More stories of extraordinary women on the website Barbara Woolworth Hutton was neither a famous actress nor a popular singer. She did not make any scientific discoveries or write a bestseller, yet she was widely talked about in the mid-20th century. She was something of a modern celebrity – she attended salons, major events, etc. In addition, she was an heiress and philanthropist. To this day it is said about her: poor little rich girl. She certainly wasn’t poor. At least when it comes to money. But if you look at her family and love life, you quickly understand why she was called that.
She didn’t have a loving family
Barbara Woolworth Hutton was born on November 14, 1912 in New York. Her mother was the daughter of Frank Winfield Woolworth, who made a fortune in a chain of thrift stores. His father, Franklyn Laws Hutton, was the co-founder of a respected investment and brokerage firm. Barbara was an only child. And although from an early age she basked in luxury at home, she lacked the most important thing – her parents’ love and attention. The girl was raised by nannies, she didn’t have many opportunities to see her parents because they had a very active social life and were often away from home. One morning, Barbara found her mother dead in bed. Her official cause of death was a very serious ear infection. The girl was placed in the care of her grandparents, but she did not stay there for long. Her grandmother suffered from dementia, and when her grandfather (the only person in the family who devoted her time and attention to her) died, she was sent to boarding school. She didn’t make many friends there, she was quiet and withdrawn, and was often the only one staying at school on holidays because her father forgot to take her home.
18th birthday party
When Barbara turned eighteen, according to tradition, she was supposed to take part in a debutante ball. It was a sign that he was “entering society”. This time Franklyn Hutton rose to the challenge and threw her a party worthy of a royal ball. The entire American elite showed up there, and the project cost PLN 80,000. dollars (some say 60,000). As it took place during the Great Depression, it was perceived as scandalous luxury and a prideful display of their fortune by Barbara’s family.
She was afraid of loneliness, so she kept getting married
It quickly turned out that Barbara was a tasty target for dowry hunters. Craving attention and love, Barbara quickly became the victim of the Georgian prince Alexis Mdivani. The marriage did not last long. And 24 hours after the divorce from the prince, Barbara was already the wife of the Danish count Kurt Von Haugwitz-Reventlow. She divorced him because he beat her and insulted her. She met her third husband on a ship crossing the Atlantic. It was Cary Grant, a well-paid Hollywood actor who had no interest in Barbara’s fortune. He just loved her. Three years after the wedding, however, the couple divorced, Cary was unable to accept his wife’s lifestyle – constant parties, alcohol abuse, etc. Three years later, Barbara married a racing driver from the Russian aristocracy – Igor Nikolaevich Trubetskoi. The marriage lasted four years. Subsequent love failures and divorces had an impact on Barbara’s psyche. The woman increasingly drank alcohol, took psychotropic drugs and struggled with anorexia. But she found happiness in marriage again in 1953, when, at the age of 41, she married Porfirio Rubirosa, a diplomat from the Dominican Republic. He was a famous playboy and Barbara said enough of his infidelities just 53 days after their wedding. Husband number six was the German baron Gottfried Alexander Maximilian Walter Kurt von Cramm, whom she married in 1955. She knew that Gottfried was homosexual, but it seemed to her that given his wife’s love, he would change. This, of course, did not happen and five years after the wedding, the sixth divorce took place.
The last divorce and death alone
After the sixth divorce, Barbara was seriously exhausted mentally and physically, but she did not lose hope of finding happiness with a man. Her last husband was the painter and chemist Pierre Raymond Doan – half French, half Vietnamese. The marriage lasted two years. The biggest blow was yet to come. In 1972, her only son, Lance Reventlow, whom she gave birth to to her second husband, died in a plane crash. The woman took stimulants, drugs and fasting to such a state that she was no longer able to walk. Her body finally couldn’t stand it – she died alone on May 11, 1979 in her hotel suite in Beverly Hills.
Source: Gazeta
Bruce is a talented author and journalist with a passion for entertainment . He currently works as a writer at the 247 News Agency, where he has established himself as a respected voice in the industry.
