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Margaux Hemingway

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Margaux Hemingway
Hemingway in 1976
Born
Margot Louise Hemingway

(1954-02-16)February 16, 1954
Portland, Oregon, U.S.
DiedJuly 1, 1996(1996-07-01) (aged 42)
Santa Monica, California, U.S.
Resting placeKetchum Cemetery, Ketchum, Idaho, U.S.
43°41′13″N 114°22′00″W / 43.686806°N 114.366668°W / 43.686806; -114.366668
Occupations
  • Model
  • actress
Years active1972–1996
Height6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)[1]
Spouses
Erroll Wetanson
​
​
(m. 1975; div. 1978)​
Bernard Faucher
​
​
(m. 1979; div. 1985)​
FatherJack Hemingway
RelativesMariel Hemingway (sister)
Ernest Hemingway
(paternal grandfather)
Hadley Richardson
(paternal grandmother)

Margaux Louise Hemingway (born Margot Louise Hemingway; February 16, 1954 – July 1, 1996)[a] was an American fashion model and actress. The granddaughter of writer Ernest Hemingway, she gained independent fame as a supermodel in the 1970s, appearing on the covers of magazines including Cosmopolitan, Elle, Harper's Bazaar, Vogue, and Time.

She signed a million-dollar contract with Fabergé Inc. as the spokesmodel for Babe perfume. Her later years were marred by highly publicized episodes of addiction and depression, before her suicide from a drug overdose around July 1, 1996, at the age of 42.

Early life

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Margot Louise Hemingway was born February 16, 1954, in Portland, Oregon, the second of three daughters born to Byra Louise (née Whittlesey) and Jack Hemingway (eldest child of writer Ernest Hemingway). When she learned that she was named after the wine Château Margaux, which her parents drank on the night she was conceived, she changed the spelling from "Margot" to "Margaux" to match.[5] She had two sisters, actress Mariel Hemingway and Joan (nicknamed Muffet).

During her childhood, the family moved from Oregon to Cuba, where her grandfather had lived,[5] then to San Francisco, and later to Idaho, where they lived on her grandfather's farm in Ketchum, adjacent to Sun Valley. The family took trips each summer back to Oregon with the daughters' godmother, who owned a farm in Salem.[10] She attended the Catlin Gabel School in Portland for her junior year.[11]

Margaux struggled with several disorders beginning in her teenage years, including alcoholism, depression, bulimia, and epilepsy. With her permission, a video recording was made of her therapy session related to her bulimia, and it was broadcast on television. She also had dyslexia. In the 1990s, Margaux reported that she had been sexually abused by her father as a child.[12][13] In 2013, her younger sister Mariel said in the documentary Running from Crazy that both Margaux and their older sister Muffet had been sexually abused by their father.[14]

Career

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1972–1975: Modeling

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Hemingway was 6 feet (1.8 m) tall and had success as a model, including her million-dollar contract with Fabergé as the spokesmodel for Babe perfume in the 1970s.[15] This was the first million-dollar contract ever awarded to a fashion model.[1] She also appeared on the covers of Cosmopolitan, Elle, Harper's Bazaar, and Vogue, as well as on the June 16, 1975, cover of TIME, which dubbed her one of the "new beauties".[16] The September 1, 1975, cover issue of Vogue called Hemingway "New York's New Supermodel".[17]

During the height of her modeling career in the mid- to late 1970s, Hemingway was a regular attendee of New York City's exclusive discothèque Studio 54, often in the company of such celebrities as Halston, Bianca Jagger, Liza Minnelli, Grace Jones, and Andy Warhol. At such social mixers, she began to use alcohol and drugs.[1]

1976–1998: Film & TV career

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Cary Grant and Margaux Hemingway, 1976

Over the course of her career, Hemingway appeared on dozens of talk and game shows and, in 1976, was a presenter at the 48th Academy Awards. With her father, she also starred in two fishing episodes (1979 and 1981) of The American Sportsman.

She made her film debut in the Lamont Johnson-directed rape and revenge film Lipstick (1976), alongside her 14-year-old sister Mariel, and Anne Bancroft. In it, she plays a fashion model who is terrorized by a rapist. The film's violent depiction of rape led it to be labeled an exploitation film, though in later years it had success as a cult film.[18]

She followed this with a supporting role in the Italian horror film Killer Fish (1979), opposite Lee Majors and Karen Black. Her following project was the comedy They Call Me Bruce? in 1982. In 1984, Hemingway had a supporting part in Over the Brooklyn Bridge, opposite Elliott Gould and Shelley Winters. After a skiing accident in 1984, Hemingway gained 75 pounds (34 kg), ending up at nearly 200 lb (91 kg), and became increasingly depressed. In 1987, she checked into the Betty Ford Center.[19]

Attempting to make a comeback, she appeared on the cover of Playboy in May 1990, asking the magazine to hire spiritist Zachary Selig as the creative director for her story. It was shot in Belize, by photographer Arny Freytag.[20] That was followed by several B-movies, including Killing Machine (1984) and Inner Sanctum (1991).[21]

Hemingway continued to act in a string of direct-to-video films and, in 1998, was the subject of the documentary Hemingway: Winner Take Nothing, in which she explored the life of her grandfather to identify parallels between his self-destructive tendencies and her own struggles.[22] Shortly before her death, she was set to host the outdoor adventure series Wild Guide on the Discovery Channel.[13]

Personal life and death

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Hemingway with Eduardo Montes-Bradley in 1991

In June 1975, Hemingway married entrepreneur Errol Wetson (Wetanson); they divorced in 1978.[23]

On New Year's Eve 1979, Hemingway married French filmmaker Bernard Faucher. They divorced in 1985.[24][20]

Hemingway had strained relationships with members of her family. She had a tense relationship with her mother, though they reconciled prior to Byra's death from cancer in 1988. She also competed with her younger sister Mariel, who received greater accolades for her acting. In the 1990s, Hemingway alleged that her father, Jack, had molested her as a child. Her father and stepmother, Angela, resented the allegations and stopped speaking to her. Angela told People magazine, "Jack and I did not talk to her for two years. She constantly lies. The whole family won't have anything to do with her. She's nothing but an angry woman."[13]

A 2013 television documentary film Running from Crazy, in which Margaux's sister Mariel speaks of the Hemingway family history of alcoholism, drug addiction, molestation, and suicide, contains clips filmed by Margaux.[25]

Margaux Hemingway in 1991

On July 1, 1996, Hemingway was found dead in her studio apartment in Santa Monica. Her body was badly decomposed,[26] and the precise date of death could not be determined. The autopsy report and California death records therefore list July 1 as her date of death.[a] According to the Los Angeles County coroner's toxicology report, she had taken an overdose of phenobarbital.[27]

Hemingway was interred at the Hemingway family plot at Ketchum Cemetery in Ketchum, Idaho.[28]

Mariel Hemingway's husband told People in 1996 that, "This [year] was the best I'd seen [Margaux] in years. She had gotten herself back together",[29] Her family had difficulty accepting the fact of her suicide,[1] but on a December 2005 episode of Larry King Live, Mariel said she accepted it.[30]

Filmography

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Year Title
1976 Lipstick
1979 Killer Fish Alternative title: Naked Sun
1982 They Call Me Bruce?
1984 Over the Brooklyn Bridge
1984 Killing Machine Alternative title: Goma-2
1987 Gila and Rik
1987 Portami la luna Television movie
1990 La messe en si mineur
1991 Inner Sanctum
1992 La donna di una sera US title: A Woman's Secret
1992 Bad Love
1993 Deadly Rivals Credited as Margot Hemingway
1992 Double Obsession
1994 Inner Sanctum II
1994 Frame-Up II: The Cover-Up Alternative title: Deadly Conspiracy
1995 Vicious Kiss
1995 A comme acteur
1996 Dangerous Cargo
1996 Backroads to Vegas Television movie
1998 Hemingway: Winner Take Nothing Documentary

Notes

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  1. ^ a b Hemingway's date of birth appears in her California death record, where she is named as Margot Louise Hemingway, born in the state of Oregon.[2] The date also appears on her headstone.[3][4] The birthdate given by The New York Times — February 19, 1955 — is incorrect.[5] Hemingway's body was badly decomposed[6][7] and her precise date of death is not known. Some sources suggest June 28[8] or June 29, 1996.[9] For official purposes, however, California records her date of death as July 1, 1996, the date on which her body was discovered.

References

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  1. ^ a b c d Estroff Marano, Hara (December 1, 1996). "What Killed Margaux Hemingway?". Psychology Today. Retrieved August 27, 2022.
  2. ^ California, Death Index, 1940-1997, FamilySearch. Accessed December 9, 2024.
  3. ^ "Margaux Louise Hemingway", Find a Grave. Accessed December 9, 2024.
  4. ^ Deborah Kade, "It's another sunny day in Sun Valley" Beyond Arizona, January 10, 2021. Accessed December 9, 2024.
  5. ^ a b c Holloway, Lynette (July 3, 1996). "Margaux Hemingway Is Dead; Model and Actress Was 41". The New York Times.
  6. ^ James Rainey, "Margaux Hemingway’s Death Ruled a Suicide" Los Angeles Times, August 21, 1996. Accessed December 9, 2024.
  7. ^ Lynette Holloway, "Margaux Hemingway Is Dead; Model and Actress Was 41" New York Times, July 3, 1996. Accessed December 9, 2024.
  8. ^ "Hemingway, Margaux". Encyclopedia.com.{{cite encyclopedia}}: CS1 maint: deprecated archival service (link)
  9. ^ "Margaux Hemingway Biography". TV Guide.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: deprecated archival service (link)
  10. ^ McInerny, Vivian (September 10, 2012). "Mariel Hemingway in Portland". Oregon Home Magazine. Archived from the original on August 5, 2018. Retrieved April 2, 2016.
  11. ^ Wohlfert, Lee (December 23, 1974). "Papa Hemingway's Granddaughter, Margaux, Is Fashion's Golden Girl". People. 2 (26). Retrieved April 4, 2018.
  12. ^ Irlen, Helen (1991). Reading by the Colors. Penguin. p. 95. ISBN 978-0-3995-3156-9. Retrieved February 3, 2021.
  13. ^ a b c Schneider, Karen S. (July 15, 1996). "A Life Eclipsed". People. Retrieved October 25, 2014.
  14. ^ Tapley, Kristophe. "Mariel Hemingway opens up about suicide, molestation and her family's curse in 'Running from Crazy'". HitFix. Archived from the original on February 16, 2015. Retrieved February 16, 2015.
  15. ^ Fonseca, Nicholas (June 29, 2001). "Papa's Little Girl". Entertainment Weekly. Archived from the original on October 25, 2014. Retrieved February 3, 2021.
  16. ^ "Margaux Hemingway (cover)". TIME. June 16, 1975. Archived from the original on March 14, 2008.
  17. ^ "Margaux Hemingway (cover)". Vogue Timeline. No. September 1975. Archived from the original on September 6, 2015.
  18. ^ Henderson, Eric (October 12, 2003). "Lipstick: Film Review". Slant Magazine. Retrieved April 15, 2016.
  19. ^ Sloman, Tony (September 18, 2011). "Obituary: Margot Hemingway". The Independent. London.
  20. ^ a b Freytag, Arny (May 1990). "Margaux Hemingway: 'Papa's Girl' (Pictorial)". Playboy. Vol. 37, no. 5. pp. 126–35.
  21. ^ Liebenson, Donald (December 1, 1994). "Video as Drive-in". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved February 3, 2021.
  22. ^ "Hemingway: Winner Take Nothing". screenrant.com. ScreenRant. Retrieved February 19, 2026.
  23. ^ "People, Jun. 16, 1975". content.time.com. Time Magazine. Retrieved February 19, 2026.
  24. ^ "Once more, Margaux". Lewiston Morning Tribune. Associated Press. January 2, 1980. p. 2B.
  25. ^ Germain, David (January 22, 2013). "Mariel Hemingway runs from crazy at Sundance". Yahoo! News. Associated Press. Archived from the original on October 29, 2013. Retrieved February 27, 2013.
  26. ^ Rainey (August 21, 1996). "Margaux Hemingway's Death Ruled a Suicide". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on August 5, 2020. Retrieved February 27, 2022.
  27. ^ "Coroner Says Death of Actress Was Suicide". The New York Times. August 21, 1996.
  28. ^ Holmes, Baxter (September 7, 2015). "Visiting Hemingway's Grave". Esquire. Archived from the original on December 30, 2015.
  29. ^ "Last Act". People. Vol. 46, no. 10. September 2, 1996. Retrieved September 24, 2008.
  30. ^ Presenter: Joan Rivers (December 22, 2005). "Surviving Suicide of Loved One". Larry King Live. CNN. Retrieved May 24, 2008.
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