Betsy von Furstenberg

This elegant, ladylike baroness and 50s Broadway star was born with the lengthy name Elizabeth Caroline Maria Agatha Felicitas Therese Freiin von Furstenberg-Hedringen in Arnsberg, Germany on August 16, 1931, the daughter of Count Franz-Egon von Fürstenberg and his wife Elizabeth (Johnson). A lady of privilege, Betsy moved to America growing up and attended Miss Hewitt's Classes and New York Tutoring School. She performed with the American Ballet Theater at age 7. A teenage model with strong designs on acting, she prepared for the theater at the Neighborhood Playhouse with Sanford Meisner and made her stage debut in New York at the Morosco Theatre in 1951 with "Second Threshold." She went on to create a gallery of breezy and stylish debutantes and society girls and enjoyed her first major hit playing Myra Hagerman in "Oh, Men! Oh, Women!" in 1953. Her role would be played by Barbara Rush in the 1957 movie version. Betsy continued with prime roles throughout the 1950s in such plays as "The Chalk Garden," "Child of Fortune," "Nature's Way," "Wonderful Town" and "Much Ado About Nothing," among others. She was at her best playing impish, independent women. At the same time she also graced a number of live and taped TV dramas, including 'Playhouse 90," "Alfred Hitchcock Presents" and "Kraft Television Theatre" and a variety of talk shows. She became a regular presence on a variety of daytime soaps as well with roles on The Secret Storm (1954), Bluebeard (1955), Another World (1964) and As the World Turns (1956) In the 1960s Betsy appeared in another sparkling comedy hit playing the role of Tiffany in "Mary, Mary" starring Barbara Bel Geddes and Barry Nelson. Again, however, when it came time to film the movie version, Betsy was replaced...this time by then-popular TV star Diane McBain. Making her first and only film appearance in the Italian-made _Donne senza nome (1949)_ [Women Without Names], one can only surmise the film career she might have had, had she been able to recreate some of her lovely stage roles. In the 1970s, Betsy was seen opposite Maureen Stapleton in "The Gingerbread Lady" and played Sybil in a production of "Private Lives." Light comedies also came her way with "There's a Girl in My Soup" (with Don Ameche and Taina Elg), "Absurd Person Singular," "Status Quo Vadis" and "Avanti!" Married to Guy Vincent de la Maisoneuve, a mining engineer, they divorced in 1966 after two children. She turned to writing articles for columns in 1968; her novel Mirror Mirror, the story of an jet-setting heiress and her search for love, was published in 1988. She later married (1984) real-estate broker John J. Reynolds, who died ten years later. Retired from the stage in later years, she would often be glimpsed at high society gatherings and theater benefit functions until illness set in. She died of complications from Alzheimer's disease on April 21, 2015.