Biography

Countess Albina du Boisrouvray (born 1941) is a former journalist and film producer who has become a global philanthropist and social entrepreneur working with AIDS victims and impoverished communities around the world. She is the founder of FXB International, a non-governmental organization established in memory of her son, François-Xavier Bagnoud. Du Boisrouvray is a grandchild of the Bolivian King of Tin, Simón Patiño. She is a second cousin of Prince Rainier of Monaco and godmother to Charlotte Casiraghi, daughter of Princess Caroline of Monaco. She is the daughter of Count Guy de Jacquelot du Boisrouvray (1903-1980) and Luz Mila Patiño Rodríguez (1909-1958) (her name is also reported as Luzmila). Her paternal grandmother was born countess Joséphine Marie Louise de Polignac, sister of Prince Pierre, Duke of Valentinois, the maternal grandfather of Rainier III, Prince of Monaco. Her maternal grandfather was Simón Patiño, one of the wealthiest men in the world at the time of her birth. Her father was part of the Free French movement and her family left the country while she was an infant. Du Boisrouvray grew up in New York City and lived at the Plaza Hotel. Her family later moved to Argentina, and du Boisrouvray lived alone in Switzerland, Morocco, England and back to France. Du Boisrouvray attended University of Sorbonne in Paris where she studied psychology and philosophy. Du Boisrouvray began her career as a journalist. She worked as a freelance journalist for Le Nouvel Observateur, covering international stories such as the death of Che Guevara. She later co-founded the literary magazine Libre with Juan Goytisolo. In 1978, du Boisrouvray ran as a candidate for the Friends of the Earth party in parliamentary elections. She founded a film production company, Albina Productions, in 1969 and is credited with producing 22 films over a period of 17 years. These films include Pascal Thomas' first film, Les Zozos (1972), L'important c'est d'aimer and Une Femme a sa fenêtre, both of which starred Romy Schneider, and Fort Saganne (1984), directed by Alain Corneau and starring Gérard Depardieu, Catherine Deneuve and Sophie Marceau. Police Python 357 (1976) notably was one of the few films which starred Yves Montand and Simone Signoret, a well-known couple, in the same film. Du Boisrouvray began serving as the chairperson of SEGH, her family's real estate and hotel management group, in 1980. ... Source: Article "Albina du Boisrouvray" from Wikipedia in English, licensed under CC-BY-SA 3.0.