Marina Torlonia di Civitella-Cesi

Donna Marina Torlonia dei Principi di Civitella-Cesi (22 October 1916 – 15 September 1960) was an Italian-American aristocrat best known as the paternal grandmother of the actress and model Brooke Shields.

Marina Torlonia
Born(1916-10-22)22 October 1916
Palazzo Núñez-Torlonia, Rome, Italy
Died15 September 1960(1960-09-15) (aged 43)
Piacenza, Italy
Noble familyHouse of Torlonia
Spouse(s)
​
(
m. 1940; div. 1950)

Edward W. Slater
​
(
m. 1950)
Issue
Francis Alexander Shields
Marina Shields
Edward Torlonia Slater
FatherMarino Torlonia, 4th Prince of Civitella-Cesi
MotherMary Elsie Moore

Family
Coat of arms of the Princes Torlonia

Torlonia was born in Rome, at Palazzo Núñez-Torlonia, the youngest daughter of Marino Torlonia, 4th Prince of Civitella-Cesi[1] and his American wife, Mary Elsie Moore, a daughter of Charles Arthur Moore, a shipping broker and hardware manufacturer from Connecticut.[2][3] The Torlonia family gained its fortune in the administration of Vatican finances.

She had three siblings:

Marriages

Donna Marina Torlonia dei Principi di Civitella-Cesi was married twice, her husbands being:

  • Francis Xavier Shields (1909–1975), the American amateur tennis player.[4] They married on 13 June 1940, in North Conway, New Hampshire, and divorced in 1950.[5] The Shieldses had two children: a son, Francis Alexander Shields (father of the actress and model Brooke Shields) and a daughter, Marina Shields.
  • Edward W. Slater, an architect and partner in Slater Chiat, whom she married on 29 December 1950.[6] They had one son, Edward Torlonia Slater (born 1955),.

Death

Marina Slater died on 15 September 1960, in an automobile accident in Piacenza, Italy, shortly after leaving the wedding of her nephew Marco Torlonia, 6th Prince of Civitella-Cesi, with princess Orsetta Caracciolo, niece of film director Luchino Visconti. Along with Marina, Duke Raffaele Canevaro of Galluzo, and the Countess Eleanor Terry died in the accident.[7]

Ancestry

References
  1. "Marino Torlonia Dead at 71". The New York Times. 7 March 1933.
  2. "Miss Moore Weds the Duke Torlonia: New York Girl Becomes Duchess of Poli at Quiet Wedding in Greenwich". The New York Times. 16 August 1907.
  3. "Princess Torlonia Dead Here at 53; Former Wife of Late Italian Nobleman Succumbs to Long Illness". The New York Times. 22 December 1941.
  4. "Frank X. Shields Is Dead at 66". The New York Times. 20 August 1975.
  5. "Donna Torlonia Wed to Frank X. Shields". The New York Times. 14 July 1940.
  6. "Mrs. M. T. Shields Is Wed; Former Marina Torlonia Bride Here of Edward W. Slater". The New York Times. 30 December 1950.
  7. "Princess Dies in Crash; Marina Torlonia Slater Killed in Accident in Italy". The New York Times. 16 September 1960.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.