Jacqueline Desmarais, OC GOQ (September 20, 1928 – March 3, 2018) was a Canadian billionaire, and long-term supporter of music and opera.
Jacqueline Desmarais | |
|---|---|
| Born | Jacqueline Maranger September 20, 1928 Sudbury, Ontario, Canada |
| Died | March 3, 2018 (aged 89) |
| Known for | Philanthropy |
| Spouse | Paul Desmarais (1953-2013; his death) |
| Children | 4, including Paul Jr. and André |
Early life
editShe was born Jacqueline Maranger in Sudbury, Ontario, to Ernest Marenger and Albertine Thanase, on September 20, 1928.[1][2]
Career
editAccording to Forbes, Desmarais had a net worth of $4.2 billion in January 2015.[3]
She was a long-term supporter of music and opera in Canada, and head of the guild of the Montreal Symphony Orchestra from 1989 to 1999. In 1997, she created a foundation in her name to support young opera singers.[2]
Honours
edit- In 2011, Desmarais was awarded a Knight of the Legion of Honour from the French President Nicolas Sarkozy, who called her "a great friend to France and a great lady of the arts".[2][4]
- In 2011, she received an honorary doctorate from the Université de Montréal's faculty of music.[5]
- In 2012, she was made a Grand Officer of the National Order of Quebec.[6]
- In 2013, Desmarais was named an officer of the Order of Canada.[2] In 2016, she was awarded a Companion of Quebec's Order of Arts and Letters.[5]
- In 2016, Montreal's Sainte-Justine Hospital christened the Jacqueline Desmarais Pavilion.[5]
Personal life
editOn September 8, 1953,[1] at Notre-de-Dame-de-Grâce, Quebec, she wed the financier Paul Desmarais (1927-2013), also a native of Sudbury.
They had two sons: Paul Jr. and André (who is married to Canadian former Prime Minister Jean Chrétien's daughter France) and two daughters, Sophie and Louise.[7]
Jacqueline Desmarais lived on a 75-acre estate at Domaine Laforest à Sagard, Charlevoix, Quebec, until her death in 2018.[3]
Death
editReferences
edit- ^ a b "Birth of Jacqueline Marenger". NosOrigines. Retrieved March 4, 2018.
- ^ a b c d e "Quebec philanthropist Jacqueline Desmarais dead at 89". cbc.ca. Retrieved March 4, 2018.
- ^ a b "Jacqueline Desmarais". Forbes. Retrieved January 17, 2014.
- ^ "Jacqueline Desmarais". 12 May 2017.
- ^ a b c d "Quebec philanthropist Jacqueline Desmarais dies at 89". montrealgazette.com. March 4, 2018.
- ^ "National Order of Quebec citation" (in French).
- ^ André et Paul Jr deviennent Officiers, Québec Métro, June 20, 2009.