Catherine Guinness
Catherine Guinness | |
|---|---|
| Born | June 1, 1952 Oxford, England |
| Occupation(s) | Noblewoman, author, social figure, personal assistant to Andy Warhol |
| Known for | Personal assistant to Andy Warhol, author of The House of Mitford |
Catherine Ingrid Guinness (born 1 June 1952), who was known as Catherine Charteris, Lady Neidpath between 1983 and 1990 and subsequently as Catherine Hesketh, is a British noblewoman, author, and prominent social figure. As the eldest daughter of Jonathan Guinness, 3rd Baron Moyne, she is part of the distinguished Guinness family and a granddaughter of Diana Mitford. Guinness was closely connected with Andy Warhol, serving as his personal assistant in New York while actively engaging in the city's vibrant social milieu and the artistic community of The Factory.
Early life and family
Born on 1 June 1952 in Oxford, The Honourable Catherine Ingrid Guinness is the daughter of Jonathan Bryan Guinness, 3rd Baron Moyne, a member of the affluent and politically significant Guinness family, renowned for their involvement in brewing and finance. Her mother, Ingrid Georgia Olivia Wyndham, hailed from the Wyndham family associated with George Wyndham, 1st Baron Leconfield. On her father's side, her grandparents were the poet Bryan Guinness, 2nd Baron Moyne, and the socialite Diana Mitford. Following her parents' separation in 1963, her mother remarried Henry Paul Guinness Channon, Baron Kelvedon. Catherine is a half-sister to Daphne Guinness, with whom she shared a residence in New York during the early 1980s.
Adult life
In 1976, Guinness was captured in photographs by Robert Mapplethorpe, whose portraits are now part of collections at the J. Paul Getty Museum and the Los Angeles County Museum of Art. She wed James Donald Charteris, Lord Neidpath (heir apparent to the Earl of Wemyss), in July 1983. The couple lived at Stanway House, a historic Gloucestershire estate belonging to the Charteris family. They had two children: Francis Richard Charteris, Lord Elcho, and Lady Mary Charteris. Their marriage ended in divorce in 1988.
Two years later, in 1990, Guinness married Robert Fleetwood Hesketh from the Baron Hesketh lineage; they had three children before his untimely death due to a drug overdose in 2004. Their son Frank came into possession of a 1,600-acre property located in Churchtown.
Professionally, Guinness worked closely with Andy Warhol as his personal assistant, maintaining a strong relationship with him while playing an active role within New York’s artistic and social circles. She also upheld connections within London’s upper echelons, including a friendship with Charles, Prince of Wales. In 1979, she appeared alongside Warhol in the film Cocaine Cowboys. Additionally, she co-wrote The House of Mitford with her father in 1984.