Marie De Narde is a name known across the globe. She was a very famous fashion designer of her time. Her marriage to the ‘Hawaii Five-O’ actor, Jack Lord, triggered special media attention. Jack Lord was a renowned television and film actor, director, and producer.
Marie De Narde’s Family
Marie De Narde was born on 16 August 1905 in St. Louis, Missouri, to Italian parents, Gennaro Cepparulo and Elsie DeNarde Cepparulo. She had two brothers, Silvius Andrew and Alfred Florian. Her father, Gennaro, manufactured artificial flowers for floral arrangements, millinery, weddings, and other uses. In order to expand his work, he relocated to the United States, where he raised his family and his business bloomed.
After her graduation, Marie moved to France in 1923 to study fashion design. 4 years later, she rounded up her studies and returned back to the US. Initially, she was using her father’s surname “Cepparulo”, but she legally switched to her mother’s “DeNarde” immediately after her return from France. On September 28, 1928, Mr. Cepparulo succumbed to double pneumonia aggravated by a pre-existing heart condition. On August 7, 1930, Marie got married to John “Joe” Liello, an artist who immigrated from Stromboli, Italy, in 1900, served in the US Army infantry during World War I, and became a naturalized citizen in 1919. They divorced in 1941 and Marie gave her entire focus on her work. She later met the actor, Jack Lord, who was 15 years younger than her.
John Joseph Patrick Ryan, commonly known as Jack Lord, was born on December 30, 1920, in the Bushwick section of Brooklyn, New York. He was the son of Irish-American parents. His father, William Lawrence Ryan, was a steamship company executive. In 1942, Jack married his first wife, Ann Willard which ended in divorce in 1947. They had a son who died at the age of 12 on August 24, 1955, following a brief battle with hepatitis. He met Marie while house hunting in upstate New York. The couple tied the knot on January 17, 1949.
Jack died of congestive heart failure at his home in Honolulu, on January 21, 1998, at the age of 77. 7 years after his death, Marie passed away on 13 October 2005, at the age of 100.
Marie De Narde’s Net Worth
Marie De Narde may be known to the wider audience as the wife of the veteran actor, Jack Lord, but she had a stand of her own. She was a successful fashion designer but gave up her career to aid her husband in becoming an incredible actor that the world knows. With his wife’s moral support and his dedication and perseverance, Jack became one of the greatest actors of his time. He also became successful as a producer, director, and philanthropist. At the time of their death, the couple left behind a net worth of $50 million for the Hawai’i Community Foundation (HCF), whose current value is $80 million.
