Elsie de Wolfe
Elsie de Wolfe's story is one of an average girl who made the most of her talents and lived to become the most famous Interior Decorator of her time.
Before there was a career known as interior decorating or design, Elsie de Wolfe set her sights on redefining the furnishings of her era. Weighted down with the heaviness of the dreary Victorian styles, she boldly went to work bringing in a new and refined freshness to her surroundings.
The Early Life of Elsie de Wolfe
Ella Anderson de Wolfe was born in New York on December 20, 1865 to a wealthy family. It is well documented that her parents considered her to be unattractive and at a young age sent her off to finishing school in Scotland where she lived with relatives. While living abroad, Elsie was overwhelmed by the dark and gloominess of her Victorian surroundings. She grew to hate the look of the era and although she was living a privileged life, being presented at court as a debutante to Queen Victoria and exposed to life in London society at a very young age, she became preoccupied with creating a new way of living.
Elsie de Wolfe's Career On The Stage
Returning to New York in the mid-1880s, Elsie took to a career on the stage. She found moderate work as an actress; however her best reviews were noted for her contributions to the costumes which she designed herself, and to her set design. This was all it took to spark her interest in becoming a professional decorator. It was while working in the theatre that Elsie also met her lifelong partner, Elisabeth Marbury. The two began a very public relationship that would last until Marbury’s death in 1933.
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