Bronwen Astor

Bronwen Astor (born 6 June 1930 in London, England) was the forerunner of today's supermodels. She was muse to the couturier Pierre Balmain, who called her one of the most beautiful women he had ever met .

Janet Bronwen Alun Pugh, daughter of Sir John Alun Pugh, is generally known by her middle name (Bronwen). After the sudden death of a friend in 1951 she embarked on an inner journey of self discovery culminating in 1959 in a profound mystical experience .

On 14 October 1960 she married the 3rd Viscount Astor, son of Nancy Astor, the first woman to take her seat in the House of Commons. Upon her marriage Bronwen became the mistress of Cliveden, the mansion which her mother-in-law had made famous with her political salons. Within three years of her marriage Bronwen's world was turned upside down by the infamous "Profumo scandal", which brought down Prime Minister Harold Macmillan's government. In 1966 Bronwen Astor's husband Viscount William Astor died prematurely, leaving her with two young daughters.

Thrown on to her inner resources, Bronwen opened her new home to the homeless and in 1983 trained as a psychotherapist. Her biography, Bronwen Astor: Her Life and Times, authored by Peter Stanford, was published in 2000.

She lives in Tuesley Manor, Godalming, Surrey, England.

Husband

William Astor, 3rd Viscount Astor (b. 13 August 1907 - d. 7 March 1966)

Children

Hon.

Janet Elizabeth Astor (b. 1 December 1961)

Hon. Pauline Marian Astor (b. 26 March 1964)

Sources

Peter W. Hammond, editor, The Complete Peerage or a History of the House of Lords and All its Members From the Earliest Times, Volume XIV: Addenda & Corrigenda (Stroud, Gloucestershire: Sutton Publishing, 1998), page 670.
Michael Rhodes, "re: Ernest Fawbert Collection", email message from (Harrogate, North Yorkshire) to Darryl Roger Lundy, 8 February. Hereinafter cited as "re: Ernest Fawbert Collection".
Charles Mosley, editor, Burke's Peerage and Baronetage, 106th edition, 2 volumes (Crans, Switzerland: Burke's Peerage (Genealogical Books) Ltd., 1999), volume 1, page 132.