[3] Born in Erie, Pennsylvania on September 21, 1877, Belle Silveira studied with John Vanderpoel at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago.
[4] On September 8, 1906, Silveira wed Otto Wenceslas Gorski, a stepson of the renowned Polish pianist, Ignacy Jan Paderewski, and son of Helena Paderewska.
[5][6][7] Silveira, who reportedly was subjected to repeated incidents of domestic violence during her marriage to Gorski, ultimately divorced him.
[8] Sometime during the early 1920s, she relocated to the New York home of her friend, Ralph Modjeski, a former classmate of Paderewski who had become one of the most respected bridge builders in the United States after emigrating from Poland.
"Additional news reports stated that Silveira had left a suicide note indicating that she had grown increasingly despondent about her health, and feared that she would be paralyzed due to her medical condition.