Barbara "Bobo" Sears Rockefeller (née Jievutė Paulekiūtė; September 6, 1916 – May 19, 2008), also known professionally as Eva Paul, was an American actress and former member of the Rockefeller family by marriage to Winthrop Rockefeller from 1948 to 1954.[1][2]
Bobo Rockefeller | |
|---|---|
| Born | Jievutė Paulekiūtė September 16, 1916 Noblestown, Pennsylvania, U.S. |
| Died | May 19, 2008 (aged 91) Little Rock, Arkansas, U.S. |
| Alma mater | Northwestern University |
| Spouses | |
| Partner | Charles W. Mapes (1962) |
| Children | Winthrop Paul Rockefeller |
| Family | Rockefeller family (by marriage) |
Early life and career
editBobo 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
editShe 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
edit- 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
edit- ^ a b c d e f g h i j Fox, Margalit (21 May 2008). "Barbara Sears Rockefeller, Actress with a Famous Divorce Settlement, Dies at 91". The New York Times.
- ^ "She went from Winthrop to windfall in divorce settlement". 26 May 2008.
- ^ Miller, Stephen (May 20, 2008). "Bobo Rockefeller, 91, Married Well, Divorced Better". The New York Sun.
- ^ "Bobo's Father Dies". Buffalo Courier Express. December 22, 1955. p. 5 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ a b c "Actress married heir to Standard Oil fortune". Los Angeles Times. 23 May 2008.
- ^ "Daughter of poor immigrants weds Winthrop Rockefeller". The News-Review. February 14, 1948. p. 1.
- ^ "Whipping Cream of Society at Wedding". The Kane Republican. February 14, 1948. p. 1.
- ^ "Barbara 'Bobo' Sears Rockefeller: Former wife of late Arkansas governor". 21 May 2008.
- ^ "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.