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Barbara Sinatra

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Barbara Sinatra
Sinatra in 2000
Born
Barbara Ann Blakeley

(1926-10-16)October 16, 1926
Bosworth, Missouri, U.S.
DiedJuly 25, 2017(2017-07-25) (aged 90)
Rancho Mirage, California, U.S.
Burial placeDesert Memorial Park[1]
Other namesBarbara Oliver
Barbara Marx
Occupations
  • Showgirl
  • model
  • socialite
  • philanthropist
Spouses
Robert Oliver
​
​
(m. 1948; div. 1952)​
​
​
(m. 1959; div. 1973)​
​
​
(m. 1976; died 1998)​
Children1

Barbara Ann Sinatra (formerly Oliver & Marx, née Blakeley; October 16, 1926 – July 25, 2017) was an American model, showgirl, and socialite and the fourth and last wife of Frank Sinatra.

Early life

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Sinatra was born as Barbara Ann Blakeley on October 16, 1926,[2][3][4] in Bosworth, Missouri, to Irene Prunty (née Toppass) and Charles Willis Blakeley. The family moved to Wichita, Kansas when she was 10.[5][6] After graduating from Wichita North High School in 1944, Sinatra moved to Long Beach, California.[6]

Personal life

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She married Robert Oliver in September 1948 and had a son, Robert Blake "Bobby" Oliver on October 10, 1950. She divorced Oliver in 1952.

She married Zeppo Marx on September 18, 1959. They divorced in 1973.[2]

She married Frank Sinatra on July 11, 1976. It was his fourth and final marriage, and her third and final marriage. It was also the longest-lasting marriage for both. She converted to Catholicism. According to her book, Lady Blue Eyes: My Life With Frank, "He [Frank] never asked me to change faith for him, but I could tell he was pleased that I'd consider it."[7]

Upon his death in 1998, Frank Sinatra left her $3.5 million in assets, along with mansions in Beverly Hills, Malibu, and Palm Springs. She also inherited the rights to Sinatra's Trilogy recordings, most of his material possessions and control over his name and likeness.[8]

Death

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Barbara Marx Sinatra died on July 25, 2017, in Rancho Mirage, California, of natural causes at the age of 90.[9] She died a year before Frank's first wife, Nancy Barbato, who died on July 13, 2018, at the age of 101.[10] She is buried at the Desert Memorial Park next to husband Frank.

Legacy

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The Sinatras founded the Barbara Sinatra Children's Center in Rancho Mirage in 1986,[11][12]which is close to the Betty Ford Center on the campus of the Eisenhower Medical Center.[11] The nonprofit facility provides individual and group therapy for young victims of physical, sexual, and emotional abuse.[13] In 1998, a Golden Palm Star on the Palm Springs Walk of Stars was dedicated to her.[14]

References

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  1. ^ "Barbara Sinatra dies in Rancho Mirage at age 90". Dailynews.com. July 25, 2017. Retrieved August 1, 2017.
  2. ^ a b "Barbara Sinatra, widow of singing star Frank Sinatra, dies at 90". The Washington Post. Retrieved August 20, 2017.
  3. ^ Fessier, Bruce; Pena, Xochitl (July 27, 2017). "Barbara before Sinatra: What you don't know about her humble beginnings before becoming 'Lady Blue Eyes'". Palm Springs Desert Sun.
  4. ^ Weber, Peter (July 26, 2017). "Barbara Sinatra, founder of child-abuse center and widow of Frank Sinatra, is dead at 90". The Week.
  5. ^ Source Information: Ancestry.com. 1940 United States Federal Census [database on-line. Provo, UT, US: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2012. Original data: United States of America, Bureau of the Census. Sixteenth Census of the United States, 1940. Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, 1940. T627, 4,643 rolls.]
  6. ^ a b "Barbara Sinatra, Frank's 4th wife and philanthropist, dies". The Wichita Eagle. July 25, 2017. Archived from the original on July 26, 2017. Retrieved July 26, 2017.
  7. ^ Sinatra, Barbara (2011). Lady Blue Eyes: My Life With Frank. New York: Crown Archetype. ISBN 978-0307382337, OCLC 767957964
  8. ^ Marcus Errico (May 22, 1998). "Sinatra's Will Averts Family Feud". Eonline.com.
  9. ^ Lisa Respers France (July 25, 2017). "Barbara Sinatra, widow of Frank Sinatra, dies at 90". CNN. Retrieved August 1, 2017.
  10. ^ Fox, Margalit (July 14, 2018). "Nancy Barbato Sinatra, 101, an Idol's First Wife and Lasting Confidante, Dies". The New York Times.
  11. ^ a b "About Us". Barbarasinatrachildrenscenter.org. Archived from the original on August 1, 2017. Retrieved July 26, 2017.
  12. ^ The Associated Press (July 25, 2017). "Barbara Sinatra, Philanthropist and Singer's Widow, Dies at 90". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved August 1, 2017.
  13. ^ "Barbara Sinatra, founder of child-abuse center and widow of Frank Sinatra, is dead at 90". Theweek.com. January 1, 1970. Retrieved July 26, 2017.
  14. ^ "Palm Springs Walk of Stars by date dedicated" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on October 13, 2012. Retrieved July 26, 2017.
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