Aimée de Heeren, born Aimée Soto-Maior de Sá or Aimée de Sotomayor (3 August 1903 – 13 September 2006), was a Brazilian socialite. She was the sister of Vera de Sá Sottomaior, who was married to John Felix Charles "Ivor" Bryce,

Randal Plunkett, 19th Baron of Dunsany Randal Arthur Henry Plunkett, 19th Baron of Dunsany (25 August 1906 – 8 February 1999) was an Irish peer and landowner, officer in the British and Indian Armies, and founder of the Irish branch of a knightly order. An only child, he was the so ...

, and Sir Walter Frederic Pretyman. Through her sister, she was the aunt of the 20th Baron of Dunsany. She was born in

Castro, Paraná Castro is a municipality in the state of Paraná in the Southern Region of Brazil. In 2020 it had a population of 71,809 people. The main road running through the town is the PR-151 road. History The first inhabitants were the indigenous people ...

, as the daughter of school teachers Genésio de Sá Sotomayor and Julieta Sampaio Quentel.

Rio de Janeiro

In the 1930s, she moved to

Rio de Janeiro Rio de Janeiro, or simply Rio, is the capital of the Rio de Janeiro (state), state of Rio de Janeiro. It is the List of cities in Brazil by population, second-most-populous city in Brazil (after São Paulo) and the Largest cities in the America ...

, where she married Luís Simões Lopes, chief of staff of President

Getúlio Vargas Getúlio Dornelles Vargas (; ; 19 April 1882 – 24 August 1954) was a Brazilian lawyer and politician who served as the 14th and 17th president of Brazil, from 1930 to 1945 and from 1951 until his suicide in 1954. Due to his long and contr ...

. De Heeren lived at the

Catete Palace The Catete Palace (, ) is an urban mansion in the Flamengo neighborhood of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. The property stretches from ''Rua do Catete'' (Catete Street) to ''Praia do Flamengo'' ( Flamengo Beach). Construction began in 1858 and ended in ...

, the seat of the president of Brazil, sparking controversy over her relationship with the president. De Heeren never confirmed nor denied the allegation. Decades after Vargas's death in 1954, his secret diary was published with multiple references to his "bem-amada" (English: "beloved"). Some historians believe that the "bem-amada" was Aimée de Heeren.

Secret Service agent in Paris

In 1938, de Heeren was sent to France to find information for President Vargas. Vargas was invited to join the

Axis powers The Axis powers, originally called the Rome–Berlin Axis and also Rome–Berlin–Tokyo Axis, was the military coalition which initiated World War II and fought against the Allies of World War II, Allies. Its principal members were Nazi Ge ...

. As a

fashionista Fashionistas may refer to: * ''Fashionistas'' (film), a 2002 American pornographic film * ''Fashionistas'', a 2004-2008 live show produced by John Stagliano at the Harmon Theater (aka Krave Nightclub) at the Mandalay Bay casino, Las Vegas Strip, ...

Aimée met people from European society including

Victor Sassoon Sir Ellice Victor Sassoon, 3rd Baronet (20 December 1881 – 13 August 1961)Some sources cite 30 December was a British businessman and hotelier from the wealthy Baghdadi Jews, Baghdadi Jewish Sassoon family, Sassoon merchant and banking family ...

and

Hugh Grosvenor, 2nd Duke of Westminster Hugh Richard Arthur Grosvenor, 2nd Duke of Westminster, (19 March 1879 – 19 July 1953), was a British landowner. He was also noted for his support of the Nazi ideology and his affair with French designer Coco Chanel. Early life Hugh was t ...

. The Duke of Westminster was said to be besotted by her. De Heeren was also seen with

Coco Chanel Gabrielle Bonheur "Coco" Chanel ( , ; 19 August 1883 – 10 January 1971) was a French fashion designer and Businessperson, businesswoman. The founder and namesake of the Chanel brand, she was credited in the post-World War I era with populari ...

(now known to be a Nazi agent) at many receptions, including the two Circus Bal events given by

Elsie de Wolfe Elsie de Wolfe, Lady Mendl ( Ella Anderson de Wolfe; December 20, c. 1859 – July 12, 1950) was an American actress who became a prominent interior designer and author. Born in New York City, de Wolfe was acutely sensitive to her surroundings ...

. Chanel and de Heeren remained close friends, particularly towards the end of Chanel's life. According to Bettina Ballard, the influential editor of American ''Vogue,'' de Heeren, at the time called Aimée Lopez or Aimée Lopez de Sotto Major, made a huge impression on French society: Aimee de Heeren's secret service activities in Paris are documented by Showroom Paris and in the inscriptions on the facade of a building, 11 rue des Halles, in the center of the French capital.

New York and the jet set

Due to the

Nazi occupation of France The Military Administration in France (; ) was an interim occupation authority established by Nazi Germany during World War II to administer the occupied zone in areas of northern and western France. This so-called ' was established in June 19 ...

, she was forced to emigrate to the USA, where she reunited with Joseph P. Kennedy Jr., and the other Kennedy brothers. Her friendship with the Kennedy family lasted until her death. She later married the Spanish American Rodman Arturo Heeren, grandson of Antonio Heeren, 1st Count of Heeren, and great-grandson of

John Wanamaker John Wanamaker (July 11, 1838December 12, 1922) was an American merchant and religious, civic and political figure, considered by some to be a proponent of advertising and a "pioneer in marketing". He served as United States Postmaster General ...

, the founder of the Wanamaker Department Stores. The couple had homes in Paris,

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

Palm Beach, Florida Palm Beach is an incorporated town in Palm Beach County, Florida, United States. Located on a barrier island in east-central Palm Beach County, the town is separated from West Palm Beach, Florida, West Palm Beach and Lake Worth Beach, Florida, ...

, and

Biarritz Biarritz ( , , , ; also spelled ; ) is a city on the Bay of Biscay, on the Atlantic coast in the Pyrénées-Atlantiques department in the French Basque Country in southwestern France. It is located from the border with Spain. It is a luxu ...

, as members of the

jet set The jet set is a social group of wealthy and fashionable people who travel the world to participate in social activities unavailable to ordinary people. The term was introduced in 1949 and replaced " café society"; it reflected a style of life ...

never stayed in one location for very long. The couple had one daughter: Cristina Heeren y Sá de Sotomayor, 3rd Countess of Heeren. De Heeren was listed as one of the best dressed women in the world several times, and a 1941 edition of ''Time'' magazine included her as number three in a list of "Ten Best Dressed Women in the World". She was mentioned in magazines such as ''

Vogue Vogue may refer to: Business * ''Vogue'' (magazine), a US fashion magazine ** British ''Vogue'', a British fashion magazine ** '' Vogue Adria'', a fashion magazine for former Yugoslav countries ** ''Vogue Arabia'', an Arab fashion magazine ** ' ...

''. She was included in the International Best Dressed Hall of Fame List in 1996.

Later years

She took online courses at the Crèmerie de Paris. This resulted in the creation of the Brazilian

White Pages A telephone directory, commonly called a telephone book, telephone address book, phonebook, or the white and yellow pages, is a listing of telephone subscribers in a geographical area or subscribers to services provided by the organization that ...

. In 2005, at the age of 102, she travelled to

Belgrade Belgrade is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Serbia, largest city of Serbia. It is located at the confluence of the Sava and Danube rivers and at the crossroads of the Pannonian Basin, Pannonian Plain and the Balkan Peninsula. T ...

to attend the 60th birthday of Crown Prince Alexander of Yugoslavia, at the White Palace. She died in 2006, in

, at the age of 103.

References

External links

Aimee de Heeren.com
- Remembering Aimee de Heeren {{DEFAULTSORT:Heeren, Aimee 1903 births 2006 deaths Brazilian women centenarians Brazilian expatriates in France Brazilian expatriates in the United States Brazilian socialites People from Paraná (state)