Barbara Sinatra facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Barbara Sinatra
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Sinatra in 2000
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| Born |
Barbara Ann Blakeley
March 10, 1927 Bosworth, Missouri, U.S.
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| Died | July 25, 2017 (aged 90) |
| Burial place | Desert Memorial Park |
| Other names | Barbara Marx |
| Occupation |
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| Spouse(s) |
Robert Harrison Oliver
(m. 1948; div. 1952) |
| Children | 1 |
Barbara Ann Blakeley Oliver Marx Sinatra (March 10, 1927 – July 25, 2017) was an American model, showgirl, socialite and the fourth and last wife of Frank Sinatra.
Contents
Early life
Barbara Ann Blakeley was born on March 10, 1927, in Bosworth, Missouri, the elder of two daughters. Her parents were Charles Willis Blakeley (June 29, 1895 – October 5, 1989) and Irene Prunty (née Toppass) Blakeley (June 22, 1907 – December 15, 1993). At age 10, she moved with her parents and younger sister, Patricia, to Wichita, Kansas, where she was raised. In 1946, she graduated from Wichita North High School. At age 18, she moved to Long Beach, California.
Personal life
Marriage to Oliver
She married Robert Oliver in September 1948 and had a son, Robert Blake "Bobby" Oliver on October 10, 1950. She divorced Oliver in 1952.
Marriage to Marx
She married Zeppo Marx on September 18, 1959. Despite their divorce in 1973, she was thenceforth known as Barbara Marx.
Marriage to Sinatra
She married Frank Sinatra on July 11, 1976. It was his fourth and final marriage, and her third and final marriage. It was also the longest-lasting marriage for both. She converted to Catholicism. According to her book, Lady Blue Eyes: My Life With Frank, "He [Frank] never asked me to change faith for him, but I could tell he was pleased that I'd consider it."
Upon his death in 1998, Frank Sinatra left her $3.5 million in assets, along with mansions in Beverly Hills, Malibu, and Palm Springs. She also inherited the rights to Sinatra's Trilogy recordings, most of his material possessions and control over his name and likeness.
Death
Barbara Marx Sinatra died on July 25, 2017, in Rancho Mirage, California, of natural causes at the age of 90. She died a year before Frank's first wife, Nancy, who died on July 13, 2018, at the age of 101. She is buried at the Desert Memorial Park next to husband Frank.
Legacy
The Sinatras founded the Barbara Sinatra Children's Center in Rancho Mirage, California, in 1986. The center is adjacent to the Betty Ford Center on the campus of the Eisenhower Medical Center. The non-profit facility provides individual and group therapy for young victims of abuse, including physical and emotional. In 1998, a Golden Palm Star on the Palm Springs Walk of Stars was dedicated to her.
See also
In Spanish: Barbara Sinatra para niños
