Henrietta Russell, Duchess of Bedford

Henrietta Joan Tiarks was born in London, on 5 March 1940,[1] daughter of Henry Frederick Tiarks III (Woodheath, Chislehurst, London, 8 September 1900 – Marbella, 2 July 1995), a wealthy merchant banker with Schroders, and wife (3 October 1936) Ina Florence Marshman Bell (Carlisle, Cumbria, 5 November 1903 – Marbella, 10 April 1989), an actress known as Joan Barry.

Since her husband's death, Henrietta, Duchess of Bedford has lived primarily in New Zealand, where she raises horses and has homes in Matamata, Central Otago, and Auckland.

As Henrietta Tiarks, she made four appearances on the BBC television record review series Juke Box Jury in 1960.

The Duke and Duchess appeared in three series of the BBC Two reality television programme Country House, screened from 1999 to 2002 detailing daily life at Woburn Abbey, the Bedfords' ancestral home in Bedfordshire, England.

[2] Her autobiography, Chance to Live, was published in 1991, and she appeared as a castaway on the BBC Radio programme Desert Island Discs on 3 May 1992.