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American businessman (1921–2003) From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Francis Alexander Shields Jr. (May 16, 1941 – April 25, 2003) was an American businessman and an executive at Revlon in New York City.[1][2] He was the father of actress Brooke Shields.[3]
Francis Alexander Shields | |
---|---|
Born | New York City, New York, U.S. | May 16, 1941
Died | April 25, 2003 61) Palm Beach, Florida, U.S. | (aged
Other names | Frank Shields |
Alma mater | University of Pennsylvania |
Spouses | |
Children | 4, including Brooke |
Parents | |
Relatives |
|
Shields was born in New York City.[1] He was the eldest son of Francis Xavier Alexander Sr., a top-ranking American tennis player and Davis Cup winner, and Italian Princess Donna Marina Torlonia di Civitella-Cesi.[2][1] He was of Italian, German, French and English ancestry. After his parents' divorce, his father married Katharine Mortimer in 1949.[4]
He attended the Buckley School in Manhattan and St. Paul's School in Concord, New Hampshire.[1] He attended in the University of Pennsylvania.[1] While at Penn, he captained the crew that rowed in the Henley Royal Regatta in 1962 and was a member of St. Anthony Hall.[5]
Shields started his career with Loeb Rhoades.[1] He then worked in sales and marketing for Revlon and Estee Lauder and was a part time exotic car mechanic.[1] He also worked for Handy Associates, an executive recruiting firm in New York City.[1]
He formed his own real estate firm, Frank Shields Associates, in Palm Beach, Florida in 1989.[1]
In 1964, Shields married Maria Theresia "Teri" Schmon.[3] They had a daughter, Brooke Christa Shields in 1965.[3] They divorced when their daughter was five months old.[6][3]
In 1970, he married Diana "Didi" Lippert, former wife of Thomas Gore Auchincloss[7] (son of Hugh D. Auchincloss). They had three daughters: Marina Torlonia Shields, Olympia Torlonia Shields, and Christina Torlonia Shields.[8]
An avid hunter and fisherman, Shields spent much of his free time at Canoe Creek, at a camp he owned in rural west Florida.[1]
He was a longtime member of The Brook, The Bath and Tennis Club in Palm Beach, Florida, Piping Rock Club, and The Racquet and Tennis Club.[1]
In 1980, Shields founded the Power Ten, a New York nonprofit organization supporting youth rowing and making contributions to the U.S. National rowing team and U.S. Olympic rowing team through the National Rowing Foundation and Row New York.[5][9]
In 2003, Shields died in Palm Beach, of a "protracted illness" at the age of 61.[1] After his death, the National Rowing Foundation offered the Frank Shields Fellowships.[5]
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