Philippine de Rothschild facts for kids

Philippine Mathilde Camille, Baroness de Rothschild (born November 22, 1933 – died August 23, 2014) was a famous French businesswoman. She owned the well-known French winery Château Mouton Rothschild. Before taking over the wine business, she was an actress and used the stage name Philippine Pascal. Her father, Baron Philippe de Rothschild, was also a winemaker and part of the important Rothschild banking family.

Her Early Life

Philippine de Rothschild was born in Paris, France. Her parents, Elisabeth Pelletier de Chambure and Philippe de Rothschild, married in 1934. She had a brother, Charles Henri, who was born and died in 1938.

When Philippine was ten years old, she saw her mother arrested by the Gestapo. Her mother later died in the Ravensbrück concentration camp during The Holocaust. Philippine was the only known member of the Rothschild family to die during this time. Two officers argued about taking Philippine too, but one decided to leave her alone.

Her Acting Career

In 1958, Philippine graduated from the Paris Conservatoire National d'Art Dramatique. She acted in many plays, including Harold and Maude from 1973 to 1980. She worked with a famous theater company until 1988.

In 2007, she was given a special award called Officier of the Légion d'Honneur. This is a very high honor in France. In 2013, she received a lifetime achievement award from the Institute of Masters of Wine.

Philippine de Rothschild passed away on August 23, 2014, due to problems after surgery.

Leading the Wine Business

Philippine joined the board of directors for Château Mouton Rothschild's company in 1971. In 1985, she brought the Californian wine Opus One to France. This was a bold step at the time.

When her father died in 1988, Philippine took over three wine estates in Bordeaux:

• Château Mouton Rothschild (bought by her great-great grandfather in 1853)
• Château d'Armailhac
• Château Clerc Milon

She became the chairwoman and main owner of Baron Philippe de Rothschild S.A. This made her the first woman in five generations to lead the family's wine business.

In 1990, she asked the artist Francis Bacon to design the label for the Château Mouton Rothschild wine bottles. She also introduced a second wine from the Château, called Le Petit Mouton. She greatly increased the production of Mouton Cadet wine. In 2004, she asked Prince Charles to design a wine label.

During the 1990s, some wine critics were not happy with the quality of Mouton wines. In 1993, she stopped the Château Mouton Rothschild wine from being sold in the USA. This was because the label, designed by Balthus, caused a lot of discussion.

When her father passed away, the company sold about 1.3 million cases of wine each year. By 2000, sales had almost doubled to 2.1 million cases.

Her wine businesses included:

• Château Mouton Rothschild
• Château d'Armailhac
• Château Clerc Milon
• Domaine de Lambert
• Baron Arques
• Baron Philippe de Rothschild
• Mouton Cadet
• Opus One
• Viña Almaviva (in Chile)

Her Family

Philippine de Rothschild was married twice.

Her first husband was Jacques Noël Sereys. He was a French theater director and actor. They married in 1961 and divorced in 1999. They had two children:

• Camille Sereys de Rothschild (born 1961)
• Philippe Sereys de Rothschild (born 1963)

Her second husband was Jean-Pierre de Beaumarchais. He is a scholar and a relative of the famous playwright Pierre Beaumarchais. They had one son:

• Julien de Beaumarchais de Rothschild (born 1971)

Filmography