Catherine Murray di Montezemolo
Encyclopedia
Catherine Murray di Montezemolo (September 18, 1925 – April 22, 2009) was a fashion editor with a prominent position in Southampton
society.
Di Montezemolo was born to a wealthy family—her grandfather was the prolific inventor and engineer, Thomas E. Murray, who together with Thomas Edison helped to found the NY-based utility, Con Edison, in the early twentieth century. The Murray family was the main subject of Stephen Birmingham
's book Real Lace: America's Irish Rich and John Corry's Golden Clan
: The Murrays, the McDonnells, & the Irish American Aristocracy. Mrs. di Montezemelo attended Catholic
school in Suffern, New York. After graduation, she took a job at Vogue
, where she worked for 30 years. She advised and promoted the work of young designers such as Anne Fogarty and Claire McCardell
.
Athletic, she was an early student of Joseph Pilates
.
In 1958, she married an Italian nobleman, Alessandro di Montezemolo, who was a senior executive at Marsh & McLennan.
She and her husband became fixtures in the Southampton
, where she spent her summers as a child on a vast beachfront property along Wickapogue Road that came to be known as the "Murray Compound" because so many family members built houses near one another. Until the 1970s, the only residents of the 250 acres (1 km²) plot were the Murrays and their cousins, the McDonnells.
She left Vogue in the late 1970s. Later, she designed her own fashion collection and was active in Southampton charity activity.
Di Montezemolo died at age 83 of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.
Southampton (village), New York
Southampton is a village in Suffolk County, New York, USA. The village is named after the Earl of Southampton. The Village of Southampton is in the southeast part of the county in the Town of Southampton...
society.
Di Montezemolo was born to a wealthy family—her grandfather was the prolific inventor and engineer, Thomas E. Murray, who together with Thomas Edison helped to found the NY-based utility, Con Edison, in the early twentieth century. The Murray family was the main subject of Stephen Birmingham
Stephen Birmingham
Stephen Birmingham, born May 28, 1932 in Hartford, Connecticut, is an author.Born to Thomas Birmingham and Editha Gardner Birmingham, he received a BA from Williams College in 1953. He is a former teacher of writing at the University of Cincinnati. He has written over thirty books and is now retired...
's book Real Lace: America's Irish Rich and John Corry's Golden Clan
Golden Clan
Golden Clan was the name of a non-fiction account of the Murray/ Mc Donnell family of New York,by John Corry, Golden Clan: The Murrays, the McDonnells, & the Irish American Aristocracy,Houghton Mifflin Co.; Boston, 1977...
: The Murrays, the McDonnells, & the Irish American Aristocracy. Mrs. di Montezemelo attended Catholic
Catholic
The word catholic comes from the Greek phrase , meaning "on the whole," "according to the whole" or "in general", and is a combination of the Greek words meaning "about" and meaning "whole"...
school in Suffern, New York. After graduation, she took a job at Vogue
Vogue (magazine)
Vogue is a fashion and lifestyle magazine that is published monthly in 18 national and one regional edition by Condé Nast.-History:In 1892 Arthur Turnure founded Vogue as a weekly publication in the United States. When he died in 1909, Condé Montrose Nast picked up the magazine and slowly began...
, where she worked for 30 years. She advised and promoted the work of young designers such as Anne Fogarty and Claire McCardell
Claire McCardell
Claire McCardell was an American fashion designer in the arena of ready-to-wear clothing in the 20th century. From the 1930s to the 1950s, she was known for designing functional, affordable, and stylish women’s sportswear within the constraints of mass-production, and is today acknowledged as the...
.
Athletic, she was an early student of Joseph Pilates
Joseph Pilates
Joseph Hubertus Pilates invented and promoted the Pilates method of physical fitness.- Biography:Joseph H. Pilates was born in 1883 in Mönchengladbach, Germany. His father was a prize-winning gymnast of Greek ancestry, and his mother worked as a naturopath...
.
In 1958, she married an Italian nobleman, Alessandro di Montezemolo, who was a senior executive at Marsh & McLennan.
She and her husband became fixtures in the Southampton
Southampton (village), New York
Southampton is a village in Suffolk County, New York, USA. The village is named after the Earl of Southampton. The Village of Southampton is in the southeast part of the county in the Town of Southampton...
, where she spent her summers as a child on a vast beachfront property along Wickapogue Road that came to be known as the "Murray Compound" because so many family members built houses near one another. Until the 1970s, the only residents of the 250 acres (1 km²) plot were the Murrays and their cousins, the McDonnells.
She left Vogue in the late 1970s. Later, she designed her own fashion collection and was active in Southampton charity activity.
Di Montezemolo died at age 83 of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.