Marisa Berenson
Berenson in 2010, photo by Denis Makarenko/www.bigstockphoto.com
Birth Name: Vittoria Marisa Schiaparelli Berenson
Place of Birth: New York City, New York, U.S.
Date of Birth: February 15, 1947
Ethnicity:
*father – Ashkenazi Jewish
*maternal grandfather – Polish, Breton, French
*maternal grandmother – Italian
Marisa Berenson is an American actress and model.
Marisa is the daughter of socialite Gogo Schiaparelli (born Maria-Luisa Yvonne Radha de Wendt de Kerlor) and diplomat Robert Lawrence/Laurence Berenson. Her sister was actress, model, and photographer Berinthia “Berry” Berenson, who died on 9/11, on American Airlines Flight 11. Berry was married to actor Anthony Perkins. Her nephews, sister’s sons, are director, writer, filmmaker, and actor Oz/Osgood Perkins and folk-rock musician Elvis Perkins.
Marisa has a daughter with her former husband, rivet manufacturer James Randall.
Marisa’s father was born in Massachusetts, and was Jewish, from a Jewish family from Lithuania, Russia, France, and Hungary. His family’s surname was originally spelt Valvrojenski. Marisa’s mother was born in France, and had Polish, Breton, and French-Swiss roots on one side, and Italian ancestry on the other.
Marisa’s paternal grandfather was Bernard Berenson (the son of Leyb/Louis/Lewis Berenson and Sarah Bernstein). Bernard was born in Massachusetts, to Russian Jewish parents. Leyb was the son of Wolf Berenson and Baylee. Sarah was the daughter of Isaac Bernstein and Slova. Through this side, Marisa is a second cousin, once removed, of siblings, art historian Bernard Berenson and athlete and educator Senda Berenson Abbott, who was one of the first two women elected to the Basketball Hall of Fame.
Marisa’s paternal grandmother was Corinne Francesca Levy (the daughter of Anatole/Anatol Levy and Elizabeth/Eliza Nathan). Corinne was born in Massachusetts. Anatole was born in France, the son of Nathan Levy and Rachel/Rachiel Klein. Elizabeth was born in Hungary, the daughter of Emanuel Nathan and Fanny.
Marisa’s maternal grandfather was Wilhelm Frederick Wendt, who later changed his named to Wendt de Kerlor (the son of Frederick Wendt and Sofia W. de Kerlor). Wilhelm was born in Geneva, Switzerland. Frederick was said to be Polish, from Prussia. Sofia was said to be French.
Marisa’s maternal grandmother was Elsa Luisa Maria Schiaparelli (the daughter of Celestino Schiaparelli and Maria-Luisa Domenitis). Elsa was a prominent fashion designer, from Rome, Lazio, Italy. Marisa’s great-grandfather Celestino was a prominent scholar, and was born in Savigliano, Province of Cuneo, Piedmont, to parents having the same surname, Antonino Schiaparelli and Caterina Schiaparelli, who were related. Caterina’s family was from Province of Biella, Piedmont. Marisa’s great-grandmother Maria-Luisa was from a Neapolitan family, of aristocratic background.
Elsa’s uncle, Giovanni Schiaparelli, was a prominent astronomer. She was also related to Egyptologist Ernesto Schiaparelli and historian and palaeographer Luigi Schiaparelli.
Elsa had an interest in Egyptian art. She was said to be of part Egyptian descent; it is not clear if that is accurate.
Sources: Frocking Life: Searching For Elsa Schiaparelli, 2016, by Jean Druesedow – https://books.google.com.br
Genealogy of Marisa Berenson – http://www.geni.com
Marisa’s father on the 1920 U.S. Census – https://familysearch.org
Marriage record of Marisa’s paternal grandparents, Bernard Berenson and Corinne Francesca Levy – https://familysearch.org
Marriage record of Marisa’s paternal great-grandparents, Leyb/Louis/Lewis Berenson and Sarah Bernstein – https://familysearch.org
Genealogy of Marisa’s paternal grandmother, Corinne Francesca Levy (focusing on her own father’s side) – https://www.geni.com
Marriage record of Marisa’s paternal great-grandparents, Anatole/Anatol Levy and Elizabeth/Eliza Nathan – https://familysearch.org
Information about Marisa’s maternal grandmother, Elsa Luisa Maria Schiaparelli – http://www.theguardian.com
https://modopia.com
Obituary of Marisa’s maternal grandmother, Elsa Luisa Maria Schiaparelli – https://www.nytimes.com
Information about Marisa’s Schiaparelli relatives – http://www.treccani.it
http://notes9.senato.it
1. She is also said to have Egyptian ancestry. It could be mentioned.
2. From where comes the ethnicity of her maternal grandfather?
3. Her grandfather was not born with the name Radha, but rather gave it to his daughter. It come from a godess in Buddhism.
4. “I have Italian, Polish, Scottish, and French blood.”
http://purple.fr/magazine/fw-2016-issue-26/marisa-berenson/
this may explain the point n.1: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ernesto_Schiaparelli
N.2 : Marisa’s maternal grandfather was Wilhelm Frederick de Wendt (later Wilhelm Frederick Radha de Wendt de Kerlor). Wilhelm was born in Geneve, Switzerland, to Frederick Wendt, a native of Prussian Poland, and a French mother.
Palmer White, Elsa Schiaparelli’s biographer, claimed that Wilhelm Frederick de Wendt was Breton French on his father’s side and French-Swiss on his mother’s, and had inherited his Slavic good looks from his maternal grandparents, Poles from Cracow.
He was actually born in Geneva on August 30, 1883, as Wilhelm Frederick Wendt. In 1906 William Wendt legally changed his name in Britain to Wendt de Kerlor. He said Kerlor was his mother’s maiden name
https://modopia.com/wp-content/uploads/edd/2018/02/Meryle_Secrest_Elsa_Schiaparelli_Modopia.pdf
Celestino Schiaparelli (who specifically was an Arabist) was born in Savigliano, Province of Cuneo, Piedmont, to parents having the same surname, Antonino Schiaparelli and Caterina Schiaparelli, whose own family was from Province of Biella, Piedmont. Source: http://www.treccani.it/enciclopedia/celestino-schiaparelli_%28Dizionario-Biografico%29/
http://notes9.senato.it/web/senregno.nsf/3b06b7313c966b4dc125711400599aa3/14af289cc2d13feb4125646f00606fab?OpenDocument
An uncle of Caterina Schiaparelli, Luigi Schiaparelli, was a notable historian and palaeographer
https://it.wikipedia.org/wiki/Luigi_Schiaparelli
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Veronese_Riddle
Antonino Schiaparelli and Caterina Schiaparelli were from branches of the same family
This essay says Ernesto Schiaparelli, the Egyptologist, and Giovanni Schiaparelli, the Astronomer, were cousins.
https://www.biellaclub.it/persone/fotografie/ErnestoSchiaparelli/Schiaparelli-Enrica_Parlamento.pdf
These are the exact quotes about his ancestry in the book:
“White [Elsa Schiaparelli’s biographer] claimed that De Kerlor was Breton French on his father’s side and French-Swiss on his mother’s. He was tall, slim, and elegant, with “magnetic” eyes, and had inherited his Slavic good looks from his maternal grandparents, Poles from Cracow.”
Although that one doesn’t add up. How could he be French-Swiss on his mother’s side and have Polish maternal grandparents? I would believe this one, I think (from the same book):
“He was actually born in Geneva on August 30, 1883, as Wilhelm Frederick Wendt, the son of Frederick Wendt, a native of Prussian Poland. In 1906 William Wendt legally changed his name in Britain to Wendt de Kerlor, or so he stated when he was twenty-three. He said Kerlor was his mother’s maiden name.”
The biography already linked says her grandfather was “part-Breton, part-Swiss, and part-Polish”.
Marisa’s maternal grandfather was Wilhelm Frederick Wendt (the son of Frederick Wendt and Sofia W. de Kerlor). Wilhelm was born in Geneva, Switzerland. Frederick was said to be Polish, from Prussia. Sofia was said to be French.
*Polish, Breton, French (maternal grandfather)
There’s also a lackness of infos about her maternal great-grandmother. “Domenitis” is a family name which does not exist but it’s likely the latinization of “Domenici” or something. Some sources claim she was related to the House of Medici.
Otherwise, NYT wrote that “on her mother’s side, she (Elsa Schiaparelli) was part Egyptian, and she retained a life‐long interest in Egyptian art and history”
https://www.nytimes.com/1973/11/15/archives/schiaparelli-dies-in-paris-brought-color-to-fashion-schiaparelli.html
She is a second cousin, once removed, of art historian Bernard Berenson and athlete and educator Senda Berenson, one of the first two women elected to the Basketball Hall of Fame.
Elsa Schiaparelli’s father was from Piedmont, while her mother hailed from a Neapolitan family of aristocratic background. Elsa’s uncle, Giovanni Schiaparelli, was a prominent astronomer.