American actress, more noted as the mistress of William Randolph Hearst for 37 years. She first caught his attention when she was 16, appearing on stage; he was then 50. He tried to make her a star but one critic wrote, “Miss Davies has a range of expression from A to B.”
Though Hearst was married, they were inseparable from 1924, living in the fabulous Hearst Castle at San Simeon on the California Coast. A warm and charming hostess, she oversaw one of the most extraordinary show places of the 20th century, a castle with decor and art work that could never be replicated for any amount of money as time went by. She may have begun her relationship with Hearst for financial expediency, but she grew to love him deeply and spent 37 years by his side.
She did handle money well, investing in stocks and property. At one time when he was strapped for cash, she was able to hand him $1 million that she had socked away. Davies was also well thought of by her friends, and always had a spare bit of money for someone who was down on their luck. She built a children’s clinic that later developed into UCLA Medical Center.
Loyal to Hearst and friends with his boys, she took care of him when his health failed in his 80s. In 1947 they moved to a mansion on eight acres in Beverly Hills. On the morning of 14 August 1951, Hearst died and his body was taken away from her for burial with the attendance of his wife and sons. Davies wept, “I loved him for 32 years and could not even say goodbye.”
In October 1951, she married, at the age of 54, for the first time. Her husband, Horace Brown, was a tall retired Merchant Marine captain with blue eyes who looked remarkably like William Randolph Hearst.
She herself died of cancer on 22 September 1961 in Hollywood, California.
Link to Wikipedia biography