Blanche Blackwell (; 9 December 1912 – 8 August 2017) was a Jamaican heiress, mother of

Chris Blackwell Christopher Percy Gordon Blackwell OJ (born 22 June 1937) is a Jamaican-British former record producer and the founder of Island Records, which has been called "one of Britain's great independent labels". According to the Rock and Roll Hall ...

, and an inspirational muse to

Ian Fleming Ian Lancaster Fleming (28 May 1908 – 12 August 1964) was a British writer, best known for his postwar ''James Bond'' series of spy novels. Fleming came from a wealthy family connected to the merchant bank Robert Fleming & Co., and his ...

and

Noël Coward Sir Noël Peirce Coward (16 December 189926 March 1973) was an English playwright, composer, director, actor, and singer, known for his wit, flamboyance, and what ''Time (magazine), Time'' called "a sense of personal style, a combination of c ...

Early life

Blanche Lindo was born on 9 December 1912 in

San José, Costa Rica San José (; meaning "Saint Joseph") is the capital city, capital and largest city of Costa Rica, and the capital of San José Province. It is in the center of the country, in the mid-west of the Costa Rican Central Valley, Central Valley, wi ...

, the second daughter and third child (of four) of

Percy Lindo Percy Lindo was a Jamaican banker, planter, industrialist and Member of the Legislative Council of Jamaica. Early life Percival Henriques Lindo, nicknamed Percy was born on September 30, 1877, in Falmouth, Jamaica, to Frederick Lindo and Grace ...

and Hilda Violet () Lindo. Lindo was a product of

cousin marriage A cousin marriage is a marriage where the spouses are cousins (i.e. people with common grandparents or people who share other fairly recent ancestors). The practice was common in earlier times and continues to be common in some societies today. ...

. Both her mother and father were descendants of

the Lindo family The Lindo family was a Sephardi Jews, Sephardic Jewish merchant and List of banking families, banking family, which rose to prominence in medieval Spain. Portugal Manuel Lindo was a Cosmography, cosmographer and Chair of the Astronomy department ...

, a

Sephardi Jewish Sephardic Jews, also known as Sephardi Jews or Sephardim, and rarely as Iberian Peninsular Jews, are a Jewish diaspora population associated with the historic Jewish communities of the Iberian Peninsula (Spain and Portugal) and their descendant ...

family originally from Spain who suffered persecution for their religion, and so became

New Christian New Christian (; ; ; ; ; ) was a socio-religious designation and legal distinction referring to the population of former Jews, Jewish and Muslims, Muslim Conversion to Christianity, converts to Christianity in the Spanish Empire, Spanish and Po ...

s. Blackwell's ancestor, Alexandre Lindo, would go on to settle in

Kingston, Jamaica Kingston is the Capital (political), capital and largest city of Jamaica, located on the southeastern coast of the island. It faces a natural harbour protected by the Palisadoes, a long spit (landform), sand spit which connects the town of Por ...

in the 18th century and he and his descendants would make their fortune as merchants, financiers, and planters. Blanche Lindo was educated in Kingston by a private tutor until, at sixteen, she was sent to

Garrett Hall Garrett Hall or The Garrett is a former manor house and now a farmhouse in Tyldesley, Greater Manchester, England. The hall was designated a grade II listed building in 1987. History The Garrett was the home and estate of the Lord of the mano ...

to further her studies. She married Middleton Joseph Blackwell, of the

Crosse & Blackwell Crosse & Blackwell is an English food brand. The original company was established in London in 1706, then was acquired by Edmund Crosse and Thomas Blackwell in 1830. It became independent until it was acquired by Swiss Conglomerate (company), con ...

fortune, in 1936 and their only child,

Christopher Christopher is the English language, English version of a Europe-wide name derived from the Greek language, Greek name Χριστόφορος (''Christophoros'' or ''Christoforos''). The constituent parts are Χριστός (''Christós''), "Jesus ...

, was born the following year. The couple divorced in 1949.

Relationship with Ian Fleming

During her life, Blackwell became known for her role as friend, mistress, and

muse In ancient Greek religion and Greek mythology, mythology, the Muses (, ) were the Artistic inspiration, inspirational goddesses of literature, science, and the arts. They were considered the source of the knowledge embodied in the poetry, lyric p ...

to Ian Fleming, who lived nearby in Jamaica. On first meeting Fleming at a dinner party in 1956, the two did not immediately hit it off, but their friendship developed into a deeper and creative one. She was often invited to Fleming's home, where she enjoyed snorkeling on his reef. Fleming's marriage to Ann Charteris had suffered, owing in part to her disapproval of the

James Bond The ''James Bond'' franchise focuses on James Bond (literary character), the titular character, a fictional Secret Intelligence Service, British Secret Service agent created in 1953 by writer Ian Fleming, who featured him in twelve novels ...

novels, and she was often away from the couple's home in Jamaica. Blackwell is believed by some to have been the inspiration for some of Fleming's most memorable female characters, such as

Pussy Galore Pussy Galore is a fictional character in the 1959 Ian Fleming James Bond novel '' Goldfinger'' and the 1964 film of the same name. In the film, she is played by Honor Blackman. The character returns in the 2015 Bond continuation novel '' Tri ...

and Honeychile Ryder. Her brother, Roy Lindo, sold land to Fleming and Coward for their Jamaican houses. Blackwell became friends with prominent figures and celebrities of the time, including

Errol Flynn Errol Leslie Thomson Flynn (20 June 1909 – 14 October 1959) was an Australian and American actor who achieved worldwide fame during the Golden Age of Hollywood. He was known for his romantic swashbuckler roles, frequent partnerships with Oliv ...

, whom she met when he was holidaying in Jamaica. She continued to be involved with her son's life and work, hosting parties and giving advice.

Death

Blanche Blackwell died in London on 8 August 2017 at the age of 104.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Blackwell, Blanche 1912 births 2017 deaths Jamaican women centenarians Jamaican people of Jewish descent Jamaican people of Spanish descent Muses (persons) Costa Rican people of Jewish descent Costa Rican people of Spanish descent Costa Rican emigrants to Jamaica Jamaican emigrants to the United Kingdom 20th-century Jamaican women