Tessa Kennedy
Encyclopedia
Tessa Georgina Kennedy better known as Tessa Kennedy, is a British
interior designer, whose clients include multi-national corporations, royalty, celebrities and many European hotels, restaurants and clubs. Her elopement with society portrait painter Dominick Elwes made headlines in 1957.
, Surrey
, the daughter of Daška Ivanović
(born in Osijek
, Croatia
) (1915-2004) and Geoffrey Alexander Farrer Kennedy (1908–1996). She is the niece of diplomat and Yugoslav
shipping magnate Vane Ivanovic
and great-great-niece of Dušan Popović, one of the founders of Yugoslavia
. She is also the great-granddaughter of the British engineer, Sir Alexander Blackie Kennedy
and granddaughter of Sir John MacFarlane Kennedy. After her parents' divorce in 1949, her mother remarried, to Lt. Col. Neil McLean
, DSO.
when she eloped with 26-year-old portrait painter, Dominick Elwes. Kennedy's father, however, disapproved of the relationship and instituted wardship proceedings. On November 27, 1957 he obtained a restraining order from a judge, Justice Sir Ronald F. Roxburgh, against Elwes thus barring the couple from getting married. The High Court Tipstaff
was not authorized, however, to apprehend Elwes in any place outside England and Wales
. After initially attempting to be betrothed in Scotland
whilst being pursued by the press, Kennedy and Elwes subsequently eloped to Havana
where they were wed in a civil ceremony on January 27, 1958 as guests of mobster Meyer Lansky
who provided accommodation for them at his hotel, The Habana Riviera
. When Castro
's revolution threatened the stability of the country they were forced to flee aboard a raft
with two National Geographic explorers who were sailing to Miami. From there the couple flew to New York
where they took out a marriage licence on March 31. On April 1, they repeated the ceremony to make sure they were legally wed in Manhattan's Supreme Court. On July 16, one day after their return to Southampton
on the liner SS Liberté, Elwes turned himself over to authorities and was placed in Brixton Prison while waiting to purge the contempt of court
order imposed upon him by the judge. The judge eventually allowed Elwes to be released from custody but ordered that Kennedy remain a ward of court
.
in Paris
, Kennedy started her career in the sixties at the London design firm of David Mlinaric
, whose clients included Sir Mick Jagger and Eric Clapton
. In 1968, after spending three years working as partner with Mlinaric, she won a competition to design the Grosvenor House Hotel
, launching her own company with Michael Sumner that same year. In 1986, she reformed as Tessa Kennedy Design, Ltd., a company which has won several design accolades. Her clients have included De Beers
, Stanley Kubrick
, George Harrison
, King Hussein of Jordan
and London hotels Claridge's
, The Berkeley
, and The Ritz
for which she was voted Designer of the Year. A member of the British Interior Design Association (BIDA), Kennedy was the first woman to work in Saudi Arabia
with her own company. Following two years as President of the International Society of Interior Designers in Britain and three years on the International Board, Kennedy was made a Fellow of the International Interior Design Association (IIDA).
, artist Damian Elwes
and actor
Cary Elwes
. With her second husband, Hollywood film producer
Elliott Kastner
(b. January 7 1930), she has a son, Dillon, and a daughter, Milica.
At age 29, Kennedy was rumoured to have had a relationship with Hollywood actor Mel Ferrer
before his marriage to Elizabeth Soukhotine in 1971.
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...
interior designer, whose clients include multi-national corporations, royalty, celebrities and many European hotels, restaurants and clubs. Her elopement with society portrait painter Dominick Elwes made headlines in 1957.
Biography
Kennedy was born in GuildfordGuildford
Guildford is the county town of Surrey. England, as well as the seat for the borough of Guildford and the administrative headquarters of the South East England region...
, Surrey
Surrey
Surrey is a county in the South East of England and is one of the Home Counties. The county borders Greater London, Kent, East Sussex, West Sussex, Hampshire and Berkshire. The historic county town is Guildford. Surrey County Council sits at Kingston upon Thames, although this has been part of...
, the daughter of Daška Ivanović
Daška Ivanović
Daška Marija Ivanović , better known as Daška McLean, was the daughter of one of the founders of the Croatian National Progressive Party . She made headlines in Europe and America when she made her 18-year-old daughter a ward of the court in the U.K...
(born in Osijek
Osijek
Osijek is the fourth largest city in Croatia with a population of 83,496 in 2011. It is the largest city and the economic and cultural centre of the eastern Croatian region of Slavonia, as well as the administrative centre of Osijek-Baranja county...
, Croatia
Croatia
Croatia , officially the Republic of Croatia , is a unitary democratic parliamentary republic in Europe at the crossroads of the Mitteleuropa, the Balkans, and the Mediterranean. Its capital and largest city is Zagreb. The country is divided into 20 counties and the city of Zagreb. Croatia covers ...
) (1915-2004) and Geoffrey Alexander Farrer Kennedy (1908–1996). She is the niece of diplomat and Yugoslav
Yugoslavs
Yugoslavs is a national designation used by a minority of South Slavs across the countries of the former Yugoslavia and in the diaspora...
shipping magnate Vane Ivanovic
Vane Ivanović
Ivan "Vane" Stefan Ivanović was an athlete, shipowner, political activist, diplomat, writer and philanthropist. One of the founders of the European Movement and the Consul General of Monaco in London, he devoted most of his life to the idea of Yugoslav unity.-Biography:Vane Ivanović was born in...
and great-great-niece of Dušan Popović, one of the founders of Yugoslavia
Yugoslavia
Yugoslavia refers to three political entities that existed successively on the western part of the Balkans during most of the 20th century....
. She is also the great-granddaughter of the British engineer, Sir Alexander Blackie Kennedy
Alexander Kennedy
Sir Alexander Blackie William Kennedy, LLD, FRS, FRGS , better known as Alexander Kennedy, was a leading British civil and electrical engineer and academic...
and granddaughter of Sir John MacFarlane Kennedy. After her parents' divorce in 1949, her mother remarried, to Lt. Col. Neil McLean
Neil McLean (politician)
Lieutenant-Colonel Neil Loudon Desmond McLean DSO, known as Billy McLean , was a British Army intelligence officer and politician who led a celebrated Special Operations Executive operation in Albania during the Second World War, and later attempted to overthrow Communism in the country...
, DSO.
Elopement
At age 18, Kennedy became a cause célèbreCause célèbre
A is an issue or incident arousing widespread controversy, outside campaigning and heated public debate. The term is particularly used in connection with celebrated legal cases. It is a French phrase in common English use...
when she eloped with 26-year-old portrait painter, Dominick Elwes. Kennedy's father, however, disapproved of the relationship and instituted wardship proceedings. On November 27, 1957 he obtained a restraining order from a judge, Justice Sir Ronald F. Roxburgh, against Elwes thus barring the couple from getting married. The High Court Tipstaff
Tipstaff
The Tipstaff is an officer of a court or, in some countries, a law clerk to a judge. The duties of the position vary from country to country.-History:...
was not authorized, however, to apprehend Elwes in any place outside 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...
. After initially attempting to be betrothed in Scotland
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
whilst being pursued by the press, Kennedy and Elwes subsequently eloped to Havana
Havana
Havana is the capital city, province, major port, and leading commercial centre of Cuba. The city proper has a population of 2.1 million inhabitants, and it spans a total of — making it the largest city in the Caribbean region, and the most populous...
where they were wed in a civil ceremony on January 27, 1958 as guests of mobster Meyer Lansky
Meyer Lansky
Meyer Lansky , known as the "Mob's Accountant", was a Polish-born American organized crime figure who, along with his associate Charles "Lucky" Luciano, was instrumental in the development of the "National Crime Syndicate" in the United States...
who provided accommodation for them at his hotel, The Habana Riviera
Hotel Habana Riviera
The Hotel Habana Riviera, or Havana Rivera as it is otherwise known, is located on the Malecón waterfront boulevard in Havana, Cuba. The hotel has over 350 rooms.- History :The hotel was owned and operated by Riviera de Cuba S.A...
. When Castro
Fidel Castro
Fidel Alejandro Castro Ruz is a Cuban revolutionary and politician, having held the position of Prime Minister of Cuba from 1959 to 1976, and then President from 1976 to 2008. He also served as the First Secretary of the Communist Party of Cuba from the party's foundation in 1961 until 2011...
's revolution threatened the stability of the country they were forced to flee aboard a raft
Balseros (rafters)
Balseros is the name given to the persons who emigrate illegally in self constructed or precarious vessels from Cuba to neighbouring states including the Bahamas, the Cayman Islands and, most commonly, the United States.Balseros is also the title of a 2002 documentary about those persons and their...
with two National Geographic explorers who were sailing to Miami. From there the couple flew to New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
where they took out a marriage licence on March 31. On April 1, they repeated the ceremony to make sure they were legally wed in Manhattan's Supreme Court. On July 16, one day after their return to Southampton
Southampton
Southampton is the largest city in the county of Hampshire on the south coast of England, and is situated south-west of London and north-west of Portsmouth. Southampton is a major port and the closest city to the New Forest...
on the liner SS Liberté, Elwes turned himself over to authorities and was placed in Brixton Prison while waiting to purge the contempt of court
Contempt of court
Contempt of court is a court order which, in the context of a court trial or hearing, declares a person or organization to have disobeyed or been disrespectful of the court's authority...
order imposed upon him by the judge. The judge eventually allowed Elwes to be released from custody but ordered that Kennedy remain a ward of court
Ward (law)
In law, a ward is someone placed under the protection of a legal guardian. A court may take responsibility for the legal protection of an individual, usually either a child or incapacitated person, in which case the ward is known as a ward of the court, or a ward of the state, in the United States,...
.
Career
After studying at the Ecole des Beaux-ArtsÉcole des Beaux-Arts
École des Beaux-Arts refers to a number of influential art schools in France. The most famous is the École nationale supérieure des Beaux-Arts, now located on the left bank in Paris, across the Seine from the Louvre, in the 6th arrondissement. The school has a history spanning more than 350 years,...
in Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
, Kennedy started her career in the sixties at the London design firm of David Mlinaric
David Mlinaric
David Mlinaric is a British interior decorator of Slovenian descent.His work ranges from commissions for private clients including Lord Rothschild and Mick Jagger to public galleries and museums – the National Gallery, London, the National Portrait Gallery, London and Victoria and Albert museum...
, whose clients included Sir Mick Jagger and Eric Clapton
Eric Clapton
Eric Patrick Clapton, CBE, is an English guitarist and singer-songwriter. Clapton is the only three-time inductee to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame: once as a solo artist, and separately as a member of The Yardbirds and Cream. Clapton has been referred to as one of the most important and...
. In 1968, after spending three years working as partner with Mlinaric, she won a competition to design the Grosvenor House Hotel
Grosvenor House Hotel
Grosvenor House is a large and luxurious hotel. The iconic Mayfair, London hotel is owned by the Sahara Group. The name has also been licensed to a property in Dubai....
, launching her own company with Michael Sumner that same year. In 1986, she reformed as Tessa Kennedy Design, Ltd., a company which has won several design accolades. Her clients have included De Beers
De Beers
De Beers is a family of companies that dominate the diamond, diamond mining, diamond trading and industrial diamond manufacturing sectors. De Beers is active in every category of industrial diamond mining: open-pit, underground, large-scale alluvial, coastal and deep sea...
, Stanley Kubrick
Stanley Kubrick
Stanley Kubrick was an American film director, writer, producer, and photographer who lived in England during most of the last four decades of his career...
, George Harrison
George Harrison
George Harrison, MBE was an English musician, guitarist, singer-songwriter, actor and film producer who achieved international fame as lead guitarist of The Beatles. Often referred to as "the quiet Beatle", Harrison became over time an admirer of Indian mysticism, and introduced it to the other...
, King Hussein of Jordan
Hussein of Jordan
Hussein bin Talal was the third King of Jordan from the abdication of his father, King Talal, in 1952, until his death. Hussein's rule extended through the Cold War and four decades of Arab-Israeli conflict...
and London hotels Claridge's
Claridge's
Claridge's is a luxury hotel in Mayfair, central London. It is located at the corner of Brook Street and Davies Street.-History:Claridge's is a traditional grand hotel. Its extensive and old connections with royalty have led to it being referred to as an "extension to Buckingham Palace"...
, The Berkeley
The Berkeley
The Berkeley is a five star deluxe hotel, located in Wilton Place, Knightsbridge, London. It is managed by Maybourne Hotel Group, who also manage Claridge's and The Connaught in Mayfair, London.-Description:...
, and The Ritz
Ritz Hotel
The Ritz London is a luxury 5-star hotel located in Piccadilly and overlooking Green Park in London.- History :Swiss hotelier César Ritz, former manager of the Savoy Hotel, opened the hotel on 24 May 1906...
for which she was voted Designer of the Year. A member of the British Interior Design Association (BIDA), Kennedy was the first woman to work in Saudi Arabia
Saudi Arabia
The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia , commonly known in British English as Saudi Arabia and in Arabic as as-Sa‘ūdiyyah , is the largest state in Western Asia by land area, constituting the bulk of the Arabian Peninsula, and the second-largest in the Arab World...
with her own company. Following two years as President of the International Society of Interior Designers in Britain and three years on the International Board, Kennedy was made a Fellow of the International Interior Design Association (IIDA).
Personal life
With Elwes, Kennedy had three sons: film producer Cassian ElwesCassian Elwes
Cassian Elwes is an independent film producer and agent, and is widely regarded as one of the most influential people in the independent film industry.-Biography:...
, artist Damian Elwes
Damian Elwes
Damian Elwes is an English-born, American-based artist. He is known for his series of paintings depicting the studios of 20th century masters and for paintings of the natural world that venture beyond the usual boundaries of landscape painting. His work focuses on human creativity and creation in...
and actor
Actor
An actor is a person who acts in a dramatic production and who works in film, television, theatre, or radio in that capacity...
Cary Elwes
Cary Elwes
Ivan Simon Cary Elwes , known professionally as Cary Elwes, is an English actor. The son of Dominick Elwes and Tessa Georgina Kennedy, Elwes acted in off-Broadway plays during college and moved to the United States in the early 1980s. He is known for his role as Westley in the cult classic The...
. With her second husband, Hollywood film 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...
Elliott Kastner
Elliott Kastner
-Early life and education:Kastner was born in New York City. He got his education at the University of Miami and Columbia University. During the fifties he was stationed with U.S...
(b. January 7 1930), she has a son, Dillon, and a daughter, Milica.
At age 29, Kennedy was rumoured to have had a relationship with Hollywood actor Mel Ferrer
Mel Ferrer
Mel Ferrer was an American actor, film director and film producer.-Early life:Ferrer was born Melchor Gastón Ferrer in Elberon, New Jersey, of Catalan and Irish descent. His father, Dr. José María Ferrer , was born in Cuba, was an authority on pneumonia and served as chief of staff of St....
before his marriage to Elizabeth Soukhotine in 1971.