Sylvia Lillian, Countess Poulett (born Sylvia Lillian Storey; 4 October 1889 – 20 July 1947) was a British actress and dancer, a Gaiety Girl who married an

Earl Earl () is a rank of the nobility in the United Kingdom. In modern Britain, an earl is a member of the Peerages in the United Kingdom, peerage, ranking below a marquess and above a viscount. A feminine form of ''earl'' never developed; instead, ...

and became known as The Countess Poulett.

Early life

Sylvia Lillian Storey was born in London, the only child of William Frederick Clayton Storey (known as Fred Storey) and Lilian Margaret Thorley Holmes Storey. Her parents were actors, and she joined her father in the cast of ''Rip Van Winkle'' in 1899.

Career

Sylvia Storey acted and danced on the London stage as a Gaiety Girl, and modeled for postcards, cigarette cards, and other publicity. After she married in 1908, she and her husband traveled around the world, appearing in San Francisco in 1910. In widowhood, she became a

socialite A socialite is a person, typically a woman from a wealthy or aristocratic background, who is prominent in high society. A socialite generally spends a significant amount of time attending various fashionable social gatherings, instead of having ...

. In 1925, she was rumoured to be keeping late nights with

Coco Chanel Gabrielle Bonheur "Coco" Chanel ( , ; 19 August 1883 – 10 January 1971) was a French fashion designer and Businessperson, businesswoman. The founder and namesake of the Chanel brand, she was credited in the post-World War I era with populari ...

and the

Duke of Westminster Duke is a male title either of a monarch ruling over a duchy, or of a member of royalty, or nobility. As rulers, dukes are ranked below emperors, kings, grand princes, grand dukes, and above sovereign princes. As royalty or nobility, they ...

on his yacht off

Cannes Cannes (, ; , ; ) is a city located on the French Riviera. It is a communes of France, commune located in the Alpes-Maritimes departments of France, department, and host city of the annual Cannes Film Festival, Midem, and Cannes Lions Internatio ...

. In consequence, the Duke's angry second wife, Violet Cripps, Baroness Parmoor, threw Poulett's belongings overboard, and her relatives asked the court to take her children from her custody. Before and during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, she spent some time in the United States, especially in Florida, New York, and California. She was fined for violating London's blackout orders in 1940, and took a cottage in

Somerset Somerset ( , ), Archaism, archaically Somersetshire ( , , ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South West England. It is bordered by the Bristol Channel, Gloucestershire, and Bristol to the north, Wiltshire to the east ...

Personal life

In 1908, Sylvia Storey married

William Poulett, 7th Earl Poulett William John Lydston Poulett, 7th Earl Poulett (11 September 1883 – 11 July 1918) was an English peer and British Army officer. Biography Educated at Cheltenham College Cheltenham College is a public school ( fee-charging boarding and d ...

. He served in the Royal Horse Artillery during

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

, and died in the

1918 flu pandemic The 1918–1920 flu pandemic, also known as the Great Influenza epidemic or by the common misnomer Spanish flu, was an exceptionally deadly global influenza pandemic caused by the Influenza A virus subtype H1N1, H1N1 subtype of the influenz ...

. She had two children with Poulett, George Amias Fitzwarrine Poulett (1909-1973), and Lady Bridget Elizabeth Felicia Henrietta Augusta Poulett (1912-1975), and in widowhood a third child, Phoebe Amie Sybil Poulett (1922-1948), whose father was Major Percy Howard Hansen. Her son married and divorced an actress,

Oriel Ross Oriel Ross (10 June 190720 October 1994), born Muriel Mary Swinstead was an English actress. In 1933 Cecil Beaton included her in ''The Book of Beauty'' saying that she was Jacob Epstein's favorite model. Biography Muriel Mary Swinstead was bor ...

. Poulett died in 1947, aged 57 years, in London.

References

External links

Six portraits of Sylvia Storey
all made before 1922, in the

National Portrait Gallery National Portrait Gallery may refer to: * National Portrait Gallery (Australia), in Canberra * National Portrait Gallery (Sweden), in Mariefred *National Portrait Gallery (United States), in Washington, D.C. *National Portrait Gallery, London ...

.
A 1908 portrait of Storey
at

Getty Images Getty Images Holdings, Inc. (stylized as gettyimages) is a visual media company and supplier of stock images, editorial photography, video, and music for business and consumers, with a library of over 477 million assets. It targets three mark ...

. * {{DEFAULTSORT:Storey, Sylvia 1889 births 1947 deaths British actresses British women in World War II

Poulett Poulett (pronounced ) is a surname and given name. Notable people with the name include: Surname * Anne Poulett (1711–1785), fourth son of John Poulett, 1st Earl Poulett, was a British Member of Parliament * George Poulett, 8th Earl Poulett (1 ...

Sylvia 20th-century English nobility