Betty von Rothschild was born in Frankfurt to the
Jewish Austrian banker
Salomon Mayer von Rothschild and Caroline Stern. Her only sibling was her brother
Anselm Salomon von Rothschild. In 1824 at the age of 19 Betty married her uncle, the Paris-based banker
James Mayer de Rothschild (1792-1868). Both Salomon and James were sons of
Mayer Amschel Rothschild, the founder of the Rothschild dynasty. In Paris she was noted for her salon and for her patronage of the arts. She secured the services of
Frédéric Chopin as piano teacher to her family soon after his arrival in Paris, and she
commissioned a portrait from
Jean-Auguste-Dominique Ingres in 1841, although it was not completed until 1848. In 1842 the artist wrote to a friend: "Tuesday, I have a definite sitting with Mme. de Rothschild, which came at the price of a dozen puerile and sincere letters. Long live portraits! may God damn them…!" She also became a friend of
Marie-Amélie, the wife of
King Louis-Philippe. ("When it comes to Judaism, refer to my wife.") They had five children: •
Charlotte de Rothschild (1825–1899), who married
Nathaniel de Rothschild (1812–1870) •
Mayer Alphonse de Rothschild (1827–1905), who married Leonora de Rothschild (1837–1911), the daughter of
Lionel de Rothschild of the
English branch of the family. •
Gustave Samuel de Rothschild (1829–1911), who married Cécile Anspach •
Salomon James de Rothschild (1835–1864), who married Adèle von Rothschild (1843–1922), daughter of his cousin
Mayer Carl von Rothschild •
Edmond James de Rothschild (1845–1934), who married
Adelheid von Rothschild (1853–1935), daughter of
Wilhelm Carl von Rothschild and
Mathilde Hannah von Rothschild of the
Naples branch of the Rothschild family After the death of James de Rothschild in 1868, she spent several months each year in
Cannes. in 1881 she purchased and rebuilt the Villa Marie-Thèrese in Cannes. She died in the
Château de Boulogne in 1886, and is buried in
Père-Lachaise cemetery. ==Philanthropy==