Jenna de Rosnay (born Jenna Severson, 7 March 1963) is an American

windsurfer Windsurfing is a wind propelled water sport that is a combination of sailing and surfing. It is also referred to as "sailboarding" and "boardsailing", and emerged in the late 1960s from the aerospace and surf culture of California. Windsurfing ga ...

, fashion designer, and model.

Career

From 1982 Rosnay broke the World Speedsailing Record (500-metre, women's windsurfing) seven times, first at the Speed Trials in Weymouth off the

Isle of Portland An isle is an island, land surrounded by water. The term is very common in British English. However, there is no clear agreement on what makes an island an isle or its difference, so they are considered synonyms. Isle may refer to: Geography * Is ...

in the United Kingdom. In 2010 she was inducted into the

Speedsailing Speed sailing is the art of sailing a craft as fast as possible over a predetermined route, and having its overall or peak speed recorded and accredited by a regulatory body. The term usually refers to sailing on water, even though sailing on land ...

Hall of Fame A hall, wall, or walk of fame is a list of individuals, achievements, or other entities, usually chosen by a group of electors, to mark their excellence or Wiktionary:fame, fame in their field. In some cases, these halls of fame consist of actu ...

. In 1988 she began designing swimwear for Huit and, later, wetsuits for

Neil Pryde Neil Pryde Ltd. (Pryde Group) is a Hong Kong based Sports Group engaged in manufacturing, distribution and brand management founded by Neil Pryde who served as chairman until January 1, 2015. Pryde Group is a privately held company, wholly owned ...

Personal life

Born in California and raised in Hawaii and Tahiti, de Rosnay is the daughter of

John Severson John Severson (SEA-ver-son, 1933–2017) was an American editor, author, filmmaker and artist, widely known as the founder of '' Surfer'', a magazine focused on the sport and culture of surfing. Severson also created a diverse body of artwork dedi ...

, photographer, film director, and founder of ''Surfer'' magazine, and his wife, the former Louise Stier. She has a younger sister, Anna Severson (born 1965). Jenna de Rosnay has been married twice: * Arnaud Louis Fromet de Rosnay (1946–1984), a French playboy, photographer, and long-distance windsurfer who was the youngest son of French-

Mauritian Mauritians (singular Mauritian; french: Mauricien; Creole: ''Morisien'') are nationals or natives of the Republic of Mauritius and their descendants. Mauritius is a multi-ethnic society, with notable groups of people of South Asian (notably I ...

painter

Gaëtan de Rosnay Gaëtan de Rosnay (17 May 1912 – 19 October 1992) was a French painter born in Mauritius, He belonged to the art movement called "La Jeune Peinture" ("young picture") of the School of Paris, with painters like Bernard Buffet, Yves Brayer, Louis V ...

and his wife, the former Natacha Koltchine. Arnaud de Rosnay had previously been married to Isabel Goldsmith, daughter of Sir

James Goldsmith Sir James Michael Goldsmith (26 February 1933 – 18 July 1997) was a French-British financier, tycoon''Billionaire: The Life and Times of Sir James Goldsmith'' by Ivan Fallon and politician who was a member of the Goldsmith family. His contr ...

and granddaughter of the Bolivian tin tycoon

Antenor Patiño Antenor Patiño Rodríguez (12 October 1896, in Oruro, Bolivia – 2 February 1982, in New York City) was a Bolivian tycoon, heir to his father Simón I. Patiño, called "the King of Tin". Family He married firstly in Paris on 8 April 1931 ''D ...

and his wife Doña Maria Cristina de Borbon y Bosch Labrus, Duchess of Durcal. Jenna Severson and Arnaud de Rosnay married in 1981, and in 1984, he disappeared at sea while attempting to windsurf from China to Taiwan. The couple had one daughter, Alizé de Rosnay (born 1984), an artist and designer who helps run a family-owned art gallery Puka Puka in Paia, Maui, Hawaii. *

Emmanuel de Buretel Emmanuel de Buretel (born Emmanuel de Buretel de Chassey, 22 December 1958 in Algers, Algeria) is a French music executive best known as the founder of Because Music, and for his work with Virgin Records. Career Virgin A graduate of the Massachus ...

, a recording executive who is the founder of

Because Music Because Music is an independent record label with headquarters in Paris and London. Because Music SAS is the main label, with Because Music Ltd handling the British artist roster. Because Music was founded in 2005 by former president of Virgin F ...

and the former chairman and CEO of

EMI EMI Group Limited (originally an initialism for Electric and Musical Industries, also referred to as EMI Records Ltd. or simply EMI) was a British transnational conglomerate founded in March 1931 in London. At the time of its break-up in 201 ...

Recorded Music Continental Europe. They have three daughters.

References

External links

Jenna de Rosnay
Official website
Puka Puka Gallery
Gallery website
Article
Article 1963 births Living people American emigrants to France Female models from California People from Hawaii Female models from Hawaii American windsurfers Female windsurfers {{Model-stub