Béatrice de Andia (17 September 1933 – 16 October 2024) was a Spanish-French writer and curator.

Life and career

Born in

Madrid Madrid ( ; ) is the capital and List of largest cities in Spain, most populous municipality of Spain. It has almost 3.5 million inhabitants and a Madrid metropolitan area, metropolitan area population of approximately 7 million. It i ...

on 17 September 1933, de Andia grew up in a family of Spanish and French nationality. She was the daughter of Manuel Gonzalez de Andia y Talleyrand-Périgord,

Duke of Dino Duke of Dino (Italian: ''Duca di Dino'') was a noble title of the Kingdom of Naples, later the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies. The title referred to the island of Dino in the Tyrrhenian Sea, off Praia a Mare in Calabria. It was created on 9 Novem ...

, and Mercedes de Elio. Her French origins stemmed from her paternal grandmother, a member of the

House of Talleyrand-Périgord The House of Talleyrand-Périgord () is an ancient French nobility, French noble house. A well-known member of this family was Charles Maurice de Talleyrand-Périgord (1754–1838), who achieved distinction as a French statesman and diplomat. Th ...

, a descendant of her five-time great uncle

Charles Maurice de Talleyrand-Périgord Charles-Maurice de Talleyrand-Périgord (; ; 2 February 1754 – 17 May 1838), 1st Prince of Benevento, then Prince of Talleyrand, was a French secularization, secularized clergyman, statesman, and leading diplomat. After studying theology, he b ...

. She was raised in an 18th Century

country house image:Blenheim - Blenheim Palace - 20210417125239.jpg, 300px, Blenheim Palace - Oxfordshire An English country house is a large house or mansion in the English countryside. Such houses were often owned by individuals who also owned a Townhou ...

Saint-Brice-sous-Forêt Saint-Brice-sous-Forêt () is a Communes of France, commune in the Val-d'Oise Departments of France, department in Île-de-France in northern France. Sarcelles–Saint-Brice station has rail connections to Persan, Luzarches and Paris. Population ...

. She graduated from the

Sciences Po Sciences Po () or Sciences Po Paris, also known as the Paris Institute of Political Studies (), is a public research university located in Paris, France, that holds the status of ''grande école'' and the legal status of . The university's unde ...

and earned a doctorate from

Paris Nanterre University Paris Nanterre University (), formerly University of Paris West, Paris-X and commonly referred to as Nanterre, is a public research university based in Nanterre, Hauts-de-Seine, France, in the Paris metropolitan area. It is one of the most pres ...

in 1974. De Andia spent the majority of her cultural career in

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

, though she travelled around the world in her

Citroën 2CV The Citroën 2CV (, , lit. "two horses", meaning "two Tax horsepower#France, ''taxable'' horsepower") is an economy car produced by the French company Citroën from 1948 to 1990. Introduced at the 1948 Paris Paris Auto Show, Salon de l'Automobi ...

. She then moved to her castle in

Azay-le-Rideau Azay-le-Rideau () is a commune in the Indre-et-Loire department in the Centre-Val de Loire region in central-west France. Château The château of Azay-le-Rideau was built from 1515 to 1527, one of the earliest French Renaissance châteaux. ...

in 1986 and opened the to the public in 2000. That year, she joined the . In 2006, she founded the . She was also a founding member of the La Revue des vieilles maisons françaises. De Andia died in Azay-le-Rideau, on 16 October 2024, at the age of 91.

Awards

*Knight of the

Legion of Honour The National Order of the Legion of Honour ( ), formerly the Imperial Order of the Legion of Honour (), is the highest and most prestigious French national order of merit, both military and Civil society, civil. Currently consisting of five cl ...

(1991) *Officer of the

Ordre national du Mérite The (; ) 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 establishment was twofold: to replace the large number of ...

(1995) *Prix Berger of the

Académie des Inscriptions et Belles-Lettres The () is a French learned society devoted to history, founded in February 1663 as one of the five academies of the . The academy's scope was the study of ancient inscriptions (epigraphy) and historical literature (see Belles-lettres). History ...

(1998) *Officer of the Legion of Honour (2001) *Knight of the

Ordre des Palmes académiques A suite, in Western classical music, is an ordered set of instrumental or orchestral/concert band pieces. It originated in the late 14th century as a pairing of dance tunes; and grew in scope so that by the early 17th century it comprised up to ...

(2002) *Commander of the Ordre national du Mérite (2008) *Dame of the

Order of Merit The Order of Merit () is an order of merit for the Commonwealth realms, recognising distinguished service in the armed forces, science, art, literature, or the promotion of culture. Established in 1902 by Edward VII, admission into the order r ...

(2010)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Andia, Beatrice de 1933 births 2024 deaths French people of Spanish descent French women writers Officers of the Ordre national du Mérite Paris Nanterre University alumni People from Val-d'Oise Sciences Po alumni Spanish people of French descent Spanish women writers Writers from Madrid Noblewomen from Spain