Gérard Louis-Dreyfus facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Gérard Louis-Dreyfus
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Gérard Louis-Dreyfus in 2015
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| Born |
Gérard C. Louis-Dreyfus
21 June 1932 |
| Died | 16 September 2016 (aged 84) Mount Kisco, New York, U.S.
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| Nationality | French / American |
| Other names | William Louis-Dreyfus |
| Education | Duke University (BA, LLB) |
| Occupation | Businessman |
| Title | Ex-Chairman of Louis Dreyfus Energy Services |
| Spouse(s) |
Judith LeFever Bowles
(m. 1955; div. 1962)Phyllis Blankenship
(m. 1965) |
| Children | 4, including Julia Louis-Dreyfus |
| Parent(s) | Pierre Louis-Dreyfus Dolores Porges (née Neubauer) |
| Relatives | Léopold Louis-Dreyfus (paternal great-grandfather) Charles Louis-Dreyfus (paternal grandfather) Brad Hall (son-in-law) Charlie Hall (grandson) |
Gérard C. Louis-Dreyfus (born June 21, 1932 – died September 16, 2016) was a very successful French-American businessman. He was also known as William. He was the chairman of Louis Dreyfus Energy Services.
Gérard was the great-grandson of Léopold Louis-Dreyfus. Léopold started the Louis Dreyfus Group, a big company, in 1851. Gérard was also the father of the famous actress Julia Louis-Dreyfus.
Contents
Early Life and Family History
Gérard Louis-Dreyfus was born in Paris, France, in 1932. His family had a long history in business. His great-grandfather, Léopold Louis-Dreyfus, founded the Louis Dreyfus Group in 1851. This company became very large and important.
Gérard's mother, Dolores Porges, was born in America. Her father was from Brazil and was Jewish, and her mother was from Mexico. His father, Pierre Louis-Dreyfus, was French. Pierre led the Louis Dreyfus Group for some time.
Pierre Louis-Dreyfus was Jewish and bravely fought in the French Resistance during World War II. This group worked secretly against the enemies of France. Gérard's mother was Catholic. He had one sister named Dominique Cornwell.
Moving to America and New Name
In 1940, Gérard moved to the United States with his mother. This happened after his parents separated. By 1945, he chose a new name, William. This new name showed that he was becoming a part of American society.
After finishing his studies at Duke University and Duke University School of Law, Gérard worked as a lawyer. He then joined the Louis Dreyfus company in 1965.
Passion for Poetry
Gérard Louis-Dreyfus had a strong interest in poetry. He was the chairman of the Poetry Society of America from 1998 to 2008. He even had his own poems printed in well-known magazines like The Hudson Review.
Gérard Louis-Dreyfus passed away at his home in Mount Kisco, New York, on September 16, 2016. He was 84 years old. His daughter, Julia, honored him when she won an Emmy Award in 2016.
Views on Voting Rights
Gérard Louis-Dreyfus cared about people's right to vote. In October 2012, he placed a large advertisement in The New York Times newspaper. It was called "A Call To Arms To The Wealthy To Protect The Right To Vote."
In this ad, he asked wealthy people in the United States to help protect everyone's right to vote. He believed that voting was very important. He also gave $1 million of his own money to support this cause.
Family Life
Gérard Louis-Dreyfus was married two times. In 1955, he married Judith LeFever. They had one daughter, the actress Julia Louis-Dreyfus, who was born in January 1961. They later separated in 1962.
In 1965, he married Phyllis Blankenship. They had two daughters: Phoebe Émilie Dominique Louis-Dreyfus Eavis (born May 1968) and Emma R. Louis-Dreyfus (born June 16, 1974). Both of his daughters became social workers. In 1996, Phoebe married Peter Eavis, a financial journalist from England. Gérard also had a son named Raphael Penteado.
His cousin, Jean Louis-Dreyfus, is also a grandson of the family business founder, Léopold Louis-Dreyfus. Another cousin was Robert Louis-Dreyfus. Robert was the former head of the sports company Adidas and used to be the chairman of the French football club Olympique de Marseille.
