Audrey Skirball-Kenis (December 19, 1914 – June 19, 2002) was an American philanthropist.

Early years

Audrey Skirball-Kenis was born Audrey Marx in

Birmingham, Alabama Birmingham ( ) is a city in the north central region of the U.S. state of Alabama. Birmingham is the seat of Jefferson County, Alabama's most populous county. As of the 2021 census estimates, Birmingham had a population of 197,575, down 1% fr ...

, the daughter of Otto Marx Sr., and Agnes Mosler Marx. Her father's banking business was an early tenant of the eponymous Brown Marx Building in downtown Birmingham, Alabama. Raised in New York City, as the daughter of a Paris-born mother, she spoke French at home until she began school. In 1941, the day after

Pearl Harbor Pearl Harbor is an American lagoon harbor on the island of Oahu, Hawaii, west of Honolulu. It was often visited by the Naval fleet of the United States, before it was acquired from the Hawaiian Kingdom by the U.S. with the signing of the Re ...

was bombed, Audrey moved to California to join the Signal Corps. Audrey had two brief marriages that ended in divorce before, marrying film producer and real estate developer

Jack Skirball Jack H. Skirball (June 23, 1896 – December 8, 1985) was an American rabbi, film producer, real estate developer and philanthropist. Early life Jack H. Skirball was born in 1896 in Homestead, Pennsylvania. His father was an immigrant from Czech ...

. The couple were deeply involved in philanthropy, largely in support of

Reform Judaism Reform Judaism, also known as Liberal Judaism or Progressive Judaism, is a major Jewish denomination that emphasizes the evolving nature of Judaism, the superiority of its ethical aspects to its ceremonial ones, and belief in a continuous searc ...

. They planned and funded the construction of the

Skirball Cultural Center The Skirball Cultural Center, founded in 1996, is a Jewish educational institution in Los Angeles, California. The center, named after philanthropist-couple Jack H. Skirball and Audrey Skirball-Kenis, features a museum with regularly changing e ...

. Jack died in 1985, shortly before the center opened. In 1987 Audrey married wine importer Charles Kenis. Together they established the Audrey Skirball-Kenis Center for Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery at

Cedars-Sinai Medical Center Cedars-Sinai Medical Center is a nonprofit, tertiary, 886-bed teaching hospital and multi-specialty academic health science center located in Los Angeles, California. Part of the Cedars-Sinai Health System, the hospital employs a staff of over 2 ...

, as well as being involved in a variety of other philanthropic projects. A long-time horse racing fan, Audrey Skirball had joined with friends in 1972 to purchase a

thoroughbred The Thoroughbred is a horse breed best known for its use in horse racing. Although the word ''thoroughbred'' is sometimes used to refer to any breed of purebred horse, it technically refers only to the Thoroughbred breed. Thoroughbreds are c ...

, then established the 3 Plus U Stable, which became quite successful. Charles Kenis joined his new wife in this pursuit and became a founder and eventually director

emeritus ''Emeritus'' (; female: ''emerita'') is an adjective used to designate a retired chair, professor, pastor, bishop, pope, director, president, prime minister, rabbi, emperor, or other person who has been "permitted to retain as an honorary title ...

of the Thoroughbred Owners of California.

ASK

Audrey and Charles founded the non-profit Audrey Skirball-Kenis Theater Projects (ASK) in West Los Angeles. Audrey did not actively manage ASK, but Charles served as president of ASK's board of trustees. In 1990, Audrey and Charles, through ASK, made a highly publicized donation of $500,000 to the Los Angeles Arts Festival's theater and performance programs. The donation saved the festival from closing, and was ceremonially accepted in the Los Angeles mayor's office by Peter Sellers, the festival's director. Soon, ASK emerged with a reputation as Los Angeles' primary funder of small new theatrical projects. In 2000, ASK spent and gave a total of $1.8 million to charitable activities.

Death

Audrey Skirball-Kenis died on June 19, 2002, at age 87 in Los Angeles. She had two daughters, and two stepchildren. Charles Kenis died in Los Angeles on July 21, 2006.Obituary of Charles Kenis
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References

Sources

*Audrey Skirball-Kenis, Philanthropist, 87, Dies (Associated Press, June 25, 2002) *Turmoil and uncertainty rock an L.A. art mainstay, L.A. Weekly, June 14–20, 2002 * {{DEFAULTSORT:Skirball-Kenis, Audrey 1914 births 2002 deaths American people of French-Jewish descent People from New York City Military personnel from Birmingham, Alabama People from Los Angeles United States Army soldiers American Reform Jews Women in the United States Army American women in World War II 20th-century American philanthropists 20th-century American people