Afdera Franchetti
Encyclopedia
Baroness Afdera Franchetti (born c. 1931) is an Italian
Baroness
, descended from an old Jewish Venice
family which intermarried with the Rothschild family
and who eventually converted to Roman Catholicism. She is most famous for being the fourth wife of American
actor Henry Fonda
.
, a famous explorer who traveled extensively in Ethiopia
, during the 1920s and 1930s. http://antbase.org/ants/africa/history9.htm He was a consultant to Benito Mussolini
and served as an envoy to Ethiopia
for the Italian government during the 1930s. Raimondo's grandmother was Sara Louise de Rothschild (1834-1924). Baron Franchetti died in a plane crash in 1935, when Afdera was three years old. Her brother, the Baron Raimondo Nanuk Franchetti, was a friend of author Ernest Hemingway
, who hunted with him in San Gaetano.
while he was filming War and Peace
with Audrey Hepburn
and Mel Ferrer
. Franchetti was roughly 23 years old when she married Fonda; his eldest child, Jane
, was 18 years old.
", which she brought in her luggage for a friend without knowing that possession of this small amount of marijuana was a serious offence.
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
Baroness
Baroness
Baroness is the female equivalent of the nobility title Baron.Baroness or The Baroness may also refer to:* Baroness , a metal band from Savannah, Georgia* Baroness , a fictional villain in the G.I...
, descended from an old Jewish Venice
Venice
Venice is a city in northern Italy which is renowned for the beauty of its setting, its architecture and its artworks. It is the capital of the Veneto region...
family which intermarried with the Rothschild family
Rothschild family
The Rothschild family , known as The House of Rothschild, or more simply as the Rothschilds, is a Jewish-German family that established European banking and finance houses starting in the late 18th century...
and who eventually converted to Roman Catholicism. She is most famous for being the fourth wife of American
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
actor Henry Fonda
Henry Fonda
Henry Jaynes Fonda was an American film and stage actor.Fonda made his mark early as a Broadway actor. He also appeared in 1938 in plays performed in White Plains, New York, with Joan Tompkins...
.
Family
Afdera Francetii was the daughter of Baron Raimondo FranchettiRaimondo Franchetti
Baron Raimondo Franchetti has been the name of more than one Italian Baron, the most famous of whom lived from 1889 until his death in an airplane crash in the Egyptian desert in 1935.-Family:...
, a famous explorer who traveled extensively in Ethiopia
Ethiopia
Ethiopia , officially known as the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is a country located in the Horn of Africa. It is the second-most populous nation in Africa, with over 82 million inhabitants, and the tenth-largest by area, occupying 1,100,000 km2...
, during the 1920s and 1930s. http://antbase.org/ants/africa/history9.htm He was a consultant to Benito Mussolini
Benito Mussolini
Benito Amilcare Andrea Mussolini was an Italian politician who led the National Fascist Party and is credited with being one of the key figures in the creation of Fascism....
and served as an envoy to Ethiopia
Ethiopia
Ethiopia , officially known as the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is a country located in the Horn of Africa. It is the second-most populous nation in Africa, with over 82 million inhabitants, and the tenth-largest by area, occupying 1,100,000 km2...
for the Italian government during the 1930s. Raimondo's grandmother was Sara Louise de Rothschild (1834-1924). Baron Franchetti died in a plane crash in 1935, when Afdera was three years old. Her brother, the Baron Raimondo Nanuk Franchetti, was a friend of author Ernest Hemingway
Ernest Hemingway
Ernest Miller Hemingway was an American author and journalist. His economic and understated style had a strong influence on 20th-century fiction, while his life of adventure and his public image influenced later generations. Hemingway produced most of his work between the mid-1920s and the...
, who hunted with him in San Gaetano.
Marriage to Henry Fonda
Afdera Franchetti was married to Henry Fonda from 1957 to 1961; they met in ItalyItaly
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
while he was filming War and Peace
War and Peace (1956 film)
War and Peace is the first English-language film version of the novel War and Peace by Leo Tolstoy. It is an American/Italian version, directed by King Vidor and produced by Dino De Laurentiis and Carlo Ponti. The music score was by Nino Rota and the cinematography by Jack Cardiff...
with Audrey Hepburn
Audrey Hepburn
Audrey Hepburn was a British actress and humanitarian. Although modest about her acting ability, Hepburn remains one of the world's most famous actresses of all time, remembered as a film and fashion icon of the twentieth century...
and Mel Ferrer
Mel Ferrer
Mel Ferrer was an American actor, film director and film producer.-Early life:Ferrer was born Melchor Gastón Ferrer in Elberon, New Jersey, of Catalan and Irish descent. His father, Dr. José María Ferrer , was born in Cuba, was an authority on pneumonia and served as chief of staff of St....
. Franchetti was roughly 23 years old when she married Fonda; his eldest child, Jane
Jane Fonda
Jane Fonda is an American actress, writer, political activist, former fashion model, and fitness guru. She rose to fame in the 1960s with films such as Barbarella and Cat Ballou. She has won two Academy Awards and received several other movie awards and nominations during more than 50 years as an...
, was 18 years old.
Later life
She was once arrested for drug smuggling, as detailed in her autobiography, for one "jointJoint (cannabis)
Joint is a slang term for a cigarette rolled using cannabis. Rolling papers are the most common rolling medium among industrialized countries, however brown paper, cigarettes with the tobacco removed, and newspaper are commonly used in developing countries. Modern papers are now made from a wide...
", which she brought in her luggage for a friend without knowing that possession of this small amount of marijuana was a serious offence.
Sources
- Fonda, Afdera. Never Before Noon ISBN 1-55584-026-4
- Ghostwriter Clifford Thurlow on the Franchetti autobiography
- Fonda family website
- Video clip of Franchetti discussing the wedding of Camilla Parker Bowles