Christina Bellin

Christina P. Bellin (1939 – 27 April 1988, New York City) was an Italian-born American model and an international social figure who was born in New York City. Her full name was Maria Christina Orfea Paolozzi di Chiusi Bellin.[1][2][3]

Early life

Bellin was the daughter of Alice "Alicia" Orpha Spaulding[4][5][6] (12 May 1917, Boston – 13 April 2002, New York City),[7][5] a United Fruit Company heiress, and Count Lorenzo Paolozzi,[8][4][7] a Roman aristocrat. She grew up at the Villa Paolozzi in Rome, Italy (1949–1952) and was educated in Switzerland and at the Madeira School in McLean, Virginia, USA.[3]

Photographer's model

Bellin began modeling at the age of 17. She posed for a topless photograph taken by Richard Avedon in Harper's Bazaar in 1962.[9] The picture caused a sensation because at the time fashion magazines did not publish unclothed figures.[3]

Marriage and divorce

In 1964 Bellin married Dr. Howard Bellin, a plastic surgeon.[9] The couple gave "lively parties attended by an eclectic group which included Andy Warhol, Jacob Javits, Zsa Zsa Gabor, karate instructors, and almost any glamorous personality who was visiting New York at the time".[3]

The Bellins divorced in 1982 and remarried again four months later when Mrs. Bellin fell ill. They divorced a second time when she seemed to be recovering.[3]

At the end of her life, she raised money for hospitals, in Cambodia and Gabon, and for orphanages in Afghanistan,[8] and was known to have supported eighteen foster children.[8]

Death

Christina Bellin died of a brain tumor at her Manhattan home in 1988. She was nearly 49 years old. She was survived by two sons, Marco and Andy, and her sister, Francesca (Padilla).[10] Her funeral was held at St. James Church at Madison Avenue and 71st Street in Manhattan.[3]

References

  1. ^ The Paolozzi family (that descended from Captain Ranieri Paolozzi [ca. 1717], of Lucignano) belonged to the aristocracy of Chiusi and in 1850 the Grand Duke Leopold II of Tuscany, considering their social position and their merits, enrolled them in the nobility of Siena (23 April 1850). In 1905, Nobile Claudio Paolozzi (di Chiusi) obtained from H.H. Pius X the title of count, for him and his male descendants, which the Royal Heraldic Council of Italy recognized and confirmed by a decree of April 15, 1926 (Heraldrys Institute of Rome / Istituto di ricerca dell'Origine del Cognome, Araldica, Genelogia, Titoli Nobiliari e Stemmi – cognomi: Paolozzi – idc/2903).
  2. ^ Boulat, Pierre (6 September 1963). "She Wants Attention – And Does She Get It ! | That Audacious Contessa". Life. p. 65. Retrieved 11 July 2021.
  3. ^ a b c d e f "Christina P. Bellin, 49, Former Model, Is Dead". The New York Times. April 29, 1988. p. D22.
  4. ^ a b "REPORTS OF INTERNATIONAL ARBITRAL AWARDS. Spaulding Case—Decision No. 148 (VOLUME XIV)" (PDF). 21 December 1956. pp. 292–294. Retrieved 10 July 2021.
  5. ^ a b "Paid Notice: Deaths PAOLOZZI, COUNTESS ALICIA SPAULDING". The New York Times. 13 April 2002. Retrieved 10 July 2021.
  6. ^ "Spaulding-Paolozzi Foundation pledges $500,000 to Founders Fund". The Post and Courier (Moultrie News). 14 August 2018. Retrieved 10 July 2021.
  7. ^ a b United States, Tax Court (1956). Reports of the United States Tax Court, Volume 23. U.S. Government Printing Office. p. 183. Retrieved 10 July 2021.
  8. ^ a b c "Christina Bellin". Pulp International. Retrieved 14 August 2018.
  9. ^ a b Maxa, Rudy (17 June 1979). "Those Audacious Bellins". Washington Post. Retrieved 14 August 2018.
  10. ^ "Francesca Paolozzi Is Fiancee of Carlos Padilla". The New York Times. September 28, 1975. p. 61. Retrieved December 5, 2021.