Sylvia Ashley
Encyclopedia
Sylvia Ashley was an English
model
, actress and socialite
, who was best known for her marriages to British aristocrats and American movie stars.
, 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:
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
.
and Guy Bolton
relate the story of Sylvia's audition for George Grossmith Jr. for the 1924 musical Primrose
:
, Hollywood
; her grave is not too far from that of her second husband, Douglas Fairbanks, Sr.
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
model
Model (person)
A model , sometimes called a mannequin, is a person who is employed to display, advertise and promote commercial products or to serve as a subject of works of art....
, actress and socialite
Socialite
A socialite is a person who participates in social activities and spends a significant amount of time entertaining and being entertained at fashionable upper-class events....
, who was best known for her marriages to British aristocrats and American movie stars.
Personal life
She was born Edith Louisa Sylvia Hawkes in PaddingtonPaddington
Paddington is a district within the City of Westminster, in central London, England. Formerly a metropolitan borough, it was integrated with Westminster and Greater London in 1965...
, 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
Wales
Wales is a country that is part of the United Kingdom and the island of Great Britain, bordered by England to its east and the Atlantic Ocean and Irish Sea to its west. It has a population of three million, and a total area of 20,779 km²...
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
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
film
Film
A film, also called a movie or motion picture, is a series of still or moving images. It is produced by recording photographic images with cameras, or by creating images using animation techniques or visual effects...
producer
Film producer
A film producer oversees and delivers a film project to all relevant parties while preserving the integrity, voice and vision of the film. They will also often take on some financial risk by using their own money, especially during the pre-production period, before a film is fully financed.The...
Basil Bleck.
Hawkes was married five times:
- Major Anthony Ashley-Cooper, Lord AshleyAnthony Ashley-Cooper, Lord AshleyAnthony Ashley-Cooper, Lord Ashley was an English nobleman, descended from the Earls of Shaftesbury. He was the eldest son of Anthony Ashley-Cooper, 9th Earl of Shaftesbury and Lady Constance Sibell Grosvenor. His courtesy title "Lord Ashley", was used as the eldest son of the Earl of...
(married 3 February 1927 – 28 November 1934) - Douglas FairbanksDouglas FairbanksDouglas Fairbanks, Sr. was an American actor, screenwriter, director and producer. He was best known for his swashbuckling roles in silent films such as The Thief of Bagdad, Robin Hood, and The Mark of Zorro....
, Sr., American actor, (married 7 March 1936 – 12 December 1939) - Edward Stanley, 6th Baron Stanley of AlderleyEdward Stanley, 6th Baron Stanley of AlderleyEdward John Stanley, 6th Baron Sheffield, 6th Baron Stanley of Alderley and 5th Baron Eddisbury was a British peer....
, (married 18 January 1944 – 1948) - Clark GableClark GableWilliam Clark Gable , known as Clark Gable, was an American film actor most famous for his role as Rhett Butler in the 1939 Civil War epic film Gone with the Wind, in which he starred with Vivien Leigh...
, American actor, (married 20 December 1949 – 21 April 1952) - Prince Dimitri DjordjadzeDimitri DjordjadzePrince Dimitri Jorjadze was a Georgian nobleman, Ambassador Hotel executive and race car driver. He was a member of the nobility of the province of Tiflis, who became exiled after the overthrow of Tsarist Russia and the subsequent Bolshevik takeover.The 6'3" Prince was probably best known in...
, hotel executive and race-car driver, (married 1954)
Professional career
Using her middle name Sylvia, she worked as a lingerieLingerie
Lingerie are fashionable and possibly alluring undergarments.Lingerie usually incorporates one or more flexible, stretchy materials like Lycra, nylon , polyester, satin, lace, silk and sheer fabric which are not typically used in more functional, basic cotton undergarments.The term in the French...
model and became a Cochran Dancer
Charles B. Cochran
Sir Charles Blake Cochran , generally known as C. B. Cochran, was an English theatrical manager. He produced some of the most successful musical revues, musicals and plays of the 1920s and 1930s, becoming associated with Noel Coward and his works.-Biography:Cochran was born in Sussex and educated...
, the British equivalent of a Ziegfeld Follies
Ziegfeld Follies
The Ziegfeld Follies were a series of elaborate theatrical productions on Broadway in New York City from 1907 through 1931. They became a radio program in 1932 and 1936 as The Ziegfeld Follies of the Air....
girl. After this brief career in the chorus line
Chorus line
A chorus line is a substantial group of dancers who together perform synchronized routines, usually in musical theatre. Sometimes, singing is also performed. Chorus line dancers in Broadway musicals and revues have been referred to by slang terms such as ponies, gypsies and twirlies...
of musical comedy, she went on to appear in a number of West End
West End of London
The West End of London is an area of central London, containing many of the city's major tourist attractions, shops, businesses, government buildings, and entertainment . Use of the term began in the early 19th century to describe fashionable areas to the west of Charing Cross...
plays. In 1924, she made her debut in Midnight Follies. She appeared in Primrose
Primrose (musical)
Primrose is a musical in three acts with a book by Guy Bolton and George Grossmith Jr., lyrics by Desmond Carter and Ira Gershwin, and music by George Gershwin. It centers on a writer whose story-within-a-story forms the basis of the plot. It was written expressly for the London stage, where it...
. In 1925, she acted in Tell me More at London's Winter Garden Theatre
New London Theatre
The New London Theatre is a West End theatre located on the corner of Drury Lane and Parker Street in Covent Garden, in the London Borough of Camden...
, 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
Constance Bennett
-Early life:She was born in New York City, the daughter of actor Richard Bennett and actress Adrienne Morrison, whose father was the stage actor Lewis Morrison , a wealthy performer of English and Spanish ancestry...
, and Virginia Fox
Virginia Fox
Virginia Fox was an American actress who starred in many silent films of the 1910s and 1920s. In 1924 she married film producer Darryl F. Zanuck, with whom she had three children, Darrylin Zanuck, Susan Zanuck, and Richard Zanuck...
Zanuck, as directors the Fund focused on soliciting financial support to provide food, clothing and medical aid for refugees of World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
. The headquarters of the organisation was located in Los Angeles
Los Angeles, California
Los Angeles , with a population at the 2010 United States Census of 3,792,621, is the most populous city in California, USA and the second most populous in the United States, after New York City. It has an area of , and is located in Southern California...
.
Primrose audition
In their joint memoir Bring on the Girls!, P. G. WodehouseP. G. Wodehouse
Sir Pelham Grenville Wodehouse, KBE was an English humorist, whose body of work includes novels, short stories, plays, poems, song lyrics, and numerous pieces of journalism. He enjoyed enormous popular success during a career that lasted more than seventy years and his many writings continue to be...
and Guy Bolton
Guy Bolton
Guy Reginald Bolton was a British-American playwright and writer of musical comedies. Born in England and educated in France and the U.S., he trained as an architect but turned to writing. Bolton preferred working in collaboration with others, principally the English writers P. G...
relate the story of Sylvia's audition for George Grossmith Jr. for the 1924 musical Primrose
Primrose (musical)
Primrose is a musical in three acts with a book by Guy Bolton and George Grossmith Jr., lyrics by Desmond Carter and Ira Gershwin, and music by George Gershwin. It centers on a writer whose story-within-a-story forms the basis of the plot. It was written expressly for the London stage, where it...
:
Death and burial
Lady Ashley died of cancer at age 73 in Los Angeles. She is interred in the Hollywood Forever CemeteryHollywood Forever Cemetery
Hollywood Forever Cemetery, originally called Hollywood Memorial Park Cemetery, is one of the oldest cemeteries in Los Angeles, California. It is located at 6000 Santa Monica Boulevard in the Hollywood...
, Hollywood
Hollywood, Los Angeles, California
Hollywood is a famous district in Los Angeles, California, United States situated west-northwest of downtown Los Angeles. Due to its fame and cultural identity as the historical center of movie studios and movie stars, the word Hollywood is often used as a metonym of American cinema...
; her grave is not too far from that of her second husband, Douglas Fairbanks, Sr.
Titles
- 1 April 1904 - 3 February 1927: MissMissMiss is an English language honorific traditionally used only for an unmarried woman . Originating in the 17th century, it is a contraction of mistress, which was used for all women. A period is not used to signify the contraction...
Sylvia Hawkes - 3 February 1927 - 28 November 1934: Lady Ashley
- 28 November 1934 - 7 March 1936: Sylvia, Lady Ashley
- 7 March 1936 - 12 December 1939: MrsMRSMRS can refer to:* Magnetic resonance spectroscopy* Mandibular repositioning splint* Marginal rate of substitution, in economics* Marseille Provence Airport, IATA airport code* Materials Research Society* Melbourne Rectangular Stadium...
Douglas Fairbanks - 12 December 1939 - 18 January 1944: Mrs Sylvia Fairbanks
- 18 January 1944 - 1948: The Rt HonThe Right HonourableThe Right Honourable is an honorific prefix that is traditionally applied to certain people in the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, the Anglophone Caribbean and other Commonwealth Realms, and occasionally elsewhere...
The Lady Stanley of Alderley - 1948 - 20 December 1949: Sylvia, Lady Stanley of Alderley
- 20 December 1949 - 21 April 1952: Mrs Clark Gable
- 21 April 1952 - 1954: Mrs Sylvia Gable
- 1954 - 29 June 1977: HRH Princess Sylvia Djordjadze of Georgia