Vivien Duffield

Dame Vivien Louise Duffield, DBE (born 1946), is a British socialite and philanthropist.

The only daughter of millionaire businessman Sir Charles Clore, Duffield was educated at the Lycée Français, Heathfield School and Lady Margaret Hall, Oxford University where she read languages. She was for some years married to the British financier John Duffield, chairman of New Star Asset Management.

After Sir Charles Clore's death in 1979, Vivien Duffield assumed the Chairmanship of Clore's charitable institution, the Clore Foundation. She created her own foundation in 1989, and the two foundations were merged in 2000 to become the Clore Duffield Foundation, which is particularly noted for support of the arts and of British Jewish charities. In 2006 the Foundation had an annual expenditure of £6,382,837. [ [http://www.charity-commission.gov.uk/registeredcharities/showcharity.asp?remchar=&chyno=1084412 Charity Commission: Registered Charity No. 1084412] ] Substantial bequests and donations on Duffield's own account and on that of the Foundations she controls have resulted in her gaining a place on the boards of a number of British institutions including the South Bank Centreand the Royal Opera House. She also has a place on the board [ [http://www.jcclondon.org.uk/AboutUs.html Jewish Community Centre for London Board Members] ] of the Jewish Community Centre for London, a project that she initiated following an inspirational visit to the Jewish Community Centres of North America in 2002.

Duffield chairs the newly launched Campaign for the University of Oxford, which aims to raise in excess of £1.25 billion to support at education at Oxford University.

Duffield's personal generosity is immense: a 2005 London "Evening Standard" article estimated that she and the Foundations she controls had donated in excess of £176 million. The same article quoted friends who described her as "a frightful bully, a very awkward customer", while she refers to herself as "bossy, arrogant and practically unemployable".

Vivien Duffield was made a Commander of the Order of the British Empire in 1989 and a Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire in 2000. In 2005 she separated from her partner of 30 years, Sir Jocelyn Stevens; former Managing Director of Express Newspapers and former Chairman of English Heritage.

In 2006 Dame Vivien Duffield won the Beacon Fellowship Prize

References

External links

* [http://www.cloreduffield.org.uk/ Clore Duffield Foundation official web site]