Miranda Elizabeth Louise Macmillan, Countess of Stockton (née Quarry; 27 May 1947 – 18 March 2020) was a British socialite and fashion model.

Early life

Born in 1947, in

Wokingham Wokingham is a market town in Berkshire, England, west of London, southeast of Reading, north of Camberley and west of Bracknell. History Wokingham means 'Wocca's people's home'. Wocca was apparently a Saxon chieftain who may als ...

Berkshire Berkshire ( ; in the 17th century sometimes spelt phonetically as Barkeshire; abbreviated Berks.) is a historic county in South East England. One of the home counties, Berkshire was recognised by Queen Elizabeth II as the Royal County of Berk ...

, Miranda Quarry’s parents were Richard Bridges St John Quarry, a British Army officer in the

Royal Corps of Signals The Royal Corps of Signals (often simply known as the Royal Signals – abbreviated to R SIGNALS or R SIGS) is one of the combat support arms of the British Army. Signals units are among the first into action, providing the battlefield communi ...

, and his wife Diana Elizabeth Lloyd, daughter of Lieutenant-Colonel Horace Lloyd. She had an older sister, Venitia, born in 1942. The family lived in Berkshire, but the Quarrys divorced while Miranda was still a small child.Rebecca Cope
A look back at the life of Seventies 'It' girl Miranda, Countess of Stockton
(obituary), ''

The Tatler ''Tatler'' is a British magazine published by Condé Nast Publications focusing on fashion and lifestyle, as well as coverage of high society and politics. It is targeted towards the British upper-middle class and upper class, and those interes ...

'', 28 April 2020, accessed 6 November 2022 In 1951, Diana Quarry married secondly Stormont Mancroft, a Conservative politician. She had three more children, two daughters and a son, Benjamin Mancroft.''

Burke's Peerage Burke's Peerage Limited is a British genealogical publisher founded in 1826, when the Irish genealogist John Burke began releasing books devoted to the ancestry and heraldry of the peerage, baronetage, knightage and landed gentry of Great Br ...

'', vol. 2 (2003), p. 2588 When in 1962 her older sister Venitia married Frederick Barker, a future master of the

Quorn Quorn is a brand of meat substitute products, or the company that makes them. Quorn originated in the UK and is sold primarily in Europe, but is available in 14 countries. The brand is owned by parent company Monde Nissin. Quorn is sold as bo ...

, their father was living at Gaddeshill House,

Eversley Eversley is a village and civil parish in the Hart district of Hampshire, England. The village is located around northeast of Basingstoke and around west of Yateley. The River Blackwater, and the border with Berkshire, form the northern bo ...

Hampshire Hampshire (, ; abbreviated to Hants) is a ceremonial county, ceremonial and non-metropolitan county, non-metropolitan counties of England, county in western South East England on the coast of the English Channel. Home to two major English citi ...

, and their mother at 48

Montagu Square Montagu Square is a garden square in Marylebone, London. It is centred 550 metres north of Marble Arch and 440 m east of Edgware Road. Internally it spans by and is oriented on an axis of about NNW, an axis lasting for four blocks w ...

Marylebone Marylebone (usually , also , ) is a district in the West End of London, in the City of Westminster. Oxford Street, Europe's busiest shopping street, forms its southern boundary. An Civil parish#Ancient parishes, ancient parish and latterly a ...

. Venitia was reported to be a good side-saddle rider.Michael Clayton, ''Foxhunting in Paradise'' (2012)
p. 128
/ref> Quarry was educated at Crofton Grange School in Hertfordshire and a finishing school in Paris. After leaving school, she travelled through Spain and Italy and lived 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 ...

, then returned to England and was given a job by

Michael Fish Michael Fish, (born 27 April 1944 in Eastbourne, Sussex) is a British weather forecaster. From 1974 to 2004, he was a television presenter for BBC Weather. Career Educated at Eastbourne College and City University London, Fish was the longe ...

, fashion designer and outfitter. She became a fashion model and an

It girl An "it girl" is an attractive young woman, who is perceived to have both sex appeal and a personality that is especially engaging. The expression ''it girl'' originated in British upper-class society around the turn of the 20th century. ...

, before working as a flower seller at the Dorchester Hotel.

Marriages and children

Miranda met the actor

Peter Sellers Peter Sellers (born Richard Henry Sellers; 8 September 1925 – 24 July 1980) was an English actor and comedian. He first came to prominence performing in the BBC Radio comedy series ''The Goon Show'', featured on a number of hit comic songs ...

, a customer of Fish, but he did not take an interest in her until seeing her at the Dorchester. In 1970, she married him at the

Caxton Hall Caxton Hall is a building on the corner of Caxton Street and Palmer Street, in Westminster, London, England. It is a Grade II listed building primarily noted for its historical associations. It hosted many mainstream and fringe political and art ...

Westminster Westminster is an area of Central London, part of the wider City of Westminster. The area, which extends from the River Thames to Oxford Street, has many visitor attractions and historic landmarks, including the Palace of Westminster, Bu ...

, wearing a gypsy dress and accompanied by her Pekinese dogs Talitha and Tomasina. They set up home on an estate in

County Kildare County Kildare ( ga, Contae Chill Dara) is a county in Ireland. It is in the province of Leinster and is part of the Eastern and Midland Region. It is named after the town of Kildare. Kildare County Council is the local authority for the county, ...

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

, but within three years the marriage broke down, with Sellers accusing Miranda of infidelities. They were divorced in 1974 but remained friends until Sellers died in 1980.Peter Sellers comic genius is dead at 54

Montreal Gazette The ''Montreal Gazette'', formerly titled ''The Gazette'', is the only English-language daily newspaper published in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Three other daily English-language newspapers shuttered at various times during the second half of th ...

, 24 July 1980, accessed 17 February 2010 In 1975, Miranda married Sir Nicholas Nuttall, and they divided their time between Britain and

the Bahamas The Bahamas (), officially the Commonwealth of The Bahamas, is an island country within the Lucayan Archipelago of the West Indies in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic. It takes up 97% of the Lucayan Archipelago's land area and is home to ...

. They remained together until 1983 and had three daughters: Gytha Miranda (1975), Amber Louise (1977) and Olympia Jubilee (1978). Her third husband was

Alexander Macmillan, 2nd Earl of Stockton Alexander Daniel Alan Macmillan, 2nd Earl of Stockton (born 10 October 1943), styled as Viscount Macmillan of Ovenden between 1984 and 1986, is a Conservative Party politician in the United Kingdom. He is the eldest son of the Conservative poli ...

, whom she married in 1995. They separated in 2011. She died at home of

pancreatic cancer Pancreatic cancer arises when cell (biology), cells in the pancreas, a glandular organ behind the stomach, begin to multiply out of control and form a Neoplasm, mass. These cancerous cells have the malignant, ability to invade other parts of t ...

on 18 March 2020, after a short illness.“Miranda, Countess of Stockton, née Quarry”
announcements.telegraph.co.uk, 22 March 2020, accessed 6 November 2022

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Stockton, Miranda Macmillan, Countess of 1947 births 2020 deaths British countesses Deaths from pancreatic cancer English female models Australian female models People from Wokingham Wives of baronets Family of Peter Sellers Miranda Nuttall family Models from Berkshire