Wallis Annenberg Biography

Wallis Huberta Annenberg (born July 15, 1939, Philadelphia) is an American philanthropist. She is the daughter of the late American billionaire and former Ambassador, Walter Hubert Annenberg and Veronica Dunkelman. She currently holds the position of President and Chairman of the Board of The Annenberg Foundation, a multi-billion dollar philanthropic organization in the United States.

Early life and education

Annenberg was born to a Jewish family in Philadelphia on July 15, 1939, the daughter of publishing magnate Walter Hubert Annenberg and his first wife, Bernice Veronica Dunkelman (known as Ronny), a socialite from a wealthy Toronto family. Her father owned a estate called "Inwood" where Wallis was raised. When she was ten years old her parents divorced and her mother, moved to Washington, D.C. and married Ben Ourisman, a Chevrolet car dealer. Meanwhile, her father remarried in the year after the divorce to Leonore "Lee" Cohn, the niece of Columbia Pictures' president Harry Cohn. Annenberg had one other sibling, Roger, who died at an early age.

Marriage and divorce

While in Venice, she met Seth Weingarten who had just completed his undergraduate education at Princeton University and was looking forward to Yale Medical School. They quickly fell in love and, after only one year of studies at Columbia, Annenberg dropped out of school and married Weingarten. They moved around the country, following her husband's career, and having four children in the process: Lauren (born in New Haven, CT in 1961), Roger (who was named after Wallis' deceased brother), Gregory (born in New York City during Weingarten's residency at New York Hospital), and Charles (born in Roswell, New Mexico where Weingarten was serving as a medical officer at Walker Air Force Base). Weingarten eventually accepted a position at UCLA (at the hospital now known as Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center) and they established a permanent home.

In 1975, Wallis divorced Dr. Weingarten after which she worked for TV Guide, which her father owned at the time. She was committed to the magazine, on behalf of which she was an enthusiastic hostess to the television industry, and she even stayed for three years after its sale to Rupert Murdoch in 1988.

She appeared on The Joan Rivers Show on the new Fox television network in 1986 alongside actresses Lucille Ball & Michelle Lee.

Philanthropy

Annenberg today carries on her father's legacy as a public benefactor. As chairman and president of the Annenberg Foundation, she donates the family name and fortune to philanthropic and charitable projects, largely to the benefit of Los Angeles County. She is on the board of trustees at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art as well as at the Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles. She is also a supporter of the Harlem Children's Zone, the Ojai Foundation's "Council project" for inner-city kids, and the Ocean Alliance. There is the University of Southern California Annenberg School for Communication and the Wallis Annenberg Concourse at the Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center.

Annenberg was inspired by and provided funding to build the Universally-Accessible Treehouse in Torrance, California. "It is thrilling to be able to make it possible for people of all ages and physical abilities to experience the world from a treehouse," said Wallis Annenberg. "There's a sense of vision, fun and pure escape that only such a structure can provide."

Three of Annenberg's children (Lauren Bon, Gregory Annenberg Weingarten and Charles Annenberg Weingarten) serve on the board of directors of the Annenberg Foundation. They bring to the table their own interests. Ms. Bon, an artist, directs The Metabolic Studio at the intersection of art and philanthropy. Gregory is a painter, Paris resident, and American Friend of the Paris Opera and Ballet. Charles, a graduate of Duke University and USC Film School, has launched explore.org, a website that "documents leaders around the world who have devoted their lives to extraordinary causes."