Millicent Hearst
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Millicent Veronica Hearst (née Willson; July 16, 1882 – December 5, 1974), was the wife of media tycoon
William Randolph Hearst William Randolph Hearst (; April 29, 1863 – August 14, 1951) was an American newspaper publisher and politician who developed the nation's largest newspaper chain and media company, Hearst Communications. His extravagant methods of yellow jou ...
. Willson was a
vaudeville Vaudeville (; ) is a theatrical genre of variety entertainment which began in France in the middle of the 19th century. A ''vaudeville'' was originally a comedy without psychological or moral intentions, based on a comical situation: a drama ...
performer in New York City whom Hearst admired, and they married in 1903. The couple had five sons, but began to drift apart in the mid-1920s, when Millicent became tired of her husband's longtime affair with actress
Marion Davies Marion Davies (born Marion Cecilia Douras; January 3, 1897 – September 22, 1961) was an American actress, producer, screenwriter, and philanthropist. Educated in a religious convent, Davies left the school to pursue a career as a chorus girl ...
."Millicent Hearst". Hearst Castle, Historic People. ''HearstCastle.org'', (California State Parks). Retrieved April 14, 2014.


Life and career

Millicent was the daughter of vaudevillian George Willson and Hannah Murray Willson. Following in their father's footsteps, Millicent and her older sister Anita performed at the Herald Square Theater on Broadway in 1897 as "bicycle girls" in Edward Rice's '' The Girl from Paris''. Fourteen-year-old Millicent caught the eye of the 34-year-old W.R. Hearst, and their first dates were chaperoned by her sister Anita. After a six-year courtship, the publisher and aspiring politician Hearst married 20-year-old Millicent Willson on April 28, 1903. Millicent Hearst gave birth to five sons: George Randolph Hearst, born on April 23, 1904; William Randolph Hearst Jr., born January 27, 1908; John Randolph Hearst, born September 26, 1909; and twins Randolph Apperson Hearst and David Whitmire (né Elbert Willson) Hearst, born December 2, 1915. W.R.'s mother Phoebe Apperson Hearst, at first dismayed by Millicent’s humble origins, warmed to her daughter-in-law with the birth of the grandchildren. Millicent was a member of the New York State Commission for the
Panama–Pacific International Exposition The Panama–Pacific International Exposition was a world's fair held in San Francisco, California, United States, from February 20 to December 4, 1915. Its stated purpose was to celebrate the completion of the Panama Canal, but it was widely s ...
held in San Francisco in 1915 and acted as chief official hostess at the New York Pavilion during the exposition.''State of New York at the Panama–Pacific International Exposition, San Francisco, California, 1915''
(Albany, 1916; pg. 28)
New York City Mayor John Hylan appointed her chairman of the Mayor’s Committee of Women on National Defense during World War I. The committee sponsored entertainments for servicemen, operated a canteen, encouraged enlistments, sponsored patriotic rallies, and provided staples such as coal, milk, and ice to the needy. Hearst also served on wartime committees to raise funds for the rebuilding of France and the relief of French orphans. In 1921, she founded the Free Milk Fund for Babies, which provided free milk to the poor of New York City for decades. She also hosted charitable fundraisers for a variety of causes, including crippled children, unemployed girls, the New York Women’s Trade League, the
Democratic National Committee The Democratic National Committee (DNC) is the principal executive leadership board of the United States's Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party. According to the party charter, it has "general responsibility for the affairs of the ...
, the ''Evening Journal'' - ''
New York Journal :''Includes coverage of New York Journal-American and its predecessors New York Journal, The Journal, New York American and New York Evening Journal'' The ''New York Journal-American'' was a daily newspaper published in New York City from 1937 ...
'' Christmas Fund, and the Village Welfare of
Port Washington, New York Port Washington is a Hamlet (New York), hamlet and census-designated place (CDP) on the Cow Neck Peninsula in the North Hempstead, New York, Town of North Hempstead, in Nassau County, New York, Nassau County, on the North Shore (Long Island), No ...
.
Eleanor Roosevelt Anna Eleanor Roosevelt ( ; October 11, 1884November 7, 1962) was an American political figure, diplomat, and activist. She was the longest-serving First Lady of the United States, first lady of the United States, during her husband Franklin D ...
joined Millicent Hearst at many of these charitable events during the
Great Depression The Great Depression was a severe global economic downturn from 1929 to 1939. The period was characterized by high rates of unemployment and poverty, drastic reductions in industrial production and international trade, and widespread bank and ...
. The Hearsts were married until W.R. Hearst's death in 1951. They never divorced, in part due to her Catholicism, but were estranged starting in 1926 when his liaison with
Marion Davies Marion Davies (born Marion Cecilia Douras; January 3, 1897 – September 22, 1961) was an American actress, producer, screenwriter, and philanthropist. Educated in a religious convent, Davies left the school to pursue a career as a chorus girl ...
became public. Millicent Hearst sought a divorce from W.R. Hearst in 1937, but the divorce fell through when she insisted on ''
Cosmopolitan Cosmopolitan may refer to: Internationalism * World citizen, one who eschews traditional geopolitical divisions derived from national citizenship * Cosmopolitanism, the idea that all of humanity belongs to a single moral community * Cosmopolitan ...
'' magazine as part of her property settlement, to which W.R. Hearst would not agree. Millicent Hearst established a separate life and residence in New York City as a socialite and philanthropist, rarely visiting her husband at their estate in
San Simeon, California San Simeon ( Spanish: ''San Simeón'', meaning "St. Simon") is an unincorporated community on the Pacific coast of San Luis Obispo County, California, United States. Its position along State Route 1 is about halfway between Los Angeles and San ...
, known as
Hearst Castle Hearst Castle, known formally as La Cuesta Encantada ( Spanish for "The Enchanted Hill"), is a historic estate in San Simeon, located on the Central Coast of California. Conceived by William Randolph Hearst, the publishing tycoon, and his arc ...
. She remained close to her five sons throughout her life. Millicent Willson Hearst died on December 5, 1974, more than two decades after the death of her husband, and was buried at the Woodlawn Cemetery in the Bronx.


References


External links


Finding Aid to the Millicent Willson Hearst Papers, 1914-1947 (bulk 1926-1935)
at
The Bancroft Library The Bancroft Library is the primary special-collections library of the University of California, Berkeley. It was acquired from its founder, Hubert Howe Bancroft, in 1905, with the proviso that it retain the name Bancroft Library in perpetuity. ...
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hearst, Millicent 1882 births 1974 deaths Millicent American vaudeville performers American women in World War I California Democrats New York (state) Democrats