Barbara "Bobo" Sears Rockefeller (née Jievutė Paulekiūtė; September 6, 1916 – May 19, 2008), also known professionally as Eva Paul, was an American actress and former member of the Rockefeller family by marriage to Winthrop Rockefeller from 1948 to 1954.[1][2]

Bobo Rockefeller
Born
Jievutė Paulekiūtė

(1916-09-16)September 16, 1916
DiedMay 19, 2008(2008-05-19) (aged 91)
Alma materNorthwestern University
Spouses
Richard Sears
(m. 1941, divorced)
(m. 1948; div. 1954)
PartnerCharles W. Mapes (1962)
ChildrenWinthrop Paul Rockefeller
FamilyRockefeller family (by marriage)

Early life and career

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Bobo was born on 6 September 1916 as Jievute Paulekiute (Lithuanian: Jievutė Paulekiūtė) in Noblestown, Pennsylvania to Julius Paulekas, a coal miner, and Jieva (née Ivanavicius), both destitute Lithuanian immigrants.[1][3] Her parents divorced shortly after her birth.[4]

She spent her childhood in Chicago.[1] Later, her family moved to Indiana.[1] At the age of 17, she became Miss Lithuania.[1] For her education, she attended Northwestern University.[1]

She also held the position of third secretary at the U.S. embassy in Paris.[1] She was also featured on Time's cover.[5]

Personal

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She married Winthrop Rockefeller on February 14, 1948[6] in a small, private ceremony attended by fewer than 10 people, including best man Laurence Rockefeller and maid of honor Isabel Paul.[7] She divorced Rockefeller in 1954, reporting they had already been separated for four years and following what newspapers described as a "fierce legal battle", she won custody of her son and a $5.5 million settlement. She later had a brief engagement to hotelier Charles W. Mapes in 1962.[8] Her son, Winthrop Paul Rockefeller, a former lieutenant governor of Arkansas, died in 2006.[1]

She died on May 19, 2008, in Little Rock, Arkansas.[9]

Filmography

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References

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  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Fox, Margalit (21 May 2008). "Barbara Sears Rockefeller, Actress with a Famous Divorce Settlement, Dies at 91". The New York Times.
  2. ^ "She went from Winthrop to windfall in divorce settlement". 26 May 2008.
  3. ^ Miller, Stephen (May 20, 2008). "Bobo Rockefeller, 91, Married Well, Divorced Better". The New York Sun.
  4. ^ "Bobo's Father Dies". Buffalo Courier Express. December 22, 1955. p. 5 – via Newspapers.com.
  5. ^ a b c "Actress married heir to Standard Oil fortune". Los Angeles Times. 23 May 2008.
  6. ^ "Daughter of poor immigrants weds Winthrop Rockefeller". The News-Review. February 14, 1948. p. 1.
  7. ^ "Whipping Cream of Society at Wedding". The Kane Republican. February 14, 1948. p. 1.
  8. ^ "Barbara 'Bobo' Sears Rockefeller: Former wife of late Arkansas governor". 21 May 2008.
  9. ^ "Barbara Rockefeller Jr. in the U.S., Obituary Collection, 1930-Current". U.S. Obituary Collection. May 25, 2008. Retrieved January 9, 2023 – via Ancestry.com.