Curiosidades

Nathalie Paley was born Princess Natalia Pavlovna Paley, daughter of Grand Duke Paul Alexandrovich of Russia (uncle of Tsar Nicholas II) by his second wife, Olga Karnovich. A commoner, Olga did not become a Grand Duchess but was given the titles Countess von Hohenfelsen by the king of Bavaria, and Princess Paley by Nicholas II. Olga's children bore the latter name and title. Natalia's half-brother, Grand Duke Dmitri (by Paul's first wife, a Greek princess) helped murder Grigory Rasputin in 1916. Her full brother, Prince Vladimir Paley, was killed by the Bolsheviks in July 1918. Natalia married twice, first to a Frenchman (1927-1937) and then to an American, but had no children.

In the 1940s and early 1950s, she had a lengthy romantic relationship with writer Erich Maria Remarque, who fictionalized her as "Natascha" in his posthumous novel, Shadows in Paradise.

She became a fashion model, socialite, vendeuse, and briefly pursued a career as a film actress.

For many years, Princess Natalia worked in public relations as a promoter of the fashion house Mainbocher. She was a friend of Elsa Maxwell and became a confidante of Antoine de Saint-Exupéry.

Her first film was L'epervier (1933), directed by Marcel L'Herbier, her husband's cousin. It was the beginning of her career as a movie actress, taking parts in several European movies, including Sir Alexander Korda's The Private Life of Don Juan (1934).