Daughter-in-law of Sir Winston Churchill and the most famous courtesan of the Twentieth
Century. She became the mistress of men while they
were married to other women. Many women dream of marrying a millionaire and wonder how Pamela
Harriman did it not just once, but three times…and along the way left a long string of very powerful
and wealthy lovers. It is often said that behind every great man
there is a woman, and what is often overlooked is that the woman behind Bill Clinton was
Pamela Harriman.
Although born into an aristocratic English family, the family’s fortunes had significantly
diminished. She saw that her chance of attaining prominence lay in influencing prominent men.
Men, as she recognized quickly, controlled everything in those days and the only way
for a woman to get ahead in the world was through influencing those men with real power.
Men were willing to jeopardize their relationships and careers to be with her. She loved men
and men loved her, and she knew how to please a man. She was able to focus on a man and
make him feel that he was the most important man in the room. She could remember a favorite
drink or make sure you were seated comfortably. One conquest said “she wasn’t coquettish
– just very sweet and charming and pretty”. When involved romantically with a man, she
paid extremely close attention to his desires, his preferences, and went to any lengths necessary
to satisfy his needs during the affair. Pamela obviously took very good care of her
men, and when they died she got every dime.
Randolph Churchill She met Sir Winston Churchill’s only son,
Randolph on a blind date and he proposed to her on the very night they met. Pamela recognized
the value of having the Churchill name so she and Randolph were married on October 4,
1939 when she was 19 years old. The Prime Minister often called upon Pamela to be the
official hostess at political affairs. This gave her the opportunity to meet a variety
of noted and notable persons. They produced a son, Winston a year later. Randolph was
already known as a hard drinking gambler, abusive, and a womanizer who gambled away
a fortune. In 1941 Randolph was sent to Cairo for military service where he ran up large
gambling debts and continued as a hard drinking philanderer. But Pamela was not without her
dalliances too. During the war she often stayed with her in-laws, meeting such prominent men
as Charles de Gaulle, Emerald Cunard and Averell Harriman. The couple divorced in 1944 after
5 years of marriage. William S. Paley
He and Pamela engaged in a wartime affair. He was a wealthy businessman and broadcaster
who built the Columbia Broadcast System (CBS) from a small radio network into one of the
foremost radio and television operations in the US. He regularly entertained Lucille Ball,
Grace Kelly, and David O. Selsnik. Edward R. Murrow
An American journalist and pioneer of television news broadcasting. He returned to London after
the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor in 1941 to do live reports. It was then in 1943 that
he met had an affair with and fell in love with Pamela, who was still married to Randolph
Churchill at the time. Pamela wanted to marry Edward R. Murrow and he considered it. She
followed him to the United States but Murrow’s wife at that time gave birth to their only
child and so he ended the affair and returned to his wife and Pamela was alone again.
Aly Khan He was a Prince and Pakistan’s representative
to the United Nations and was elected a Vice President of the UN General Assembly. He served
as Chairman of the UN’s Peace Observation Committee. He was a billionaire and was movie
star Rita Hayworth’s third husband. Pamela learned from him the technique of assuming
a gaze of hypnotic interest when listening to the opposite sex. They became lovers in
1946 while he was still married. Aly Khan meanwhile had met Rita Hayworth but Pam had
already fallen in love with Gianni Agnelli. Gianni Agnelli
He and Pamela became lovers in 1948. He was a very wealthy Italian Industrialist and principle
shareholder in the Fiat motor company. He installed her in an apartment on the Avenue
de New York, with a handsome allowance, a Fiat, a Bentley and chauffeur. Pamela even
took to speaking English with an Italian accent during her affair. She was determined to marry
him, even embracing Roman Catholicism but Gianni made it clear that marrying a divorced
woman was out of the question. The affair had lasted 5 years.
Baron Elie de Rothschild Conveniently, just before leaving Gianni Agnelli,
she began her next relationship with Elie de Rothschild. He was a famous vintner, owner
of Chateau Lafite-Rothschild, and a wealthy aristocrat…and.. he was a married man. She
met Elie in 1954 at a party in a Paris restaurant organized by some American bankers. She had
hoped to marry him but he never contemplated leaving his wife. They became lovers and he
provided her with a lavish lifestyle to which she had become accustomed. She was schooled
in art history and wine making during their affair. But she was spurned from official
circles as a woman without a husband or official position. When the affair ended and she moved
out of her Paris apartment, she took everything with her…..including all of his antique
furniture. Maurice Druon
He was a noted writer, a French novelist, and member of the Academie francaise. He was
a staunch defender of the purity of the French language. She carried on her relationship
with Maurice during her affair with Elie de Rothchild.
Stavros Niarchos Also during this time she began a relationship
with Stavros Niarchos, a Greek shipping magnate. In 1952 he built the 1st oil supertanker.
He was known as the Golden Greek. His shipping rival, and brother-in-law, was Aristotle Onasis.
In 1956 the Suez Canal crisis created demand for his ships and made him a billionaire.
In1989 he purchased Picasso’s self portrait “Yo Picasso” for $47,850,000. He and Pamela
became lovers while he was married to his third wife.
John Hay “Jock” Whitney The US Ambassador to the United Kingdom in
1958 and was one of the wealthiest men in the world. He inherited a $200 million trust
fund when he was 22 when his father died. He later inherited $800 million in today’s
dollars from his mother. He was a backer of the film “Gone With The Wind” and was
prominent in New York’s café society. He was still married to his wife Mary Elizabeth
Altemus when he met and had an affair with Pamela.
Alfonso de Portago
His complete name was Alfonso Antonio Vicente Eduardo Angel Blas Francisco de Borja Cabeza
de Vaca y Leighton, Marquis of Portago….but best known as Alfonso de Portago. He was the
inheritor of the oldest title in Spain. He grew up in Biarritz and was an equestrian,
bob sled runner, Olympic competitor, race car driver and spoke 4 languages.
1) Leland Hayward She began her affair with Leland Hayward in
1959. She had given an ultimatum to Elie de Rothchild and when it was rejected, she accepted
Hayward’s offer to move with him to New York. He was a married man and famous Broadway
stage producer when they met. His accomplishments included South Pacific, The Sound of Music,
Mr. Roberts, The Old Man and the Sea, and Gypsy. On the same day, after only hours of
Hayward’s divorce from his wife was final, Pamela became Mrs. Leland Hayward in a ceremony
taking place in Carson City, Nevada in 1960. They maintained a lavish lifestyle and travelled
in Hollywood circles. Their marriage lasted until Hayward’s death
in 1971. She was later accused by Hayward’s children of grabbing all their father’s
money.
Averell Harriman
Pamela was having a brief affair with Frank Sinatra when she heard that her wartime lover
Averell Harriman’s wife had died and she was eager to reconnect to the man many consider
the love of her life. He was fabulously wealthy, good looking and an international polo player.
He was President Roosevelt’s Special Envoy to England and later Ambassador to Moscow.
In the 30 years since their wartime affair, Harriman had run twice for President, been
elected Governor of New York and served as a top adviser to Presidents John Kennedy and
Lyndon Johnson. In 1909 Averell inherited a fortune from his father who owned the Union
Pacific Railroad and Wells Fargo. He immersed himself in American Democratic politics. A
day after Pamela’s husband Leland Hayward died, she began her second affair with Averell
and 6 months later they were married. She also became a naturalized citizen. Averell
was almost 80 at the time, and 28 years her senior. Pamela threw herself into seeing to
Averell’s every need, maintaining beautiful homes in Barbados, the Virginia hunt country
and in Georgetown. They were married until his death in 1986
at which time Pamela inherited $115 million. Her inheritance included a Westwind private
jet and propertys Willow Oaks, 414 acres of Arden real estate including horse stables,
Sands Point acreage, Birchgrove, a $million Sun Valley “cottage”, 5 homes, a $50 million
art collection, and $10 million in cash. In less than 10 years however, she had spent
so much of it that Harriman’s heirs sued her. Significant legal problems with Harriman’s
children would lead to significant financial problems for Pamela the rest of her life.
She became a catalyst and focal point for the Democratic party, hosting dinner parties
and attracting a who’s who list of prominent party members. She created PamPAC, a political
action committee that raised money for Democratic candidates. She had a knack for getting people
to give money and feel ennobled for doing so. She had reinvented herself as a mover
and shaker in the Democratic party. She spoke at the 1984 Democratic convention,
supporting Michael Dukakis and Al Gore’s 1992 presidential campaign. She then turned
her attention to a young governor from Arkansas…Bill Clinton and when he won the party’s nomination,
she raised $12 million for the upcoming election. Her reward for her constant and significant
support was the Ambassadorship to France. President Clinton appointed her US Ambassador
to France in 1993. Pamela Harriman died of a stroke in Paris
in February 1997. President Clinton dispatched Air Force One to bring her body home and he
spoke at her funeral in 1997 at the National Cathedral in Washington, D.C. The funeral
was attended by President Clinton, Al Gore, and more than 1,000 people, including numerous
world leaders who mourned her passing.
Pamela Digby Churchill Haywood Harriman……..20th Century Courtesan.