Barbara Davis (née Levine; born October 9, 1930) is an American billionaire philanthropist. She is the widow of industrialist

Marvin Davis Marvin H. Davis (August 31, 1925 – September 25, 2004) was an American industrialist. He made his fortunes as the chair of Davis Petroleum and at one time owned 20th Century Fox, the Pebble Beach Corporation, the Beverly Hills Hotel, and the ...

Biography

Early life

Born Barbara Levine in New York City in 1930, she graduated from

Adelphi University Adelphi University is a private university in Garden City, New York, United States. Adelphi also has centers in Downtown Brooklyn, Hudson Valley, and Suffolk County in addition to a virtual, online campus for remote students. As of 2019, it had ...

Garden City, New York Garden City is a village located in Nassau County, on Long Island, in New York, United States. The population was 23,272 at the time of the 2020 census. The Incorporated Village of Garden City is primarily located within the Town of Hempstead ...

, in 1951.Children's Diabetes Foundation
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Philanthropy

In 1977, she established the Children's Diabetes Foundation.Fred Schruers
Table-Hopping With...Barbara Davis
'' W'', February 2012 Since 1978, she has organized the black-tie, invitation-only ''Carousel of Hope Ball'' every two years to raise money for juvenile

diabetes Diabetes mellitus, commonly known as diabetes, is a group of common endocrine diseases characterized by sustained high blood sugar levels. Diabetes is due to either the pancreas not producing enough of the hormone insulin, or the cells of th ...

.Brook Barnes
Tough Times No Deterrent for This Ball
''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

'', October 22, 2010Obituaries: Marvin Davis
''The New York Times'', Accessed May 24, 2012. In particular, the proceeds go to the Barbara Davis Center for Childhood Diabetes in

Aurora, Colorado Aurora (, ) is a List of municipalities in Colorado#Home rule municipality, home rule city located in Arapahoe County, Colorado, Arapahoe, Adams County, Colorado, Adams, and Douglas County, Colorado, Douglas List of counties in Colorado, counti ...

and the Children's Diabetes Foundation. She also serves on the Boards of Trustees of the

Joslin Diabetes Center Joslin Diabetes Center is the world's largest diabetes research center, diabetes clinic, and provider of diabetes education. It is located in the Longwood Medical and Academic Area in Boston, Massachusetts, United States. Among the Harvard Med ...

Boston Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and Financial centre, financial center of New England, a region of the Northeas ...

, Massachusetts, the

Cedars-Sinai Medical Center Cedars-Sinai Medical Center is a non-profit, Tertiary referral hospital, tertiary, 915-bed teaching hospital and multi-specialty academic health science centre, academic health science center located in Los Angeles, California. Part of the Cedars ...

in Los Angeles, California, the Race to Erase MS in Los Angeles, California and the

Eisenhower Medical Center The Eisenhower Medical Center (EMC) now known as Eisenhower Health is a nonprofit teaching hospital based in Rancho Mirage, California, serving the Coachella Valley region of Southeastern California. It was named one of the top one hundred hospita ...

Rancho Mirage, California Rancho Mirage is a city in Riverside County, California, United States. The city is a low-density desert community with resorts, golf courses, and country clubs within the Colorado Desert section of the Sonoran Desert. Nestled along the foothil ...

. Additionally, she is a member of the Blue Ribbon Panel of the

Los Angeles Music Center The Los Angeles Music Center (officially the Performing Arts Center of Los Angeles County) is one of the largest performing arts centers in the United States. Located in downtown Los Angeles, The Music Center is composed of the Dorothy Chandler Pa ...

. In November 1992, she received the 1992 Promise Ball Humanitarian Award from the Juvenile Diabetes Foundation International in New York City (

JDRF Breakthrough T1D (formerly JDRF) is a type 1 diabetes (T1D) research and advocacy organization. Breakthrough T1D funds research for the development of new therapies and treatments for type 1 diabetes. The organization advocates for federal resea ...

). In 1995, she received an Honorary Doctorate in Humane Letters from the

University of Colorado The University of Colorado (CU) is a system of public universities in Colorado. It consists of four institutions: the University of Colorado Boulder, the University of Colorado Colorado Springs, the University of Colorado Denver, and the U ...

. In 2004, she received the Angel Award from the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation in Los Angeles.

Personal life

She married

(1925–2004) in 1951. They had five children: *Patricia Davis Raynes. * John Davis. *Nancy Davis Rickel (married Nebil Zarif; they had three sons: actor Jason Davis (1984–2020), Brandon Davis and Alexander Davis; they divorced and she remarried to Ken Rickel; they had two daughters: Isabella Rickel and Mariella Rickel). * Gregg Davis (married actress

Kim Richards Kim Erica Richards (born September 19, 1964) is an American actress, socialite, and television personality. She began her career as a child actress and rose to prominence from her roles in '' Nanny and the Professor'', '' Escape to Witch Mountai ...

; they had two children: Whitney Davis (born 1990) and Chad Davis (born 1991); they later divorced). *Dana Davis. They resided in

Denver Denver ( ) is a List of municipalities in Colorado#Consolidated city and county, consolidated city and county, the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Colorado, most populous city of the U.S. state of ...

, Colorado, from 1951 to 1985. In 1985, they moved to The Knoll, an estate in

Beverly Hills, California Beverly Hills is a city located in Los Angeles County, California, United States. A notable and historic suburb of Los Angeles, it is located just southwest of the Hollywood Hills, approximately northwest of downtown Los Angeles. Beverly Hills ...

. Shortly after his death, she sold it for $46 million and moved into a bungalow at the

Beverly Hills Hotel The Beverly Hills Hotel, also called the Beverly Hills Hotel and Bungalows, is located on Sunset Boulevard in Beverly Hills, California. One of the world's best-known hotels, it is closely associated with Hollywood film stars, rock stars, and ...

. Additionally, in 2011, she listed a condominium she owned in the Wilshire Corridor in

Westwood, Los Angeles Westwood is a commercial and residential neighborhood in the northern central portion of the Westside (Los Angeles County), Westside region of the city of Los Angeles, California. It is the home of the University of California, Los Angeles (UCL ...

.Lauren Beale
Barbara Davis puts Wilshire Corridor condo on the market
''The Los Angeles Times'', July 5, 2011 In 2006, she was worth $2.5 billion.
''

Forbes ''Forbes'' () is an American business magazine founded by B. C. Forbes in 1917. It has been owned by the Hong Kong–based investment group Integrated Whale Media Investments since 2014. Its chairman and editor-in-chief is Steve Forbes. The co ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Davis, Barbara Living people Philanthropists from New York City People from Denver People from Beverly Hills, California Adelphi University alumni American billionaires American socialites Davis family 1930 births