Berry Berenson
Berry Berenson | |
|---|---|
 Berenson's name is located on Panel N-76 of the National September 11 Memorial & Museum's North Pool. | |
| Born | Berinthia Berenson April 14, 1948 |
| Died | September 11, 2001 (aged 53) |
| Cause of death | Airplane hijacking and crash (American Airlines Flight 11) |
| Occupation(s) | Actress, model, photographer |
| Years active | 1960s–2001 (her death) |
| Spouse(s) | Anthony Perkins (1973–1992; his death) |
| Children | 2 |
Berinthia "Berry" Berenson-Perkins (April 14, 1948 – September 11, 2001) was an American photographer, actress, and model. Perkins, who was the widow of actor Anthony Perkins, died in the September 11 attacks as a passenger on American Airlines Flight 11.
Early life
Berenson was born in Murray Hill, Manhattan. Her father, Robert Lawrence Berenson, was an American career diplomat turned shipping executive; he was of Lithuanian Jewish descent, and his family's original surname was Valvrojenski.[1][2][3] Her mother was born Maria-Luisa Yvonne Radha de Wendt de Kerlor, better known as Gogo Schiaparelli, a socialite of Italian, Swiss, French, and Egyptian ancestry.[4]
Her maternal grandmother was the Italian-born fashion designer Elsa Schiaparelli,[5] and her maternal grandfather was Wilhelm de Wendt de Kerlor, a Theosophist and psychic medium.[4][6][7] Her elder sister, Marisa Berenson, became a well-known model and actress. She also was a great-grandniece of Giovanni Schiaparelli, an Italian astronomer who believed he had discovered the supposed canals of Mars, and a second cousin, once removed, of art expert Bernard Berenson (1865–1959) and his sister Senda Berenson (1868–1954), an athlete and educator who was one of the first two women elected to the Basketball Hall of Fame.[8]
Career
Following a brief modeling career in the late 1960s, Berenson became a freelance photographer. By 1973, her photographs had been published in Life, Glamour, Vogue and Newsweek.[9]
She studied acting at New York's The American Place Theatre with Wynn Handman along with Richard Gere, Philip Anglim, Penelope Milford, Robert Ozn.Ingrid Bolting and her sister Marisa.
She also appeared in several motion pictures, including Cat People with Malcolm McDowell. She starred opposite Anthony Perkins in the 1978 Alan Rudolph film Remember My Name and opposite Jeff Bridges in the 1979 film Winter Kills.
Personal life and death
On August 9, 1973, in Cape Cod, Massachusetts, Berenson married her future Remember My Name costar Anthony Perkins. The couple had two sons: actor-musician Oz Perkins (born February 2, 1974) and folk/rock recording artist Elvis Perkins (born February 9, 1976).[10] They remained married until Perkins' death from AIDS-related complications on September 12, 1992.[11][12][13]
Berenson died at age 53 in the September 11 attacks aboard American Airlines Flight 11, one day before the ninth anniversary of Perkins' death. She was returning to her California home following a holiday on Cape Cod.[14]
At the National September 11 Memorial & Museum, Berenson is memorialized at the North Pool, on Panel N-76.[15]
Berenson is survived by her two sons and two grandchildren, a grandson born in 2004 and a granddaughter born in 2008.
References
- ^ Bernard Berenson. Sketch for a Self-Portrait. New York. Pantheon. 1949
- ^ "Robert L. Berenson, Ex-Envoy and Head of Shipping Line, Dies". The New York Times. February 3, 1965, page 35
- ^ "Marisa $chiaparelli Is Married in Gown Designed. by Her Mother, the Cougurlere". The New York Times.
- ^ a b Elsa Schiaparelli. Shocking Life. New York. Dutton, 1954
- ^ Linda Greenhouse, "Schiaparelli Dies in Paris; Brought Color to Fashion", The New York Times, 15 November 1973
- ^ Thurman, Judith (October 27, 2003). "Mother of Invention". The New Yorker.
- ^ "Bibliotheca Philosophica Hermetica entry". Ritmanlibrary.nl. 2006-02-27. Retrieved 2010-11-12.
- ^ "Encyclopædia Britannica Online entry". Britannica.com. 1954-02-16. Retrieved 2010-11-12.
- ^ Judy Klemesrud, "And Now, Make Room for the Berenson Sisters", The New York Times, 19 April 1973, page 54
- ^ Maynard, Joyce (January 12, 1977). "Tony Perkins and Family: A Study in Informal Togetherness". The New York Times. Westchester Weekly Section. p. 58
- ^ Goodman, Mark (September 28, 1992). "One Final Mystery: Surrounded by Family, Friends and a Wall of Silence, Tony Perkins Succumbs to AIDS". People. Vol. 38 No. 13.
- ^ Weinraub, Bernard (September 16, 1992). "Anthony Perkins's Wife Tells of 2 Years of Secrecy". The New York Times.
- ^ Ferrell, David (September 13, 1992). "Anthony Perkins, 60, Dies; Star of 'Psycho' Had AIDS". Los Angeles Times.
- ^ Hopkinson, Amanda (September 14, 2001). "Berry Berenson". The Guardian.
- ^ "Berry Berenson Perkins". Memorial Guide: National 9/11 Memorial. Retrieved October 28, 2011.
External links
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
| Artists | |
- 1948 births
- 2001 deaths
- 2001 murders in the United States
- 20th-century American actresses
- Actresses from New York City
- Female models from New York
- American film actresses
- American people of Egyptian descent
- American people of French descent
- American people of Italian descent
- American people of Lithuanian-Jewish descent
- American people of Swiss descent
- American terrorism victims
- Filmed deaths of entertainers
- Models from New York City
- Murdered American actors
- Murdered actresses
- Murdered entertainers
- Murdered models
- Terrorism deaths in New York
- Victims of aviation accidents or incidents in the United States
- Victims of the September 11 attacks
- Women photographers
- People from Wellfleet, Massachusetts
- People murdered in New York
- Actresses of Italian descent