Francis Alexander Shields
Francis Alexander Shields | |
|---|---|
| Born | May 16, 1941 New York City, U.S. |
| Died | April 25, 2003 (aged 61) Palm Beach, Florida, U.S. |
| Alma mater | University of Pennsylvania |
| Spouses | |
| Children | 4, including Brooke |
| Parents | |
| Relatives |
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Francis Alexander Shields Jr. (May 16, 1941 – April 25, 2003) was an American businessman and an executive at Revlon in New York City, and he was the father of actress Brooke Shields.
Early life
Shields was born in New York City, the eldest son of Francis Xavier Alexander Sr. (1909–1975), a top-ranking American tennis player, and Italian Princess Donna Marina Torlonia di Civitella-Cesi (1916–1960).[1][2] His mother's family is descended from several Italian princely families (most notably Borgia, Medici, d'Este, di Savoia). After his parents' divorce, his father married Katharine Mortimer in 1949.[3]
He attended the Buckley School in Manhattan and St. Paul's School in Concord, New Hampshire. He attended in the University of Pennsylvania, where he captained the crew that rowed in the Henley Royal Regatta in 1962 and was a member of St. Anthony Hall.
Career
Shields started his career on Wall Street, working for Loeb Rhoades, after which he moved into sales and marketing for Revlon, Estee Lauder and Handy Associates, an executive recruit firm in New York City. In 1989, Shields and his family moved to Palm Beach, Florida, where he formed his own real estate firm, Frank Shields Associates.[4]
Personal life
In 1964, Shields married Maria Theresia "Teri" Schmon. They had a daughter, Brooke Christa Shields in 1965. In 1966, they divorced when their daughter was then five months old:[5]
In 1970, he married Diana "Didi" Lippert, former wife of Thomas Gore Auchincloss, a farmer in Eagle Bridge, New York.[6] They had three daughters: Marina Torlonia Shields, Olympia Torlonia Shields, and Christina Torlonia Shields.[7][8][9]
An avid hunter and fisherman, Shields spent much of his free time at the camp he owned in rural west Florida, Canoe Creek.[4] Shields never lost his love of rowing and founded the Power Ten New York, an organization dedicated to the sport, in 1980.[10]
In 2003, Shields died in Palm Beach, Florida, of a "protracted illness" at the age of 61.[4] After Shields's death in 2003, the National Rowing Foundation offered the Frank Shields Fellowships.[10]
References
- ^ "Engangement: Marina Torlonia Shields, Thomas William Purcell". Newspapers.com. Palm Beach Daily News. 14 September 1997. p. 5. Retrieved 2020-12-26.
- ^ "PRINCESS DIES IN CRASH: Marina Torlonia Slater Killed in Accident in Italy". The New York Times. September 16, 1960. p. 3. Retrieved 15 March 2016.
- ^ "Deaths BLAINE, KATHARINE MORTIMER". The New York Times. April 17, 2003. Retrieved 15 March 2016.
- ^ a b c "Francis A. Shields Obituary (2003)". Legacy.com. The Palm Beach Post. April 28, 2003. Retrieved 2020-12-26.
- ^ "Brooke Shields's Mother, Teri Shields, Dies at 79" Archived 2016-08-28 at the Wayback Machine. People. November 6, 2012.
- ^ "Ella Davila Wed to T. G. Auchincloss Jr". The New York Times. May 29, 1988. p. 45. Retrieved 13 March 2016.
- ^ "Schoen, Luise Bernstorff". The New York Times. October 5, 2005. p. Section B, Page 10. Retrieved 13 March 2016.
- ^ Shields, B (2008). Welcome to Your World, Baby. HarperCollins. p. 6.
- ^ Churches of the Stars: St. Monica's Church parishioners
- ^ a b "Frank Shields Fellowships". National Rowing Foundation. Retrieved 2020-12-26.