Marisa Berenson
| Marisa Berenson | |
|---|---|
 Berenson at 2009 Venice Film Festival |
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| Born | Vittoria Marisa Schiaparelli Berenson February 15, 1947 New York City, New York, U.S. |
| Occupation | Actress, model |
| Years active | 1967–present |
| Spouse |
James Randall (m. 1976–1978) |
Vittoria Marisa Schiaparelli Berenson (born February 15, 1947) is an American actress and model.
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Early life
Berenson was born in New York City, New York, the eldest of two daughters. Her father, Robert Lawrence Berenson, was an American career diplomat turned shipping executive; he was of Lithuanian Jewish descent, and his family's original surname was Valvrojenski.12 Her mother was born Countess Maria Luisa Yvonne Radha de Wendt de Kerlor, better known as Gogo Schiaparelli, and was a socialite of Italian, Swiss, French, and Egyptian ancestry.34
Berenson's maternal grandmother was the fashion designer Elsa Schiaparelli,5 and her maternal grandfather was Count Wilhelm de Wendt de Kerlor, a Theosophist and psychic medium.367 Her younger sister, Berinthia, became a model, actress, and photographer as Berry Berenson. She also is a great-grandniece of Giovanni Schiaparelli, an Italian astronomer who believed he had discovered the supposed canals of Mars, and a great-grandniece of art expert Bernard Berenson (1865–1959) and his sister Senda Berenson (1868–1954), an athlete and educator who was one of the first two women elected to the Basketball Hall of Fame.8
Career
A fashion model who came to prominence in the early 1960s — "I once was one of the highest paid models in the world", she told The New York Times — Berenson appeared on the cover of the July 1970 issue of Vogue as well as the cover of Time on 15 December 1975. She appeared in numerous fashion layouts in Vogue in the early 1970s and her sister Berry was a photographer for the magazine as well. She was known as "The Queen of the Scene" for her frequent appearances at nightclubs and other social venues in her youth,9 and Yves Saint Laurent dubbed her "the girl of the Seventies".10
Eventually she was cast in several prominent film roles, including Gustav von Aschenbach's wife in Luchino Visconti's 1971 film Death in Venice, the Jewish department store heiress Natalia Landauer in the 1972 film Cabaret, for which she received some acclaim (including two Golden Globe nominations, a BAFTA nomination and an award from the National Board of Review), and the tragic beauty Lady Lyndon in the Stanley Kubrick film Barry Lyndon (1975). Though her Lady Lyndon role is probably her most well known, few reviews have commented on her performance; Vincent Canby of The New York Times merely stated, "Marisa Berenson splendidly suits her costumes and wigs."11
Berenson has appeared in a number of other movies, most of them shot in Europe, as well as in made-for-TV movies in the United States, such as the Holocaust-themed drama Playing for Time (1980). She also guest hosted an episode of The Muppet Show during its third season in 1978.1213 She most recently appeared in the 2010 film I Am Love.
Personal life
In the early 1970s, Berenson was the companion of the French banking heir Baron David René de Rothschild, the younger son of Baron Guy de Rothschild.14
Berenson's first husband was James Randall, a rivet manufacturer. They married in Beverly Hills, California, in 197615 and divorced in 1978. They have one daughter, Starlite Melody Randall (born 1977).16
Her second husband was Aaron Richard Golub, a lawyer, whom she married in 1982 and divorced in 1987. In the divorce proceedings, the judge ruled that "the increased value of Ms. Berenson's acting and modeling career [during the marriage] were marital property" and therefore subject to consideration in any settlement agreements.17181920
On September 11, 2001, Marisa's younger sister and sole sibling, Berinthia "Berry" Perkins, widow of actor Anthony Perkins, was killed in the first flight to hit the World Trade Center. Marisa was also in an airplane during the terrorist attacks, flying from Paris to New York. In an interview with CBS, she told of the experience and how hours later she landed in Newfoundland (flights were diverted to Canada), and was told of her sister's death by a phone call with her daughter. Said Berenson: "I have hope and tremendous faith. I think that's what gets you through life ... through tragedies is when you have faith."21
References
- ^ Bernard Berenson, "Sketch for a Self-Portrait", NY: Pantheon, 1949
- ^ "Robert L. Berenson, Ex-Envoy and Head of Shipping Line, Dies", The New York Times, 3 February 1965, page 35
- ^ a b Elsa Schiaparelli, "Shocking Life", NY: Dutton, 1954
- ^ She married, as her second husband, Gino, Marchese Cacciapuoti di Giugliano, an actor and director.
- ^ Linda Greenhouse, "Schiaparelli Dies in Paris; Brought Color to Fashion", The New York Times, 15 November 1973
- ^ New Yorker article about Elsa Schiaparelli
- ^ Bibliotheca Philosophica Hermetica entry
- ^ "Encyclopaedia Britannica Online entry"
- ^ John Corry, "About New York", The New York Times, 4 February 1974
- ^ Judy Klemesrud, "And Now, Make Room for the Berenson Sisters", The New York Times, 19 April 1973, page 54
- ^ Vincent Canby, "Barry Lyndon", The New York Times, 19 December 1975
- ^ [1]
- ^ [2]
- ^ Judy Klemesrud "And Now, Make Room for the Berenson Sisters", The New York Times, 19 April 1973, page 54
- ^ "People", Time, 22 November 1976
- ^ "People", Time, 21 November 1977
- ^ David Margolick, "Divorce Quandary: Is Fame Property?", New York Times, 26 September 1990
- ^ Ronald Sullivan, "Her Fame Is Ruled His Too: Soprano Must Share Income", New York Times, 3 July 1991
- ^ Joyce Wadler, "Public Lives: Still a Bad Boy, as a Lawyer and a Novelist", New York Times, 7 April 2000, B2:4
- ^ Claude Solnik, "Breaking up is even harder to do for celebrities", Long Island Business News, 20 January 2006
- ^ "48 Hours: And Then There Were 2". CBS. October 12, 2001. http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2001/10/12/48hours/main314579.shtml?source=search_story.
External links
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