Mdivani

Serge Mdivani and Pola Negri, around 1930

Mdivani (Georgian - მდივანი) is the name of a family of nobility, originating from the nation of Georgia. The best known bearers of this name were the children of Zakhari and Elizabeth Mdivani.^[1] The five siblings fled to Paris after the Russian Revolution of 1917, and became known as the "Marrying Mdivanis", as they all managed to marry into wealth and fame.^{[citation needed]} The Mdivani siblings were:

Serge Mdivani (1903-1936), who married actress Pola Negri in 1927, but when she lost her fortune in the Stock Market Crash of 1929, he abandoned her and took up with opera singer Mary McCormic, who divorced him in a highly-publicized trial. He then married his former sister-in-law, Louise Astor Van Alen Mdivani, in 1936, but died later that year in a polo accident.^[2]

Alexis Mdivani (1905-1935), who married Louise Astor Van Alen (a member of the Astor family) in 1931, but divorced her to marry Woolworth heiress Barbara Hutton, one of the world's richest women at the time. He died in an automobile accident.^{[citation needed]}

Isabelle Roussadana Mdivani (1906-1938), aka Roussie or Roussy. A sculptor, she married the Spanish painter Jose Maria Sert in 1928.^{[citation needed]}

David Mdivani (1907-1984), who married actress Mae Murray, and had a son, Koran David (1927-), with her. After he bankrupted her, she divorced him in 1933 and they became involved in a fierce custody battle over their child. He was involved with French actress Arletty. David then married Sinclair Oil heiress Virginia Sinclair in 1944, and they had another son.^{[citation needed]}

Nina Mdivani (died 1987), who was married to Charles Huberich from 15 July 1925 until their divorce on 19 May 1936. On 18 August 1936 she married Denis Conan Doyle, a son of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, the creator of Sherlock Holmes. After Denis's death on 9 March 1955, she married Anthony Harwood.^[1]

References

1. ^ ^{a b} Philip G. Bergem (2001). The Family and Residences of Arthur Conan Doyle. St. Paul, Minnesota: Privately printed. pp. 4, 11. 
2. ^ Serge Mdivani is Killed Playing Polo in Florida, The New York Times, March 16, 1936