Jacqueline Desmarais, OC GOQ (September 20, 1928 – March 3, 2018) was a Canadian billionaire, and long-term supporter of music and opera.

Jacqueline Desmarais
Born
Jacqueline Maranger

(1928-09-20)September 20, 1928
Sudbury, Ontario, Canada
DiedMarch 3, 2018(2018-03-03) (aged 89)
Known forPhilanthropy
SpousePaul Desmarais (1953-2013; his death)
Children4, including Paul Jr. and André

Early life

edit

She was born Jacqueline Maranger in Sudbury, Ontario, to Ernest Marenger and Albertine Thanase, on September 20, 1928.[1][2]

Career

edit

According to Forbes, Desmarais had a net worth of $4.2 billion in January 2015.[3]

She was a long-term supporter of music and opera in Canada, and head of the guild of the Montreal Symphony Orchestra from 1989 to 1999. In 1997, she created a foundation in her name to support young opera singers.[2]

Honours

edit

Personal life

edit

On September 8, 1953,[1] at Notre-de-Dame-de-Grâce, Quebec, she wed the financier Paul Desmarais (1927-2013), also a native of Sudbury.

They had two sons: Paul Jr. and André (who is married to Canadian former Prime Minister Jean Chrétien's daughter France) and two daughters, Sophie and Louise.[7]

Jacqueline Desmarais lived on a 75-acre estate at Domaine Laforest à Sagard, Charlevoix, Quebec, until her death in 2018.[3]

Death

edit

Jacqueline Desmarais died on March 3, 2018, aged 89.[5][2]

References

edit
  1. ^ a b "Birth of Jacqueline Marenger". NosOrigines. Retrieved March 4, 2018.
  2. ^ a b c d e "Quebec philanthropist Jacqueline Desmarais dead at 89". cbc.ca. Retrieved March 4, 2018.
  3. ^ a b "Jacqueline Desmarais". Forbes. Retrieved January 17, 2014.
  4. ^ "Jacqueline Desmarais". 12 May 2017.
  5. ^ a b c d "Quebec philanthropist Jacqueline Desmarais dies at 89". montrealgazette.com. March 4, 2018.
  6. ^ "National Order of Quebec citation" (in French).
  7. ^ André et Paul Jr deviennent Officiers, Québec Métro, June 20, 2009.