Countess Celia von Bismarck-Schönhausen (née Demaurex; 19 October 1971 – 17 December 2010) was a Swiss humanitarian, socialite, magazine editor, and philanthropist. She worked for the

Aga Khan Development Network The Aga Khan Development Network (AKDN) is a network of private, non-denominational development agencies founded by the Aga Khan, with the primary focus of improving the quality of life in different regions of Asia and Africa. The network focuse ...

, the

Cinema for Peace Foundation The Cinema for Peace Foundation is a registered, non-profit organization based in Berlin, Germany. It supports film-based projects dealing with global humanitarian and environmental issues, and coordinates the Cinema for Peace awards. History ...

, and served as an Ambassador for the

Swiss Red Cross The Swiss Red Cross ( German: ', French: ', Italian: ', Romansh: '), or SRC (''SRK'' in German, ''CRS'' in French and Italian), is the national Red Cross society for Switzerland. The SRC was founded in 1866 in Bern, Switzerland. In accord ...

Early life

Von Bismarck was born Celia Demaurex on 19 October 1971 in

Geneva Geneva ( , ; ) ; ; . is the List of cities in Switzerland, second-most populous city in Switzerland and the most populous in French-speaking Romandy. Situated in the southwest of the country, where the Rhône exits Lake Geneva, it is the ca ...

to Michel Demaurex (1926-2014), a real estate investor, and Rosemarie Grethe, a jewelry designer. She attended schools in

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 ...

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

, and

Berlin Berlin ( ; ) is the Capital of Germany, capital and largest city of Germany, by both area and List of cities in Germany by population, population. With 3.7 million inhabitants, it has the List of cities in the European Union by population withi ...

Career

Von Bismarck worked as a consultant for cultural and social foundations. In Berlin, she worked for the non-profit organization Dropping Knowledge. From 2003 to 2005, she was employed at the

Geneva Centre for Security Policy The Geneva Centre for Security Policy (GCSP) is an international foundation that was established in 1995 under Swiss law to "promote the building and maintenance of peace, security and stability". The GCSP was founded by the Federal Departmen ...

, taking part in conferences in

Kosovo Kosovo, officially the Republic of Kosovo, is a landlocked country in Southeast Europe with International recognition of Kosovo, partial diplomatic recognition. It is bordered by Albania to the southwest, Montenegro to the west, Serbia to the ...

and

Serbia , image_flag = Flag of Serbia.svg , national_motto = , image_coat = Coat of arms of Serbia.svg , national_anthem = () , image_map = , map_caption = Location of Serbia (gree ...

. In August 2005, von Bismarck was appointed as the head of protocol at

Filmfest Hamburg FILMFEST HAMBURG is an international film festival in Hamburg, the third-largest of its kind in Germany (after Berlin and Munich). It shows national and international feature and documentary films in eleven sections. The range of the program stret ...

. She was also an activist for

. She served as an ambassador for the

from 2006 to 2010. During her time as a Red Cross ambassador, von Bismarck also worked as a freelance editor at ''Park Avenue'' and was employed by the

. In 2008, she sponsored the premier of Visa Swap Shop in Berlin Mitte. Von Bismarck was a jury member for the Quadriga Award.

Personal life

GraveCeliaVonBismarckAndMichelDemaurex-CimetiereDeCheneBougeries RomanDeckert18062024-01

In 1990, while attending the

Monaco Grand Prix The Monaco Grand Prix () is a Formula One motor racing event held annually on the Circuit de Monaco, in late May or early June. Run since 1929, it is widely considered to be one of the most important and prestigious automobile races in the wo ...

, she met Count Carl-Eduard von Bismarck-Schönhausen, the son and heir of Ferdinand, Prince of Bismarck. On 3 June 1997, she married Count Carl von Bismarck, in a civil ceremony in Geneva. Their religious wedding was held on 7 June 1997 at the Cathédrale Saint-Pierre de Genève. The couple resided at the Bismarck manor house in

Friedrichsruh Friedrichsruh () is a district in the municipality of Aumühle, Herzogtum Lauenburg district, Schleswig-Holstein, in northern Germany. Friedrichsruh manor is known as a residence of the princely House of Bismarck, mainly of Chancellor Otto von ...

. She and her husband divorced in September 2004.

Death

In October 2010, von Bismarck was diagnosed with

melanoma Melanoma is the most dangerous type of skin cancer; it develops from the melanin-producing cells known as melanocytes. It typically occurs in the skin, but may rarely occur in the mouth, intestines, or eye (uveal melanoma). In very rare case ...

. The cancer spread to her pancreas. She died on 17 December 2010 in Geneva and found her final resting place at the cemetery of

Chêne-Bougeries Chêne-Bougeries is a municipality in the Canton of Geneva, Switzerland. History Chêne-Bougeries is first mentioned in 1270 as ''Quercus''. In 1801 it was mentioned as ''Chêne-les-Bougeries''. Chêne-Bougeries was inhabited for most of its his ...

. Her father was buried in the same grave.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bismarck, Celia von 1971 births 2010 deaths Aga Khan Development Network Celia Countesses in Germany Deaths from cancer in Switzerland Deaths from melanoma Red Cross ambassadors Spouses of German politicians Swiss Calvinist and Reformed Christians Swiss-French people Swiss nobility Swiss socialites Swiss magazine editors Swiss philanthropists Swiss women philanthropists 21st-century Swiss people 21st-century Swiss women 21st-century philanthropists 21st-century women philanthropists 21st-century nobility