Berry Berenson
Berry Berenson | |
|---|---|
| Born | Berinthia Berenson Template:Birth date Murray Hill, Manhattan, New York City, U.S. |
| Died | September 11, 2001 (aged 53) North Tower, World Trade Center, New York City, U.S. |
| Occupation(s) | Model, actress, photographer |
| Years active | Late 1960s–2001 |
| Known for | Modeling, photography for Life, Glamour, Vogue, Newsweek; acting roles in Remember My Name, Winter Kills, Cat People |
| Spouse | Anthony Perkins (m. 1973; died 1992) |
Berinthia "Berry" Berenson-Perkins (née Berenson; April 14, 1948 – September 11, 2001) was an American model, actress, and photographer. She was married to actor Anthony Perkins.
Tragically, she lost her life during the September 11 attacks as a passenger on American Airlines Flight 11, which struck the North Tower of the World Trade Center in New York City.
Early life
Berry Berenson entered the world in Murray Hill, Manhattan, New York City. Her mother, Maria-Luisa Yvonne Radha de Wendt de Kerlor (known as Gogo Schiaparelli), hailed from a socialite background with Italian, Swiss, and French roots. Her father, Robert Lawrence Berenson, was a former American diplomat who later became a shipping executive; he descended from Russian-Jewish and Polish-Jewish families originally bearing the surname Valvrojenski.
On her maternal side, Berenson’s grandmother was the Italian-born fashion icon Elsa Schiaparelli, while her grandfather Wilhelm de Wendt de Kerlor was a Theosophist and psychic medium. Her older sister, Marisa Berenson, gained recognition as both a model and actress. Additionally, she was the great-grandniece of Italian astronomer Giovanni Schiaparelli and related to art historian Bernard Berenson as well as educator Senda Berenson, one of the earliest women inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame.
Career
Following a short stint in modeling during the late 1960s, Berenson transitioned into freelance photography. In 1972, her fiancé Richard Bernstein secured a role as cover artist for Andy Warhol's Interview magazine. Berenson was responsible for recruiting and photographing models featured on the covers, which Bernstein then rendered artistically. By 1973, her photographic work was showcased in major magazines including Life, Glamour, Vogue, and Newsweek.
She pursued acting studies at New York's The American Place Theatre under Wynn Handman, sharing classes with notable talents such as Richard Gere and her sister Marisa.
As an actress, she starred alongside her husband Anthony Perkins in the 1978 film Remember My Name. Her filmography also includes appearances with Jeff Bridges in Winter Kills (1979) and with Malcolm McDowell in Cat People (1982).
Personal life
Berenson was initially engaged to artist Richard Bernstein. In 1972, she began a relationship with actor Anthony Perkins, marrying him on August 9, 1973, while expecting their first child. They had two sons: actor-director Oz Perkins and folk/rock musician Elvis Perkins. Despite Perkins' homosexuality, their marriage endured until his death from AIDS-related causes on September 12, 1992.
Death
On September 11, 2001, Berenson died while returning to Los Angeles following a vacation on Cape Cod. She was among those on board American Airlines Flight 11, which was hijacked and deliberately flown into the North Tower of the World Trade Center during the attacks.
Her name is commemorated on Panel N-76 at the North Pool of the National September 11 Memorial & Museum.