Bobo Rockefeller

Barbara "Bobo" Sears Rockefeller (née Jievutė Paulekiūtė; September 6, 1916 – May 19, 2008), also known professionally as Eva Paul, was an American actress. Through her marriage to Winthrop Rockefeller, she was also a member of the Rockefeller family from 1948 to 1954.^[1][2] They were the parents of Winthrop Paul Rockefeller.

Bobo Rockefeller
Bobo Rockefeller in 1954
Born	Jievutė Paulekiūtė (1916-09-16)September 16, 1916 Noblestown, Pennsylvania, U.S.
Died	May 19, 2008(2008-05-19) (aged 91) Little Rock, Arkansas, U.S.
Alma mater	Northwestern University
Spouses	Richard Sears ​ ​ (m. 1941, divorced)​ Winthrop Rockefeller ​ ​ (m. 1948; div. 1954)​
Partner	Charles W. Mapes (1962)
Children	Winthrop Paul Rockefeller
Family	Rockefeller family (by marriage)

Early life and career

Bobo was born on 6 September 1916 as Jievute Paulekiute (Lithuanian: Jievutė Paulekiūtė) in Noblestown, Pennsylvania to Julius Paulekas, a coal miner, and Jieva (née Ivanavicius), both destitute Lithuanian immigrants.^[1][3] Her parents divorced shortly after her birth.^[4]

She spent her childhood in Chicago.^[1] Later, her family moved to Indiana.^[1] At the age of 17, she became Miss Lithuania.^[1] For her education, she attended Northwestern University.^[1]

She also held the position of third secretary at the U.S. embassy in Paris.^[1] She was also featured on Time's cover.^[5]

Personal

She married Winthrop Rockefeller on February 14, 1948^[6] in a small, private ceremony attended by fewer than 10 people, including best man Laurence Rockefeller and maid of honor Isabel Paul.^[7] She divorced Rockefeller in 1954, reporting they had already been separated for four years and following what newspapers described as a "fierce legal battle", she won custody of her son and a $5.5 million settlement. She later had a brief engagement to hotelier Charles W. Mapes in 1962.^[8] Her son, Winthrop Paul Rockefeller, a former lieutenant governor of Arkansas, died in 2006.^[1]

She died on May 19, 2008, in Little Rock, Arkansas.^[9]

Filmography

• Tobacco Road (1941)^[1]
• That Night with You (1945)^[1]
• Bad Men of the Border (1945)^[5]
• Code of the Lawless (1945)^[5]
• The Road to Total War (1983)
• Goodbye War (1983)
• The Relationship (1988)

References

1. Fox, Margalit (21 May 2008). "Barbara Sears Rockefeller, Actress with a Famous Divorce Settlement, Dies at 91". The New York Times.
2. "She went from Winthrop to windfall in divorce settlement". 26 May 2008.
3. Miller, Stephen (May 20, 2008). "Bobo Rockefeller, 91, Married Well, Divorced Better". The New York Sun.
4. "Bobo's Father Dies". Buffalo Courier Express. December 22, 1955. p. 5 – via Newspapers.com.
5. "Actress married heir to Standard Oil fortune". Los Angeles Times. 23 May 2008.
6. "Daughter of poor immigrants weds Winthrop Rockefeller". The News-Review. February 14, 1948. p. 1.
7. "Whipping Cream of Society at Wedding". The Kane Republican. February 14, 1948. p. 1.
8. "Barbara 'Bobo' Sears Rockefeller: Former wife of late Arkansas governor". 21 May 2008.
9. "Barbara Rockefeller Jr. in the U.S., Obituary Collection, 1930-Current". U.S. Obituary Collection. May 25, 2008. Retrieved January 9, 2023 – via Ancestry.com.