Betsy von Furstenberg

This elegant, ladylike baroness and 50s Broadway star was born with the lengthy name Elizabeth Caroline Maria Agatha Felicitas Therese Freiin von Furstenberg-Hedringen in Arnsberg, Germany on August 16, 1931, the daughter of Count Franz-Egon von Fürstenberg and his wife Elizabeth (Johnson). A lady of privilege, Betsy moved to America growing up and attended Miss Hewitt's Classes and New York Tutoring School. She performed with the American Ballet Theater at age 7. A teenage model with strong designs on acting, she prepared for the theater at the Neighborhood Playhouse with Sanford Meisner and made her stage debut in New York at the Morosco Theatre in 1951 with "Second Threshold." She went on to create a gallery of breezy and stylish debutantes and society girls and enjoyed her first major hit playing Myra Hagerman in "Oh, Men! Oh, Women!" in 1953. Her role would be played by Barbara Rush in the 1957 movie version. Betsy continued with prime roles throughout the 1950s in such plays as