Anouska Hempel

Anouska Hempel
Lady Weinberg
Hempel as Australian Girl, 1968
Born
Ann Geissler

December 1941 (age 82)[1]
Wellington, New Zealand
NationalityNew Zealand
Other namesAnouska Hempel
CitizenshipBritish
EducationSutherland High School, New South Wales, Australia
Occupation(s)Hotelier and designer
Former actress
Years active1963 to present
Known forDesigner of Blakes Hotel and Hempel Hotel
StyleModern minimalism
Spouse(s)Constantine Hempel (widowed)
​
(m. 1978⁠–⁠1980)​
(divorced)
Sir Mark Weinberg (m. 1980)
Children3

Anouska Hempel, Lady Weinberg (born December 1941) is a New Zealand-born film and television actress turned hotelier and interior designer.[2] She is sometimes credited as Anoushka Hempel.

Early life

Hempel is of Russian and Swiss German ancestry and has speculated that she was born on a boat en route from Papua New Guinea to New Zealand.[3] Her family emigrated to New Zealand where she was born.[4] They later moved to Cronulla, south of Sydney in Australia, where her father owned a garage. As a teenager in the mid-1950s, Hempel attended Sutherland High School. In 1962, she moved to England carrying only £10.[5]

Acting

Hempel's first film appearance was in The Kiss of the Vampire (1963). In 1969 she appeared in the James Bond film On Her Majesty's Secret Service as one of the 'angels of death'. Thereafter, she appeared in several films, including Scars of Dracula (1970), The Magnificent Seven Deadly Sins (1971), Go for a Take (1972), Tiffany Jones (1973), Russ Meyer's controversial[6] Black Snake (1973),[7] Double Exposure (1977), and Lady Oscar (1979). In the 1970s, Hempel appeared in one episode of the BBC series The Lotus Eaters. She appeared in the science-fiction TV series' UFO ("Mindbender", 1970) and Space: 1999 ("The Metamorph", 1976). During her career as an actress, she appeared as a regular panellist alongside Patrick Mower for two series of the murder mystery game show Whodunnit?, between 1975 and 1976.

Partial filmography

Hotel and design

After finishing acting, Hempel has embarked in a career as a hotelier and interior designer.[8] In 2002, she was ranked by Architectural Digest as one of the top 100 interior designers and architects in the world.[9]

Hotels

Hempel has established four hotels. Blakes Hotel was created in 1978 as one of the world's first luxury boutique hotels.[7] Based in South Kensington, it is well known for its design, quality of service and privacy.[10] The hotel's restaurant has become a destination in its own right, featuring a fusion of Hempel's favourite cuisines of Japanese and Italian. Her second hotel, the Hempel Hotel, was noted as a minimalist hotel.[11] Blakes Amsterdam was opened in 1999, drawing inspiration from Amsterdam's historic Dutch East India Company.

Personal life

In 1964, she married Constantine Hempel, with whom she had a son and daughter. He was a journalist and property developer who was killed in 1973, crashing his car into a basement in Pimlico.[12] Hempel and her second husband, theatrical producer Bill Kenwright (1945–2023), divorced after two years of marriage in 1980. Later that year, Hempel married financier Mark Weinberg, with whom she has a son, Jonathan.[13] She appears in a photographic portrait by Bryan Wharton on display in the National Portrait Gallery.

References

  1. ^ "Appointments: Anouska WEINBERG". Companies House. Retrieved 20 July 2021.
  2. ^ Emma Jacobs (23 March 2012). "At Home: Anouska Hempel". Financial Times. Archived from the original on 11 December 2022. Retrieved 28 April 2012.
  3. ^ "The Naked Romps of Lady Weinberg". The New Zealand Herald. 25 June 2005. Retrieved 7 May 2011.
  4. ^ "Lady Weinberg Loses Battle". 5 June 2005.[dead link]
  5. ^ "Hempel of Doom". 29 July 2001. Archived from the original on 16 May 2011. Retrieved 7 May 2011 – via HighBeam Research.
  6. ^ Nigel Watson. "Titillating Russ Meyer". Talkingpix.co.uk. Archived from the original on 9 June 2011. Retrieved 7 May 2011.
  7. ^ a b "Revenge of the Dominatrix Hotelier". Hotelchatter.com. Archived from the original on 12 July 2011. Retrieved 7 May 2011.
  8. ^ "Anouska Hempel – a Woman of Many Firsts". Retrieved 5 October 2015.
  9. ^ "Architectural Digest". Architectural Digest. 8 January 2009. Archived from the original on 6 June 2011. Retrieved 7 May 2011.
  10. ^ "Know Your Hoteliers, Part 3". Gridskipper.com. 17 March 2005. Archived from the original on 30 September 2011. Retrieved 7 May 2011.
  11. ^ Glancey, Jonathan (2 October 2006). "Terrace towers". The Guardian. London. Retrieved 26 November 2012. ... the ultra-minimalist, five-star Hempel Hotel
  12. ^ "Obituary: Ned Ryan". The Telegraph. 26 December 2010. Archived from the original on 30 December 2010. Retrieved 20 July 2021.
  13. ^ "IMDB Biography". IMDb. 1 May 2009. Archived from the original on 6 June 2011. Retrieved 7 May 2011.