Countess Albina du Boisrouvray (born 1941) is a former journalist and film producer who has become a global philanthropist and
social entrepreneur
Social entrepreneurship is an approach by individuals, groups, start-up companies or entrepreneurs, in which they develop, fund and implement solutions to social, cultural, or environmental issues. This concept may be applied to a wide range of ...
working with AIDS victims and impoverished communities around the world. She is the founder of
FXB International
FXB International, also known as Association François-Xavier Bagnoud, is an international development organization aimed at providing support for communities affected by AIDS and poverty. The organization was founded in 1989 by Albina du Boisrou ...
, a
non-governmental organization
A non-governmental organization (NGO) or non-governmental organisation (see spelling differences) is an organization that generally is formed independent from government. They are typically nonprofit entities, and many of them are active in ...
established in memory of her son, François-Xavier Bagnoud.
Du Boisrouvray is a grandchild of the Bolivian ''King of Tin'',
Simón Patiño. She is a second cousin of
Prince Rainier of Monaco and
godmother to
Charlotte Casiraghi
Charlotte Marie Pomeline Casiraghi (born 3 August 1986) is a Monégasque model, socialite, writer, editor, equestrian, journalist, film producer, and humanitarian. She is the second child and only daughter of Caroline, Princess of Hanover, and S ...
, daughter of
Princess Caroline of Monaco.
Early life and education
She is the daughter of Count Guy de Jacquelot du Boisrouvray (1903-1980) and Luz Mila Patiño Rodríguez (1909-1958) (her name is also reported as Luzmila). Her paternal grandmother was born countess Joséphine Marie Louise de
Polignac, sister of
Prince Pierre, Duke of Valentinois
Prince Pierre of Monaco, Duke of Valentinois (born Count Pierre Marie Xavier Raphaël Antoine Melchior de Polignac; 24 October 1895 – 10 November 1964) was the father of Rainier III of Monaco. He was a promoter of art, music, and literature in M ...
, the maternal grandfather of
Rainier III, Prince of Monaco. Her maternal grandfather was
Simón Patiño, one of the wealthiest men in the world at the time of her birth.
Her father was part of the Free French movement and her family left the country while she was an infant. Du Boisrouvray grew up in
New York City
New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...
and lived at the
Plaza Hotel
The Plaza Hotel (also known as The Plaza) is a luxury hotel and condominium apartment building in Midtown Manhattan in New York City. It is located on the western side of Grand Army Plaza, after which it is named, just west of Fifth Avenue, a ...
. Her family later moved to Argentina, and du Boisrouvray lived alone in Switzerland, Morocco, England and back to France.
Du Boisrouvray attended
University of Sorbonne
The University of Paris (french: link=no, Université de Paris), Metonymy, metonymically known as the Sorbonne (), was the leading university in Paris, France, active from 1150 to 1970, with the exception between 1793 and 1806 under the French Revo ...
in Paris where she studied psychology and philosophy.
Career
Du Boisrouvray began her career as a journalist.
She worked as a freelance journalist for ''
Le Nouvel Observateur
(), previously known as (1964–2014), is a weekly French news magazine. Based in the 2nd arrondissement of Paris, it is the most prominent French general information magazine in terms of audience and circulation. Its current editor is Cécil ...
'', covering international stories such as the death of
Che Guevara
Ernesto Che Guevara (; 14 June 1928The date of birth recorded on /upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/78/Ernesto_Guevara_Acta_de_Nacimiento.jpg his birth certificatewas 14 June 1928, although one tertiary source, (Julia Constenla, quoted ...
.
She later co-founded the literary magazine ''Libre'' with
Juan Goytisolo
Juan Goytisolo Gay (6 January 1931 – 4 June 2017) was a Spanish poet, essayist, and novelist. He lived in Marrakesh from 1997 until his death in 2017.
He was considered Spain's greatest living writer at the beginning of the 21st century, yet ...
.
In 1978, du Boisrouvray ran as a candidate for the
Friends of the Earth
Friends of the Earth International (FoEI) is an international network of environmental organizations in 73 countries. The organization was founded in 1969 in San Francisco by David Brower, Donald Aitken and Gary Soucie after Brower's split with ...
party in parliamentary elections.
She founded a film production company, Albina Productions, in 1969 and is credited with producing 22 films over a period of 17 years. These films include
Pascal Thomas
Pascal Thomas (born 2 April 1945) is a French screenwriter and film director. His 1999 film ''The Dilettante'' was entered into the 21st Moscow International Film Festival.
Selected filmography
* '' Pleure pas la bouche pleine!'' (1973)
* '' Le ...
' first film, ''Les Zozos'' (1972), ''
L'important c'est d'aimer
''That Most Important Thing: Love'' (original French title: ''L'important c'est d'aimer'') is a French film directed by Polish filmmaker Andrzej Żuławski. It tells the story of a passionate love relationship between Nadine Chevalier, a B-List act ...
'' and ''
Une Femme a sa fenêtre'', both of which starred
Romy Schneider
Romy Schneider (; born Rosemarie Magdalena Albach; 23 September 1938 – 29 May 1982) was a German-French actress. She began her career in the German genre in the early 1950s when she was 15. From 1955 to 1957, she played the central chara ...
, and ''
Fort Saganne
''Fort Saganne'' is a 1984 French war film directed by Alain Corneau and starring Gérard Depardieu, Philippe Noiret, Catherine Deneuve, and Sophie Marceau. Based on the 1980 novel of the same name by Louis Gardel, the film is about a soldier ...
'' (1984), directed by
Alain Corneau
Alain Corneau (7 August 1943 – 30 August 2010) was a French film director and writer.
Corneau was born in Meung-sur-Loire, Loiret. Originally a musician, he worked with Costa-Gavras as an assistant, which was also his first opportunity to work ...
and starring
Gérard Depardieu
Gérard Xavier Marcel Depardieu, CQ (, , ; born 27 December 1948) is a French actor, filmmaker, businessman and vineyard owner since 1989 who is one of the most prolific thespians in film history having completed over 250 films since 1967 alm ...
,
Catherine Deneuve
Catherine Fabienne Dorléac (born 22 October 1943), known professionally as Catherine Deneuve (, , ), is a French actress as well as an occasional singer, model, and producer, considered one of the greatest European actresses. She gained recogni ...
and
Sophie Marceau
Sophie Marceau (; born Sophie Danièle Sylvie Maupu, 17 November 1966) is a French actress. As a teenager, she achieved popularity with her debut films ''La Boum'' (1980) and ''La Boum 2'' (1982), receiving a César Award for Most Promising Act ...
.
''
Police Python 357
''Police Python 357'' (also known as ''The Case Against Ferro'') is a 1976 French crime-thriller film written and directed by Alain Corneau. It is an adaptation of the storyline of Kenneth Fearing's 1946 novel, ''The Big Clock'', though with obvio ...
'' (1976) notably was one of the few films which starred
Yves Montand
Ivo Livi (), better known as Yves Montand (; 13 October 1921 – 9 November 1991), was an Italian-French actor and singer.
Early life
Montand was born Ivo Livi in Monsummano Terme, Italy, to Giovanni Livi, a broom manufacturer, Ivo held strong ...
and
Simone Signoret
Simone Signoret (; born Simone Henriette Charlotte Kaminker; 25 March 1921 – 30 September 1985) was a French actress. She received various accolades, including an Academy Award, three BAFTA Awards, a César Award, a Primetime Emmy Award, a ...
, a well-known couple, in the same film. Du Boisrouvray began serving as the chairperson of SEGH, her family's real estate and hotel management group, in 1980.
FXB International
Following the death of her only child, du Boisrouvray sold three-quarters of her assets including a jewelry collection auctioned by
Sotheby's
Sotheby's () is a British-founded American multinational corporation with headquarters in New York City. It is one of the world's largest brokers of fine and decorative art, jewellery, and collectibles. It has 80 locations in 40 countries, and ...
in New York for $31.2 million, an art collection of $20 million, and a substantial part of her family real-estate business which garnered $50 million. The Sotheby's auction was the largest jewelry sale since the
Duchess of Windsor's auction. The sale included pre-Columbian gold, jade and other notable pieces accumulated by the noble French family. Du Boisrouvray allocated part of the profits to the FXB Foundation to create programs, including an at home palliative care program for the terminally ill in Switzerland and France, a rescue helicopter control centre in the Swiss Alps, and a professorship at the
University of Michigan
, mottoeng = "Arts, Knowledge, Truth"
, former_names = Catholepistemiad, or University of Michigania (1817–1821)
, budget = $10.3 billion (2021)
, endowment = $17 billion (2021)As o ...
(her son's alma mater). The rest of the funds were used to found
FXB International
FXB International, also known as Association François-Xavier Bagnoud, is an international development organization aimed at providing support for communities affected by AIDS and poverty. The organization was founded in 1989 by Albina du Boisrou ...
in memory of her son, François-Xavier Bagnoud, a search-and-rescue pilot who died while serving as a transport pilot in Mali during the Paris-Dakar rally in 1986.
Du Boisrouvray founded FXB International is to fight poverty and
AIDS
Human immunodeficiency virus infection and acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (HIV/AIDS) is a spectrum of conditions caused by infection with the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), a retrovirus. Following initial infection an individual m ...
, and support orphans and vulnerable children left in the wake of the AIDS pandemic. FXB International offers comprehensive support to the families and communities that care for these children, and advocates for their fundamental rights. The organization has helped over 17 million people
from programs in more than 100 countries, with a staff of over 450.
Du Boisrouvray broadened its work from supporting children impacted by AIDS to also include all families needing support to emerge from
extreme poverty
Extreme poverty, deep poverty, abject poverty, absolute poverty, destitution, or penury, is the most severe type of poverty, defined by the United Nations (UN) as "a condition characterized by severe deprivation of basic human needs, includi ...
and become self-sufficient through the FXBVillage methodology. In 1991, she developed the
FXBVillage Methodology, a community-based, sustainable approach to overcoming the AIDS orphans crisis and extreme poverty. Each FXBVillage supports 80-100 families, comprising approximately 500 individuals, mostly children. Over a three-year period, FXB provides communities with the resources and training needed to become physically, financially and socially independent.
According to FXB, the FXBVillage program has graduated over 69,500 participants from eight countries and has over 12,500 current participants.
In 1993, du Boisrouvray founded the FXB Center for Health and Human Rights at
Harvard University
Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of higher le ...
, the first academic center to focus exclusively on health and human rights.
Awards and recognition
Du Boisrouvray was made
Chevalier des Arts et des Lettres
The ''Ordre des Arts et des Lettres'' (Order of Arts and Letters) is an order of France established on 2 May 1957 by the Minister of Culture. Its supplementary status to the was confirmed by President Charles de Gaulle in 1963. Its purpose is ...
in 1985.
In 1993, the
University of Michigan
, mottoeng = "Arts, Knowledge, Truth"
, former_names = Catholepistemiad, or University of Michigania (1817–1821)
, budget = $10.3 billion (2021)
, endowment = $17 billion (2021)As o ...
conferred upon her a "Doctor of Humane Letters Degree," and she was made a "John Harvard Fellow" by
Harvard University
Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of higher le ...
in 1996.
She received a Special Recognition Award for "Responding to the HIV/AIDS Orphan crisis" at the second conference on Global Strategies for the prevention of HIV transmission from mothers to infants in
Montreal
Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-most populous city in Canada and List of towns in Quebec, most populous city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian ...
, in September 1999. In 2001, Harvard students presented her with the "Harvard Project for International Health and Development Award".
Her philanthropy and humanitarian efforts earned her a knighthood of the
Légion d'Honneur
The National Order of the Legion of Honour (french: Ordre national de la Légion d'honneur), formerly the Royal Order of the Legion of Honour ('), is the highest French order of merit, both military and civil. Established in 1802 by Napoleon ...
in 2001 for her pioneering work in home palliative care projects.
Also in 2001, because of the innovative cost-effective projects that she formulated and directed within FXB, she was selected as a member of the Social Entrepreneurs Group of the
Schwab Foundation
The Schwab Foundation for Social Entrepreneurship is a Swiss not-for-profit organization founded in 1998 that provides platforms at the country, regional and global levels to promote social entrepreneurship.Schwab Foundation for Social Entreprene ...
. This recognition enables the 54 social entrepreneurs of the group to participate in the
Davos World Economic Forum
The World Economic Forum (WEF) is an international non-governmental and lobbying organisation based in Cologny, canton of Geneva, Switzerland. It was founded on 24 January 1971 by German engineer and economist Klaus Schwab. The foundation, ...
and to present and to share their expertise with world business leaders in the civil and public sectors.
She was awarded the 2002
North-South Prize
''North-South'' ( hy, Հյուսիս-Հարավ) or ''Four Buddies and the Bride'' is an Armenian comedy directed by Davit Babakhanyan and Vazgen Muradyan, starring Diana Malenko, Sona Shahgeldyan and David Tovmasyan. The film was produced by L ...
by the
Council of Europe
The Council of Europe (CoE; french: Conseil de l'Europe, ) is an international organisation founded in the wake of World War II to uphold European Convention on Human Rights, human rights, democracy and the Law in Europe, rule of law in Europe. ...
. In November 2003, du Boisrouvray received the "Lifetime Achievement Award" at the 4th International Conference on AIDS in India, in recognition for the projects that she initiated in the 35 States and Territories of India. In 2007, the French Fédération nationale des Clubs Convergences gave her an award for her activities on behalf of orphans and vulnerable children affected by AIDS in the world.
In 2004, Albina received the Thai Komol Keemthong Foundation Award for Outstanding Personality for the year 2004. The award was given in appreciation of her contributions to Thailand and Burma in the fields of protecting children and women's rights, education, vocational training and support of HIV/AIDS-affected children and their families.
In April 2009, French President
Nicolas Sarkozy
Nicolas Paul Stéphane Sarközy de Nagy-Bocsa (; ; born 28 January 1955) is a French politician who served as President of France from 2007 to 2012.
Born in Paris, he is of Hungarian, Greek Jewish, and French origin. Mayor of Neuilly-sur-Se ...
presented du Boisrouvray with the insignia of Officer in l'
Ordre National du Mérite
The Ordre national du Mérite (; en, National Order of Merit) is a French order of merit with membership awarded by the President of the French Republic, founded on 3 December 1963 by President Charles de Gaulle. The reason for the order's esta ...
. The President honoured Albina and her work, saying "Your NGO is a model throughout the world. You are a woman involved. Your solidarity is exemplary and that is why the Republic will distinguish you." She is the first film producer to be awarded L'
Ordre National du Mérite
The Ordre national du Mérite (; en, National Order of Merit) is a French order of merit with membership awarded by the President of the French Republic, founded on 3 December 1963 by President Charles de Gaulle. The reason for the order's esta ...
.
In June 2009, du Boisrouvray received the
BNP Paribas Jury's Special Prize.
In 2013, the Kalinga Institute of Social Sciences (KISS) awarded du Boisrouvray their KISS Humanitarian Award which recognizes individuals with exceptionally high contribution to society and who have distinguished themselves as humanitarians.
Personal life
Du Boisrouvray was married twice, first to Swiss aviator Bruno Bagnoud and second to French film producer Georges Casati, whom she divorced in 1982.
She met Bagnoud while living in
Valais
Valais ( , , ; frp, Valês; german: Wallis ), more formally the Canton of Valais,; german: Kanton Wallis; in other official Swiss languages outside Valais: it, (Canton) Vallese ; rm, (Chantun) Vallais. is one of the cantons of Switzerland, 26 ...
. They were married for four years and had one son together, François-Xavier Bagnoud, born in 1961.
She lives in Portugal, near Lisbon, part of the year and has homes in Paris, New York and Switzerland.
References
External links
''Newark Visit Yields Millions For Youngest AIDS Patients'', ''The New York Times'', 4 October 1990Bio detailsFXB website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Boisrouvray, Albina du
1941 births
Living people
French expatriates in the United States
French expatriates in Switzerland
French film producers
20th-century French philanthropists
Harvard University people
HIV/AIDS activists
Jewellery collectors
University of Paris alumni
21st-century French philanthropists
French women philanthropists