Betsy Drake (September 11, 1923 â€" October 27, 2015) was an American
actress and writer. She was the third wife of actor Cary Grant.Betsy
Drake, the eldest child of two American expatriates, was born in
Paris. Her grandfather, Tracy Drake, and his brother had opened the
Drake Hotel in Chicago on New Year's Eve in 1920. The Drakes lost
their money in the 1929 stock-market crash. As a result, she returned
to the U.S. on the SS ÃŽle de France with her parents, brothers, and a
nanny. She grew up in Chicago; Westport, Connecticut; Washington, DC;
Virginia; North Carolina; and New York City. She went to 12 different
schools, both private and public, before concentrating on theatre and
acting at National Park Seminary.She began looking for work as an
actress in New York City, supporting herself by working as a Conover
model. She met the playwright Horton Foote, who offered her a job as
an understudy in his play Only the Heart, which enabled her to join
the Actors' Equity Association and thus become a professional
actress.[citation needed]
actress and writer. She was the third wife of actor Cary Grant.Betsy
Drake, the eldest child of two American expatriates, was born in
Paris. Her grandfather, Tracy Drake, and his brother had opened the
Drake Hotel in Chicago on New Year's Eve in 1920. The Drakes lost
their money in the 1929 stock-market crash. As a result, she returned
to the U.S. on the SS ÃŽle de France with her parents, brothers, and a
nanny. She grew up in Chicago; Westport, Connecticut; Washington, DC;
Virginia; North Carolina; and New York City. She went to 12 different
schools, both private and public, before concentrating on theatre and
acting at National Park Seminary.She began looking for work as an
actress in New York City, supporting herself by working as a Conover
model. She met the playwright Horton Foote, who offered her a job as
an understudy in his play Only the Heart, which enabled her to join
the Actors' Equity Association and thus become a professional
actress.[citation needed]
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