Elsie de Wolfe was an American actress who became a very prominent interior designer and author. In her youth, she was educated in Scotland and was presented at court to Queen Victoria, but soon after returned to the U.S. and became a professional actress. Born in New York City, de Wolfe got married in 1926 to English diplomat Sir Charles Mendl. She spent most of her life between New York and Paris. Lady Mendl was a prominent social figure, and she entertained in the most distinguished circles.
The New Yorker once proclaimed that "Interior design as a profession was invented by Elsie de Wolfe". The profession of interior decorator/designer was recognized as a promising one as early as 1900. De Wolfe was the first creative to receive a commission for decorating a home. And in 1905 she was the first creative to receive an official commission to design the Colony Club in New York, making her, technically, the first professional interior designer, even if the term was not used yet.
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Her list of clients included distinguished socialité as Anne Morgan, Vanderblit family, members of the Frick family, Henry Clay, Condé Nast or the duke and Duchess of Windsor.
She became famous for transforming the interior of homes from heavy curtained, dark wood Victorian designs for brighter and airier intimate and refined spaces infused with fresh colors and a reliance on 18th century French furniture and accessories. Besides this, she was the nominal author of the influential book from 1913 “The House in Good Taste”.
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