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Patricia Ziegfeld Stephenson

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Patricia Ziegfeld Stephenson
Patricia Ziegfeld (center) with her parents
in 1930
Born
Patricia Burke Ziegfeld

(1916-10-23)October 23, 1916
DiedApril 11, 2008(2008-04-11) (aged 91)
OccupationAuthor
Spouse
William Robert Stephenson
(m. 1939; died 2007)
Children4
Parent(s)Florenz Ziegfeld
Billie Burke

Patricia Burke Ziegfeld Stephenson (October 23, 1916 – April 11, 2008) was an American author.[1][2] She was known for her 1963 autobiography The Ziegfelds' Girl: Confessions of an Abnormally Happy Childhood. Born in New York City, she spent her early years in Hastings-on-Hudson, New York, later moving to California where she lived until her death at age 91.

Early life and education

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Portrait photograph of Patricia Ziegfeld, 1919

Patricia Ziegfeld was born in New York City in 1916 to Florenz Ziegfeld, a Broadway impresario, and Billie Burke, an actress best known for playing Glinda the Good Witch in The Wizard of Oz.[2] She grew up in Hastings-on-Hudson in Westchester County, New York. She also lived at the family's home in Palm Beach, Florida.[1]

Her father died in 1932 and she moved to California with her mother. She attended UCLA then did some acting and writing for newspapers.[1][2]

Adulthood

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She married William Robert Stephenson, Sr. (1912–2007) on June 11, 1939.[3][4][5] She met Stephenson while he was working as a dance instructor at the Beverly Hills Hotel.[1] He designed homes including the General Electric show home for Ronald Reagan and Nancy Reagan.[1] They had four children: Cecilia Duncan Stephenson (born 1942), Florenz Crossley Stephenson, Susan Plemons Stephenson (1950–2021), and William Robert Stephenson, Jr (born 1947).[1][2]

In 1963, she published an autobiography, The Ziegfelds' Girl: Confessions of an Abnormally Happy Childhood. She also wrote the introduction for a biography of her father, The Ziegfeld Touch: The Life and Times of Florenz Ziegfeld, Jr., which was written by her cousins, Richard and Paulette Ziegfeld.[1]

She died of congestive heart failure at her home in Los Angeles at the age of 91. She had nine grandchildren and three great-grandchildren, at the time of her death.[2]

References

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  1. ^ a b c d e f g "Patricia Ziegfeld Stephenson, Daughter of Legendary Broadway Impresario". Jazz News. April 25, 2008. Archived from the original on April 29, 2008. Retrieved 2008-05-11.
  2. ^ a b c d e Robert Simonson (April 27, 2008). "Patricia Ziegfeld Stephenson, Daughter of Famous Broadway Showman, Dies". Playbill. Archived from the original on February 18, 2013. Retrieved 2011-12-24.
  3. ^ "Engaged". Time. April 24, 1939. Archived from the original on December 14, 2008. Retrieved 2008-07-28.
  4. ^ "Patricia Ziegfeld To Wed. Late Producer's Daughter to Be Bride of William Stephenson". Associated Press in New York Times. April 15, 1939. Retrieved 2008-07-28.
  5. ^ "Patricia Ziegfeld Wed". New York Times. April 15, 1939. Retrieved 2008-07-28.
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