Mercedes Bass
| Mercedes Bass | |
|---|---|
| Born | Mercedes Tavacoli 1944 Tehran, Iran |
| Residence | Fort Worth, Texas Manhattan, New York Aspen, Colorado |
| Nationality | American |
| Occupation | Philanthropist, Socialite |
| Political party | Republican |
| Board member of | Carnegie Hall Corporation, Aspen Institute, Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra, Metropolitan Opera, American Academy in Rome |
| Spouse(s) | Francis L. Kellogg (divorced) Sid Bass (divorced) |
| Parent(s) | Abolhassan Diba (step-father) Sorure Tavacoli-Diba (mother) |
| Relatives | Farah Pahlavi (step-cousin) |
Mercedes Bass (born Mercedes Tavacoli) is an Iranian-American philanthropist active in New York City, Aspen, Colorado and Fort Worth, Texas. She has supported the Metropolitan Opera and she is a trustee of the Aspen Institute and the American Academy in Rome.
Early life
Mercedes Tavacoli Diba was born in Iran in 1944 to an upper-class family.[1][2] She was educated in England.[3] She received a bachelor's degree in Business from a Swiss university.[3] Her father died when she was young. Her mother Sorure Tavacoli subsequently married Abolhassan Diba. He was the son of Fazlollah Diba, an aide to Crown Prince Mozaffar ad-Din Shah Qajar, and Princess Malektadj Firuz, great-granddaughter of Fath-Ali Shah Qajar, second Qajar King (Shah) of Persia. She is a step-cousin of Farah Pahlavi, former Empress of Iran. Her step-father was also the half-brother of former Iranian prime minister Mohammad Mosaddegh. [4]
Philanthropy
She serves as Vice Chairman of the Board of Trustees and the Executive Committee of the Carnegie Hall Corporation as well as Managing Director of the Board of Trustees and Executive Board of the Metropolitan Opera, both of which are based in New York City.[3][5] In 2008, she appeared as an extra at the Met.[6] In 2006 she donated $25 million to the Metropolitan Opera. The Mercedes T Bass Grand Tier was subsequently named in her honour.[7]
Additionally, she serves on the Advisory Board of the Aspen Music School and on the Board of Trustees of the Aspen Institute, both of which are based in Aspen, Colorado.[3][8] She has also served as Vice Chairman of the Executive Committee and member of the Board of Directors of the Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra Association in Fort Worth, Texas, where she has been a donor.[3][9] Currently, she serves as this orchestra's Chairman of the Board.[10]
She serves as Vice Chairman of the Executive Committee and member of the Board of Trustees of the American Academy in Rome in Rome, Italy.[3] In 2013, she chaired the gala of the Rome Prize.[11]
In 2012, she was a donor to Rick Perry's presidential campaign.[12] In 2014, she was the underwriter of the Oscar de la Renta exhibition at the George W. Bush Presidential Center in Dallas, Texas.[13]
Personal life
Her first husband, Ambassador Francis L. Kellogg, served as a Special Assistant to Secretaries of State William P. Rogers and Henry Kissinger.[1] They met while she was working as an executive assistant to a UN official. They married in Geneva, Switzerland, on October 12, 1972. The Mayor of Geneva performed the ceremony. Ardeshir Zahedi was Kellogg's best man and the Shah's personal emissary at the ceremony.[14]
In 1986, she married Sid Bass, an heir and investor.[1] They divorced in 2011.[1][15] Following the divorce, their 26-acre estate 'Oak Hill' on Crestline Road Fort Worth, their Aspen home and apartment at 845 Fifth Avenue in New York were all transferred to her.[16][17][18][19][20][21]
Gallery
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References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 Eric Wilson, An ’80s Scandal Comes to a Quiet End, The New York Times, October 14, 2011
- ↑ Maureen Callahan, The story behind Sid & Mercedes Bass' affair, marriage and surprising split, The New York Post, October 16, 2011
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 3.5 Aspen Institute
- ↑ [1]
- ↑ Bloomberg BusinessWeek: Mercedes T. Bass
- ↑ Haven Thompson, Mercedes at the Met, W, April 2008
- ↑ [2]
- ↑ Brent Gardner-Smith, Aspen and the Forbes 400 list, Aspen Daily News, September 28, 2007
- ↑ Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra forms ‘artistic partnership’ with Cliburn winner Kholodenko, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, February 20, 2014
- ↑ http://www.fwsymphony.org/about/board.asp
- ↑ Amanda Gordon, Scene Last Night: Bass Fetes Rome Muse; Tory Burch, Bloomberg BusinessWeek, April 19, 2013
- ↑ Anna M.Tinsley, Texas donors pour $61 million into election, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, November 4, 2012
- ↑ Christina Geyer, Bush Presidential Center displays Oscar de la Renta originals, The Dallas Morning News, July 18, 2014
- ↑ [3]
- ↑ Love, etc.: Sid and Mercedes Bass divorce, The Washington Post, 10/10/2011
- ↑ [4]
- ↑ [5]
- ↑ [6]
- ↑ [7]
- ↑ [8]
- ↑ [9]
- Articles with hCards
- No local image but image on Wikidata
- Articles using small message boxes
- Living people
- Iranian emigrants to the United States
- People from New York City
- People from Fort Worth, Texas
- People from Aspen, Colorado
- American philanthropists
- People associated with the Metropolitan Opera
- Bass family
- 1944 births
