Frances Ford Seymour
Encyclopedia
Frances Ford Seymour was a socialite
, the second wife of actor Henry Fonda
and the mother of actors Jane Fonda
and Peter Fonda
.
, Canada
, she was the daughter of Eugene Ford Seymour and Sophie Mildred (née Bower; July 13, 1886 – April 15, 1974). Among her first cousins was Mary Benjamin Rogers, the first wife of Standard Oil millionaire Henry Huttleston Rogers Jr.
Her father, an attorney, was descended from Edward Seymour, 1st Duke of Somerset
who was brother to Henry VIII
's third wife, Jane Seymour
.
, a millionaire lawyer and sportsman, whose previous marriage, to Clare Boothe Luce
, had ended in divorce. They had one child, Frances de Villers Brokaw (1931–2008, known as "Pan"), who later married Francesco Corrias, and became a painter. The Corrias had a daughter, gallery owner Pilar Corrias.
A year after George Tuttle Brokaw died, his widow married actor Henry Fonda
on September 16, 1936, at Christ Church, New York City. The couple had two children, actors Jane
and Peter
.
and committed suicide
by cutting her throat with a razor on her 42nd birthday while in the Craig House Sanitarium
for Insane in Beacon, New York
.
Socialite
A socialite is a person who participates in social activities and spends a significant amount of time entertaining and being entertained at fashionable upper-class events....
, the second wife of actor Henry Fonda
Henry Fonda
Henry Jaynes Fonda was an American film and stage actor.Fonda made his mark early as a Broadway actor. He also appeared in 1938 in plays performed in White Plains, New York, with Joan Tompkins...
and the mother of actors Jane Fonda
Jane Fonda
Jane Fonda is an American actress, writer, political activist, former fashion model, and fitness guru. She rose to fame in the 1960s with films such as Barbarella and Cat Ballou. She has won two Academy Awards and received several other movie awards and nominations during more than 50 years as an...
and Peter Fonda
Peter Fonda
Peter Henry Fonda is an American actor. He is the son of Henry Fonda, brother of Jane Fonda, and father of Bridget and Justin Fonda...
.
Early life
Born in Brockville, OntarioBrockville, Ontario
Brockville is a city in Eastern Ontario, Canada, in the Thousand Islands region. Though it serves as the seat of the United Counties of Leeds and Grenville, Brockville is politically independent and is grouped with Leeds and Grenville for census purposes only.Known as the "City of the 1000...
, Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
, she was the daughter of Eugene Ford Seymour and Sophie Mildred (née Bower; July 13, 1886 – April 15, 1974). Among her first cousins was Mary Benjamin Rogers, the first wife of Standard Oil millionaire Henry Huttleston Rogers Jr.
Abbie G. Rogers
Abbie Gifford Rogers , was the first wife of Henry Huttleston Rogers, , a United States capitalist, businesswoman, industrialist, financier, and philanthropist....
Her father, an attorney, was descended from Edward Seymour, 1st Duke of Somerset
Edward Seymour, 1st Duke of Somerset
Edward Seymour, 1st Duke of Somerset, 1st Earl of Hertford, 1st Viscount Beauchamp of Hache, KG, Earl Marshal was Lord Protector of England in the period between the death of Henry VIII in 1547 and his own indictment in 1549....
who was brother to Henry VIII
Henry VIII of England
Henry VIII was King of England from 21 April 1509 until his death. He was Lord, and later King, of Ireland, as well as continuing the nominal claim by the English monarchs to the Kingdom of France...
's third wife, Jane Seymour
Jane Seymour
Jane Seymour was Queen of England as the third wife of King Henry VIII. She succeeded Anne Boleyn as queen consort following the latter's execution for trumped up charges of high treason, incest and adultery in May 1536. She died of postnatal complications less than two weeks after the birth of...
.
Marriages
On January 10, 1931, she married George Tuttle BrokawGeorge Tuttle Brokaw
George Tuttle Brokaw was an American lawyer and sportsman.He was born in Elberon, New Jersey, a son of Isaac Vail Brokaw, who with his brother, William, owned the New York City-based Brokaw Brothers clothing stores from 1856 until his death in 1914.As the eldest child, George inherited the right...
, a millionaire lawyer and sportsman, whose previous marriage, to Clare Boothe Luce
Clare Boothe Luce
Clare Boothe Luce was an American playwright, editor, journalist, ambassador, socialite and U.S. Congresswoman, representing the state of Connecticut.-Early life:...
, had ended in divorce. They had one child, Frances de Villers Brokaw (1931–2008, known as "Pan"), who later married Francesco Corrias, and became a painter. The Corrias had a daughter, gallery owner Pilar Corrias.
A year after George Tuttle Brokaw died, his widow married actor Henry Fonda
Henry Fonda
Henry Jaynes Fonda was an American film and stage actor.Fonda made his mark early as a Broadway actor. He also appeared in 1938 in plays performed in White Plains, New York, with Joan Tompkins...
on September 16, 1936, at Christ Church, New York City. The couple had two children, actors Jane
Jane Fonda
Jane Fonda is an American actress, writer, political activist, former fashion model, and fitness guru. She rose to fame in the 1960s with films such as Barbarella and Cat Ballou. She has won two Academy Awards and received several other movie awards and nominations during more than 50 years as an...
and Peter
Peter Fonda
Peter Henry Fonda is an American actor. He is the son of Henry Fonda, brother of Jane Fonda, and father of Bridget and Justin Fonda...
.
Death
Frances Ford Seymour suffered from mental illnessMental illness
A mental disorder or mental illness is a psychological or behavioral pattern generally associated with subjective distress or disability that occurs in an individual, and which is not a part of normal development or culture. Such a disorder may consist of a combination of affective, behavioural,...
and committed suicide
Suicide
Suicide is the act of intentionally causing one's own death. Suicide is often committed out of despair or attributed to some underlying mental disorder, such as depression, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, alcoholism, or drug abuse...
by cutting her throat with a razor on her 42nd birthday while in the Craig House Sanitarium
Sanatorium
A sanatorium is a medical facility for long-term illness, most typically associated with treatment of tuberculosis before antibiotics...
for Insane in Beacon, New York
Beacon, New York
Beacon is a city located in Dutchess County, New York, United States. The 2010 census placed the city total population at 15,541. Beacon is part of the Poughkeepsie–Newburgh–Middletown, NY Metropolitan Statistical Area as well as the larger New York–Newark–Bridgeport,...
.
External links
- "Mothers, Lost and Found" The Washington Post, Abigail Trafford, May 3, 2005
- Excerpt: 'My Life So Far' ABC News, April 5, 2005