Meet Doris Duke, an heiress and philanthropist who died in 1993. See her biography and photos here.
Doris Duke
The film “Bernard and Doris” aired on HBO tonight, February 9, 2008. It stars Susan Sarandon as Doris Duke and tells the story of her Irish butler, Bernard Lafferty, who she left in charge of her entire fortune.
As a biography, Doris Duke was born November 22, 1912 in New York City. She was the only child of Nanaline Holt Inman and James Buchanan Duke, the tobacco and electric energy millionaire. Her father left her $100 million when he died (about $1 billion in 2005 dollars). Duke University is named after her grandfather.
When she became old enough, she traveled and studied the arts, even living in Paris. She also lived in Hawaii at her Shangri La estate, where she became the first competitive female surfer. During her travels, she collected artwork and jewelry.
Duke married James H.R. Cromwell in 1935. They had one daughter, who died when she was one day old. At the time there was speculation that any number of men could have been the father. They divorced in 1943.
In 1945, Duke became a foreign correspondent for the International News Service, and later worked for Harper’s Bazaar.
In 1947, she married Porfirio Rubiros, but not before the U.S. government drew up the couple’s prenuptial agreement. After all, Duke was worth millions and Rubiros was an ambassador. Allegedly she paid Rubiros’ wife at the time $1 million to agree to an uncontested divorce. Duke and Rubiros later divorced themselves.
See the rest of the biography and more photos of Doris Duke below.
Duke met controversy on October 7, 1966 when she hit her interior decorator, Eduardo J. Tirella, with a car and killed him when he was caught between the car and a tree. The death was ruled an “unfortunate accident” amid controversy.
In 1985, Duke met Chandi Heffner, a 32-year-old Hari Krishna devotee. Believing Heffner to be the reincarnation of her daughter, Duke legally adopted her in 1988. Though Duke later tried to leave the woman out of her will, Heffner sued the Duke estate and finally settled for $65 million.
Duke was quite philanthropic throughout her life, with The Doris Duke Charitable Foundation surviving past her death.
Doris Duke died at the age of 81 in 1993 after several strokes. She was cremated and her ashes were spread over the Pacific Ocean, with a small container sent to Marshfield, Missouri where she had several times donated money for events. She left her $1.3 billion fortune to the Foundation and left Bernard Lafferty, her butler, in charge.
The relationship between Doris and Bernard has inspired two films, including the one that premiered tonight, “Bernard and Doris”. Lafferty was put in charge of the household in 1990, and his actions became more and more bizarre, once refusing to call an ambulance when Doris was choking on a piece of food. After her death, Duke’s lawyers removed Lafferty from his position with the Foundation after they accused him of manipulating the money.
Duke was an icon of style throughout her life.
Doris Duke