[1] Her father was a landowner, who grew cork and olives, and her mother – Erna Schröder[1] – was a German heiress from Hamburg.
[1] She studied psychology for three months at New York's Columbia University, and then worked as a counsellor for juvenile delinquents in Lisbon, before switching to studying art at the Museu Nacional de Arte Antiga, where she met Pedro Bessone Basto, a "boulevardier" from a wealthy family.
[1] They lived in Houston, Texas, until he was ousted as CEO in "a family coup" in 1965, and moved to New York City and then Paris.
[1] In Paris, they lived in an 18th-century hôtel particulier in the Rue Férou [fr], next door to Man Ray, restored by French architect Pierre Barbe, with interior design by Valerian Rybar in "a provocative mix of classic and modern styles".
[1] Her funeral at Saint-Pierre-du-Gros-Caillou church in the 7th arrondissement was attended by six people, due to the city being "empty" in August: her daughter Victoire, Henri, Count of Paris, André Dunstetter, Nicholas Dadeshkeliani, the graphic artist Philippe Morillon, and Maria, her personal maid.