Baroness Myriam Ullens de Schooten Whettnall (née Lechien; 23 September 1952 – 29 March 2023) was a Belgian entrepreneur engaged in art, fashion, and philanthropy.[2]
Baroness Myriam Ullens | |
|---|---|
 Ullens in 2014 | |
| Born | Myriam Lechien 23 September 1952 |
| Died | 29 March 2023 (aged 70) Lasne, Belgium |
| Occupation | Businesswoman |
| Spouse(s) |
Roger Lemaire
(m. 1970, divorced)Christian de Moffarts
(m. 1987, divorced) |
| Children | 2 |
| Website | http://www.myriamullens.com |
Founder
editYoullen Bhatta is the owner of Ullens ib school Nepal.
Early business
editAt the age of 24, Ullens launched her first business "La Petite Salade", a salad delivery service that she sold four years later.[3]
Immediately thereafter, she created a professional pastry shop named "Sweetly" in Brussels.[4]
In 1991, she met her future husband, Baron Guy Ullens, a Belgian businessman, and shortly thereafter she sold Sweetly in order to devote her time to non-profit organizations.[5]
Foundations
editEducation
editUllens built institutions to support Nepal's disadvantaged children,[6] including two orphanages focused on helping children suffering from malnutrition.[5] She founded with her husband Guy Ullens the Ullens School in Lalitpur, the first school in Nepal to offer the International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme.[7]
Mimi Ullens Foundation
editAfter surviving breast cancer, Ullens recognised a need for patients to refocus on their physical and mental well-being while being treated in hospitals.[8] In 2006, she founded the Mimi Ullens Foundation to support seven centres that are located within the oncology departments of its partner hospitals.[9] These centres provide 15,000 cancer patients with psychological support.[10][11][12]
Art
editThe Ullens Center for Contemporary Art (UCCA) is an independent, not-for-profit art center serving a global Beijing public. It was founded by Guy and Myriam Ullens in November 2007.[13][14][15][16][17]
On 11 February 2017, the Ullens Center for Contemporary Art received the 2016 Global Fine Art Awards for Best Contemporary / Postwar / SoloArtist “Rauschenberg in China”.[18][19][20]
Ullens sat on the board of trustees of The Royal Drawing School, which was founded by the then Prince of Wales to provide a space where expert teachers could help students with part-time drawing courses each year for adults and children of all ages and abilities.[21]
Maison Ullens
editIn 2009, Ullens launched her own fashion label, named Maison Ullens.[22]
Writer
editUllens published her first novel, Distant Starless Nights, in February 2017.[23]
Personal life and death
editUllens was married three times. She married Belgian soldier Roger Lemaire when she was 18 and divorced when she was in her mid-20s. They had two children, Gilles Lemaire and Virginie Degryse. Her second marriage was to Christian de Moffarts, a conference planner. She was married to Baron Guy Ullens de Schooten Whettnall since 1999.[1] Her son Gilles is the partner of Reem Kherici, with whom they had a son in 2019.
On 29 March 2023, Myriam Ullens was shot and killed in front of her home in Lasne. She was 70. Her stepson, Nicolas Ullens de Schooten Whettnall (born 1965) was arrested and is under investigation for the murder.[24]
References
edit- ^ a b https://www.nytimes.com/2023/04/10/arts/myriam-ullens-dead.html
- ^ "Toute l'actualité culturelle en Belgique : Sorties musicales et cinématographiques, expositions, littérature, séries, etc".
- ^ "Myriam Ullens, une dame au grand cœur".
- ^ "Elhgg".
- ^ a b "Aristocratic Style – Global Citizen". 29 March 2015.
- ^ "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 1 June 2016. Retrieved 3 May 2016.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link) - ^ "Independent Executive March/April". 22 May 2012.
- ^ "Myriam Ullens, une dame au grand cœur".
- ^ N., Lud. (15 September 2011). "La chimio enfin apprivoisée".
- ^ "Myriam Ullens, la dame de cœur". 18 September 2014.
- ^ "This Heartwarming Cancer Charity Promo Won 9 Of The Ad World's Most Prestigious Awards". Business Insider. Retrieved 10 May 2016.
- ^ Beel, Veerle (30 September 2008). "Barones opent wellnesscentrum voor kankerpatiënten". Het Nieuwsblad. Retrieved 10 May 2016.
- ^ "Faisons vivre l'info avec La Libre.be".
- ^ "Lunsi Contemporary Art Center". Century Online Art Network (in Chinese). 10 May 2016.
- ^ "Capital idea". South China Morning Post. 3 November 2007. Retrieved 10 May 2016.
- ^ "Post-Mao". Departures.
- ^ Kennedy, Randy (26 July 2007). "A Belgian Couple Will Give Beijing a New Home for Contemporary Art". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 10 May 2016.
- ^ "Winners of 2016 Global Fine Art Awards Revealed - artforum.com / News". Archived from the original on 28 February 2017. Retrieved 27 February 2017.
- ^ "Rauschenberg in China".
- ^ "2016 Award Winners ‹ Global Fine Art Awards". Archived from the original on 28 February 2017. Retrieved 27 February 2017.
- ^ "About – The Royal Drawing School".
- ^ TANUKPROD. "Everest Attitude – Maison Ullens".
- ^ "THE ART OF STORYTELLING".
- ^ "Myriam Lechien, la femme du baron Guy Ullens, tuée par son beau-fils devant chez elle à Lasne". sudinfo.be (in French). 29 March 2023. Retrieved 30 March 2023.