James Paul Donahue Jr. (June 11, 1915 – December 6, 1966)[1][2] was an heir to the Woolworth estate and a noted New York City socialite.
Jimmy Donahue was the second son of James Paul Donahue (1887–1931), the scion of an Irish American family which had made a fortune in the fat rendering business (Retail Butchers' Fat Rendering Company), by his wife Jessie (née Woolworth) Donahue (1886–1971), one of the three daughters of Frank Winfield "F. W." Woolworth,[3] founder of the Woolworth retail chain.
[7] Despite his mother's opposition, he made a brief debut as a dancer in a Broadway musical production that closed ten days after its opening in September 1933.
Though press agents arranged for him to be seen with female escorts, his pursuits, until he met Wallis, Duchess of Windsor, were exclusively homosexual.
This claim was verified by Lady Pamela Hicks, daughter of the Earl Mountbatten of Burma, a cousin of the Duke of Windsor.