight Follies. She appeared in Primrose. In 1925, she acted in Tell me More at London's Winter Garden Theatre, and in The Whole Town's Talking.
On 1 March 1941, Lady Ashley filed articles of incorporation to establish an organisation known as the British Distressed Areas Fund. Organised along with her sister, Vera Bleck, Constance Bennett, and Virginia Fox Zanuck, as directors the Fund focused on soliciting financial support to provide food, clothing and medical aid for refugees of World War II. The headquarters of the organisation was located in Los Angeles.
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