Liesel Pritzker Simmons
Pritzker in 2019
Born
Liesel Anne Pritzker

(1984-03-14) March 14, 1984
Chicago, Illinois, U.S.
Other namesLiesel Matthews (stage name)
EducationColumbia University
OccupationHeiress
Years active1995–2000
SpouseIan Simmons
ParentRobert Pritzker (father)
RelativesA.N. Pritzker (grandfather)
Matthew Pritzker (brother)
Jennifer N. Pritzker (half-sister)
Linda Pritzker (half-sister)
Karen Pritzker (half-sister)
See Pritzker family

Liesel Pritzker Simmons (born Liesel Anne Pritzker), stage name Liesel Matthews, is an American heiress and former child actress. She starred as Sara Crewe in A Little Princess, a 1995 film adaptation of the Frances Hodgson Burnett classic, and as Alice Marshall in Air Force One. She is a member of the wealthy Pritzker family. She is now known as a leader in impact investing and founded the Blue Haven Initiative in 2012 to that end.

Early life and education

Pritzker was born in Chicago, Illinois, into the Pritzker family, the daughter of Irene (née Dryburgh) and Robert Pritzker.[1][2] Her father founded The Marmon Group with his brother Jay Pritzker. She is of Jewish origin on her father's side and her mother is Australian.[1][2] Her mother met her father while working at a Pritzker-owned Hyatt hotel in Australia; they married in 1980 and divorced in 1989.[2] She has one brother, Matthew Pritzker, and three half-siblings from her father's first marriage to Audrey Gilbert Pritzker: Jennifer N. Pritzker; Linda Pritzker; and Karen Pritzker Vlock. She was named after the Sound of Music character Liesl von Trapp, the eldest daughter of the seven von Trapp children.[3] She is one of twelve surviving grandchildren of patriarch A.N. Pritzker, a financier and industrialist who died in 1986. Her uncle, Jay Pritzker, is the founder of the Hyatt Hotel chain, and owned Braniff Airlines from 1983 to 1988. Her cousin is J. B. Pritzker, the 43rd Governor of Illinois. The family controls the TransUnion Credit Bureau and the Royal Caribbean Cruise Lines.[4][5] The Pritzker family has been near the top of Forbes magazine's "America's Richest Families" list since the list began in 1982. Pritzker graduated from New Trier High School outside of Chicago and enrolled at Columbia University, from which she graduated in 2006.[6][7]

Acting career

Liesel Pritzker uses the name "Liesel Matthews" as an actress on stage and screen, first to honor her brother Matthew, and second to avoid conflict between her divorced parents about whether she should incorporate her stepfather's name and be known as Liesel Pritzker-Bagley.[8]

Pritzker made her professional stage debut as Scout in a production of To Kill A Mockingbird in Chicago. She won a Theatre World Award for her performance in Vincent in Brixton. She starred in two major films, Alfonso Cuaron's A Little Princess and Wolfgang Petersen's 1997 action thriller Air Force One.[9]

In 2002, Pritzker played the character Jenn in Neil Labute's play The Distance from Here at the Almeida Theatre at King's Cross in London, England with Enrico Colantoni, Ana Reeder, Amy Ryan, Jason Ritter, and Mark Webber in the cast. David Leveaux was director.[10]

Lawsuit

In 2002, Pritzker, then a first-year student at Columbia University, filed a $6 billion lawsuit against her father and eleven older cousins, claiming they had misappropriated money from trusts established for her and her brother Matthew Pritzker. In early 2005, the parties settled the lawsuit, which followed another suit that had begun the process of splitting the family fortune eleven ways. That result placed eleven Pritzkers into the Forbes 400, the most from any single family.[11] Under the settlement, Liesel and Matthew each received roughly U.S. $280 million in cash and were given more control over other trusts valued at about U.S. $170 million each.[5]

Philanthropy and projects

Liesel Pritzker is the founder of Young Ambassadors for Opportunity (YAO), a network of young professionals who aim to inspire, educate, and involve others in microfinance and the work of Opportunity International. In June 2009, she donated $4 million to Opportunity International to help expand microfinance services in Africa.[12] She is the co-founder of the IDP Foundation, Inc., and Blue Haven Initiative.[13][14]

Personal life

Pritzker is married to Ian Simmons; they live in Greater Boston.[15][16]

Filmography

Year Title Role Notes
1995 A Little Princess Sara Crewe Nominated – Young Artist Awards for Best Young Leading Actress in a Feature Film
1997 Air Force One Alice Marshall
2000 Blast Jessie 'Ears'

References

  1. 1 2 Worthy, Ford; Hutton, Cynthia (April 25, 1988). "The Pritzkers Unveiling A Private Family Can you believe it? These billionaires actually like each other. But as Pritzkers proliferate, a worry arises: Can they maintain their striking success – and keep everyone happy?". CNN Money. Retrieved August 29, 2010.
  2. 1 2 3 Carlyle, Erin (December 2, 2013). "Liesel Pritzker Simmons Sued Her Family And Got $500 Million, But She's No Trust Fund Baby". Forbes. Liesel's mother, Irene, who became Robert Pritzker's second wife after meeting him while working for a Hyatt hotel in Australia, filed for divorce in 1989 after nine years of marriage.
  3. ↑ Mackie, Drew (May 10, 2015). "Where's "Little Princess" Star Liesel Pritzker Simmons, Twenty Years Later". People.
  4. ↑ Ackman, Dan (December 11, 2002). "Liesel Pritzker, Meet Meadow Soprano". Forbes. Retrieved October 23, 2007.
  5. 1 2 Maremont, Mark (January 9, 2005). "How a little princess won back her inheritance". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved October 23, 2007.
  6. ↑ Andrews, Suzanna. "Shattered Dynasty". Vanity Fair. Retrieved December 13, 2020.
  7. ↑ "Columbia Daily Spectator 7 February 2003 — Columbia Spectator". spectatorarchive.library.columbia.edu. Retrieved December 13, 2020.
  8. ↑ David Brooks (December 13, 2002). "Little Princess Lost". The Daily Standard. Retrieved October 23, 2007.
  9. ↑ Spencer, Ashley (February 19, 2020). "What Happened to 'A Little Princess' Star Liesel Matthews?". Vice. Retrieved February 23, 2020.
  10. ↑ "Liesel Matthews - Other works". IMDb. Retrieved August 6, 2015.
  11. ↑ Kroll, Lisa (October 24, 2007). "Billionaire Family Feuds". Forbes.com. Archived from the original on October 26, 2007. Retrieved November 5, 2007.
  12. ↑ "Liesel Pritzker Donates $4 Million to Opportunity International To Help Expand Microfinance Services in Africa". Opportunity International. Retrieved August 6, 2015.
  13. ↑ "About". idpfoundation.org. Archived from the original on July 11, 2015. Retrieved August 6, 2015.
  14. ↑ "Member of the Synergos Board of Directors: Liesel Pritzker Simmons". synergos.org. Retrieved August 6, 2015.
  15. ↑ "Liesel Pritzker Simmons, Co-Founder & Principal - Blue Haven Initiative". Archived from the original on August 30, 2016. Retrieved September 13, 2019.
  16. ↑ "Global Philanthropy Forum: LIESEL PRITZKER SIMMONS". www.philanthropyforum.org. Archived from the original on April 13, 2012.

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