Mercedes de Acosta

Mercedes de Acosta
Mercedes de Acosta

Poet, playwright
Born March 1, 1893(1893-03-01)
New York City
Died May 9, 1968 (1968 -05-09) (aged 75)
New York City
Occupation Poet, Novelist, Playwright
Nationality American

Mercedes de Acosta (March 1, 1893 – May 9, 1968) was an American poet, playwright, and socialite, best known for her numerous lesbian affairs with Hollywood personalities including Marlene Dietrich, Greta Garbo, Alla Nazimova, Eva Le Gallienne, Isadora Duncan, Katharine Cornell, Ona Munson, Adele Astaire and, allegedly, Tallulah Bankhead, amongst others, which she documented in her controversial autobiography Here Lies the Heart.[1]

It was a reputation not appreciated by everyone. As Alice B. Toklas, the lover of Gertrude Stein, wrote to a disapproving friend, Anita Loos,

"...you can't dispose of Mercedes lightly—she has had the two most important women in the US—Greta Garbo and Marlene Dietrich."[2]

Four of de Acosta's plays were produced, and she published a novel and three volumes of poetry.

Contents

Background

She was born in New York City in 1893 to a Cuban father, Ricardo de Acosta (of Spanish descent), and a Spanish mother, Micaela Hernandez de Alba y de Alba, reportedly a descendant of the Spanish Dukes of Alba. She had several siblings: Aida, Ricardo Jr., Angela, Maria, and Rita. The last would become a famous beauty best known as Rita Lydig.

De Acosta married Abram Poole (1882–1961), a painter and socialite, in 1920. They divorced in 1935.

Personal life

Although she showed no particular talent in her professional field, it is no doubt her personal life that has made her famous in Hollywood and gay circles. She became involved in numerous lesbian relationships with Hollywood's elite, claimed many more, and did not attempt to hide her sexuality.

In 1916 she began an affair with actress Alla Nazimova, and shortly thereafter, allegedly started an affair with young actress Tallulah Bankhead, and later dancer Isadora Duncan. Shortly after marrying Abram Poole in 1920, de Acosta became involved in a turbulent five-year relationship with actress Eva Le Gallienne. The two women vacationed and travelled together often, at times visiting the salon of famed writer and socialite Natalie Barney in Europe.[3] De Acosta wrote two plays for Eva during that time, Sandro Botticelli and Jehanne de Arc. Neither were successful, and the combined financial failures of both plays and de Acosta's possessive and jealous nature brought the affair to an end.[3]

Over the next decade she had other famous female partners, all of whom were either rising stars, or aging stars. These included Rudolph Valentino's alleged fiancée, actress Pola Negri, a film star during the 1930s, writer Edith Wharton, writer and stage actress Katharine Cornell, socialite Dorothy ("Dickie") Fellowes-Gordon, and writer Amy Lowell.

In 1920 de Acosta met and became involved with the married Russian ballerina Tamara Platonovna Karsavina in a relationship and friendship that lasted throughout her life. Karsavina was one of the few who continued to be friendly toward de Acosta following her controversial autobiography.

Affair with Greta Garbo

In 1931, she met and claims to have quickly become involved with Greta Garbo. The two were introduced to one another in 1931 by Garbo's close friend, author Salka Viertel. Her affair with Garbo was sporadic and volatile with Garbo always in control. The two were close for lengthy periods, occasionally taking vacations together, then apart for long spells without Garbo acknowledging de Acosta. By all accounts, de Acosta remained in love with Garbo for the rest of her life.

Garbo apparently did not share these feelings. In 1944, Garbo ended the on-again off-again relationship for a time, insisting that de Acosta stop sending her poems and letters. In any case, they remained friends for nearly thirty years and had an active mail correspondence in the 1950s.

Travels in India

In the 1930s Mercedes had acquired an interest in Eastern spirituality through one of her acquaintances, Princess Norina Matchabelli, a follower of the Indian mystic Meher Baba. For many years de Acosta was captivated by Meher Baba and spent time in his company when he visited Hollywood. In fact, Meher Baba made mention of de Acosta's affection for Greta Garbo, saying they had been married in a previous life (of Garbo, Meher Baba said she was the most spiritual of the Hollywood actresses of that era). De Acosta also went to India to meet with Meher Baba. Over the years however she lost focus on Meher Baba until the 1950s, when she met him for the last time.[4][5] According to her published memoir Here Lies the Heart, Mercedes also met Ramana Maharishi, with whom she was more impressed than she was with Meher Baba.

Later life, controversial autobiography

In 1960, when de Acosta was seriously ill with a brain tumor and in need of money, she published her memoir, Here Lies the Heart.[6] Its revelations, though highly sanitized, resulted in the severance of several friendships with women who felt she had betrayed their sexuality. Garbo also ended their friendship at this time but there is no evidence that the memoir was the cause. Eva Le Gallienne in particular was furious, denouncing de Acosta as a liar and stating that she invented the stories for fame. This assessment is unlikely since many of her affairs are confirmed in personal correspondence. While her book was not a success, it was rediscovered in the late 1960s and widely read in the underground gay community.

De Acosta died at age 75 in relative poverty. She is buried at Trinity Cemetery in Washington Heights, New York City.[7]

See also

References

  1. ^ Vickers, Hugo (1994). Loving Garbo: The Story of Greta Garbo, Cecil Beaton, and Mercedes de Acosta. Random House.
  2. ^ Schanke, Robert A. (2004). That Furious Lesbian: The Story of Mercedes de Acosta. Southern Illinois University Press. ISBN 978-0-8093-2579-5. 
  3. ^ a b "Le Gallienne, Eva (1899–1991)". glbtq.com. Retrieved March 5, 2009.
  4. ^ Awakener Magazine, Volume 18, Number 1, 1978, p. 15
  5. ^ Kalchuri, Bhau (1986). Lord Meher. p. 1940.
  6. ^ de Acosta, Mercedes (1960). Here Lies the Heart. ISBN 978-0-405-07360-1. 
  7. ^ "Person Detail: Mercedes De Acosta". New York State Literary Tree. New York State Council on the Arts. 2011. http://www.nyslittree.org/index.cfm/fuseaction/DB.PersonDetail/PersonPK/1169.cfm. Retrieved November 4, 2011. 

Further reading

  • McLellan, Diana (2001). The Girls: Sappho Goes to Hollywood. St. Martin's Griffin. ISBN 978-0-312-28320-9. 
  • Stern, Keith (2009), "de Acosta, Mercedes", Queers in History, BenBella Books, Inc.; Dallas, Texas, ISBN 978-1-933771-87-8 

External links


Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Нужен реферат?

Look at other dictionaries:

  • Mercedes de Acosta — Nombre Mercedes de Ac …   Wikipedia Español

  • Mercedes de Acosta — (* 1. März 1893 in New York City; † 9. Mai 1968 ebenda) war eine US amerikanische Schriftstellerin und Modedesignerin. Sie wurde vor allem durch ihre Liebesaffären mit Isadora Duncan, Anna Pawlowa …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Mercedes De Acosta — Pour les articles homonymes, voir Acosta. Mercedes de Acosta (1er mars 1893 9 mai 1968) était une poétesse et artiste hispano américaine. Elle est connue pour ses liaisons avec Greta Garbo, Marlène Dietrich, Alla Nazimova, Eva Le Gallienne,… …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Mercedes de acosta — Pour les articles homonymes, voir Acosta. Mercedes de Acosta (1er mars 1893 9 mai 1968) était une poétesse et artiste hispano américaine. Elle est connue pour ses liaisons avec Greta Garbo, Marlène Dietrich, Alla Nazimova, Eva Le Gallienne,… …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Mercedes de Acosta — Pour les articles homonymes, voir Acosta. Mercedes de Acosta Mercedes de Acosta (1er mars 1893 …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Mercédès — Mercedes ist ein weiblicher Vorname. Inhaltsverzeichnis 1 Herkunft und Bedeutung des Namens 2 Namenstag 3 Bekannte Namensträgerinnen 3.1 Sonstiges 4 Varianten …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Acosta — is a Spanish and Portuguese surname. Originally it was used to refer to a person who lived by the seashore or from the mountains ( encostas ). It comes from the Portuguese da Costa, which in Spanish became de Acosta.Persons*Alberto Acosta (born… …   Wikipedia

  • Acosta — ist der Familienname folgender Personen: Alberto Acosta (Ökonom) (* 1948), ecuadorianischer Wirtschaftswissenschaftler und Politiker Alberto Federico Acosta (* 1966), argentinischer Fußballspieler Alberto Martín Acosta (* 1977), uruguayischer… …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Mercedes — is a girl s name of Spanish origin, referring to a title for the Virgin Mary, Our Lady of Mercy . The word may also refer to: Automobile related Mercedes (car), the pre 1927 brand name of German automobile models and engines built by Daimler… …   Wikipedia

  • Mercedes (Vorname) — Mercedes ist ein weiblicher Vorname. Inhaltsverzeichnis 1 Herkunft und Bedeutung des Namens 2 Namenstag 3 Bekannte Namensträgerinnen 3.1 Sonstiges …   Deutsch Wikipedia

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”