Huguette Clark | |
|---|---|
.png) Clark c. 1917 at Columbia Gardens[1] | |
| Born | Huguette Marcelle Clark June 9, 1906 |
| Died | May 24, 2011 (aged 104) New York City, U.S. |
| Resting place | Woodlawn Cemetery, The Bronx, New York |
| Nationality | American[2] |
| Education | Spence School |
| Occupations |
|
| Known for | Heiress to Clark copper fortune; recluse |
| Spouse |
William MacDonald Gower
(m. 1928; div. 1930) |
| Parent(s) | William A. Clark Anna E. La Chapelle |
Huguette Marcelle Clark /uːɡɛt klɑːrk/[3] (June 9, 1906 – May 24, 2011) was an American painter, heiress, and philanthropist, who became well known again late in life as a recluse, living in hospitals for more than 20 years while her various mansions remained unoccupied.
The youngest daughter of Montana senator and industrialist William A. Clark, she spent her early life in Paris before relocating with her family to New York City, where she was educated at the Spence School. After a short-lived marriage ended in 1930, Clark returned to her residence at 907 Fifth Avenue, a large twelfth-floor apartment that she significantly expanded to occupying two floors. She also meticulously maintained Bellosguardo, a large familial estate in Santa Barbara, California, although she never returned to the property after the 1950s.
Clark spent much of her life outside of the public sphere, devoting her time to painting, the arts, and collecting various antiquities, primarily toys and dolls. In 1952, she purchased another property in New Canaan, Connecticut, but following the death of her mother in 1963, became increasingly reclusive.
In 1991, she was admitted to Doctors Hospital in Manhattan to treat various basal cell cancer lesions on her face. Though she successfully recovered, Clark remained a hospital resident for the following two decades.
Upon her death at 104 in 2011, Clark left behind a fortune of more than $300 million, most of which was donated to charity after a court dispute with her distant relatives.
The events surrounding her estate and last years of her life were covered extensively by Pulitzer Prize-winning investigative reporter Bill Dedman, who co-wrote a biography in 2013, Empty Mansions: The Mysterious Life of Huguette Clark and the Spending of a Great American Fortune. The film rights to Empty Mansions were optioned by Fremantle, which is developing a TV series with HBO, director Joe Wright, and screenwriter Ido Fluk.[4] The book was optioned earlier by film and television director Ryan Murphy.[5]
- ^ Dedman, Bill (February 26, 2010). "The Clarks: An American Story of Wealth, Scandal and Mystery". NBC News. Archived from the original on September 26, 2018. Retrieved September 22, 2018.
- ^ Dedman & Newell 2014, p. 3.
- ^ Cite error: The named reference
chargeswas invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^ "'Empty Mansions' Series Adaptation in the Works at HBO from Ido Fluk, Joe Wright & Fremantle". February 7, 2023.
- ^ Busch, Anita (March 14, 2014). "Ryan Murphy Options Rights To NY Times' Bestseller 'Empty Mansions'". Deadline. Retrieved January 28, 2016.