Marie-Hélène Naila, Baroness Stephanie Josina van Zuylen van Nyevelt van de Haar was born in New York City in 1927 to a Syrian immigrant mother and a diplomat and merchant of Jewish-Dutch origin father. She moved to Paris after graduating from Marymount College in New York and married Count François de Nicolay, a horsebreeder in the Sarthe region, with whom she had one son, Philippe.
Baron Guy de Rothschild was also married at the time she met him — to another baroness who happened to be a distant cousin — but they tied the knot in a civil wedding in New York in 1957, six years after they first met. This was the first time a head member of the Rothschild family married a non-Jewish woman. Guy was pressured to quit as president of the French Jewish community. Because Marie-Hélène was Catholic, she needed a papal dispensation to terminate her first marriage and remarry outside of the Catholic faith.
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| Guy and Marie-Hélène arriving to see a Marlene Dietrich show at the Espace Cardin, Paris, circa 1973 |
Her husband and his sisters, Jacqueline and Bethsabée, were raised at the Château de Ferrières, a country estate outside of Paris. The château was taken over by the Germans during France's occupation during World War II and remained closed until 1959, when the newlywed Rothschilds decided to reopen it. At great soirées, Marie-Hélène was in charge of remodeling the massive château, making it a venue where European nobility mixed with singers, artists, fashion designers, and Hollywood movie stars. In 1973, she pulled together five French couturiers and five American designers for a spectacular and innovative theme gala and charity fundraising she arranged in both Paris and New York. She threw regular parties at the Château, primarily for the nobility, but also for her friends from the greater society, including Grace Kelly and Elizabeth Taylor.
In 1975, the couple bought the Hôtel Lambert on the Île Saint-Louis, one of Paris' most opulent residences, and moved in on the upper floors. The aristocratic Baron Alexis de Redé, who was a tenant on the first floor of Hôtel Lambert and would eventually become a fixture at her parties, became acquainted with Marie-Hélène. Marie-Hélène de Rothschild was awarded the Legion of Honor for her contributions to promoting French culture and fashion on a global scale.
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| Marie-Hélène at the Prix de Diane at the Hippodrome de Chantilly on June 14, 1970, France |
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| Portrait of Guy de Rothschild as he poses with his wife Marie-Hélène and their son Edouard, France, April 22, 1961 |
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| Marie-Hélène arrives at the party in honor of newlyweds Michel Raimon and Evelyne de Beschart on May 24, 1970 in Saint-Tropez, France |
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| Salvador Dali with Marie-Hélène at the premiere of 'Le Grand Jeu' at the Lido in December 1973 in Paris, France |
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| Marie-Hélène attends the performance of "Phedre" on October 14, 1968 at Gala Au Theatre De L'Opera in Paris, France |
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| Marie-Hélène attend the Surrealist Ball of 1972 at Château de Ferrières, France |
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| Marie-Hélène with Princess Grace of Monaco at Grand Divertissement à Versailles, November 28, 1973 |
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| Dancer Rudolf Nureyev and Marie-Hélène at a party on March 14, 1985 in Paris, France |
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| Guy and Marie-Hélène at Princess Caroline of Monaco's wedding in June 1978 in Monte-Carlo, Monaco |
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| Marie-Hélène in Marbella, Spain, circa 1985 |
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