Mother’s Day, May 14th 1933
Phyllis Jeanne Newell was born.
Phyllis Kirkpatrick (nee Newell) was born in Rochester, NY the daughter of Grayce Reinhard Newell and GeorgeTaylor Newell. Phyllis and her beloved younger sister Judith McElhatton were then raised in a modest household in Queens, NY, but one filled with love, an appreciation for hilarity, sarcasm, arts, literature and great music. Phyllis embarked on years of classical piano training and playing, but was sidetracked as a teen when she was discovered as a naturally beautiful model. The term super-model wasn’t coined for decades to come, but she enjoyed fame in the 1940s through 1960s, gracing the covers and pages of Glamour, McCall’s, Ladies Home Journal, Cosmopolitan, Seventeen and was featured in 100s of print advertisements. In 1952, she was featured in a cover story by Life magazine, in an article entitled The Quandary of a Gifted Girl, celebrating her unique array of talents and potential.