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Anna Murdoch-Mann, writer and ex-wife of media baron Rupert Murdoch, has died aged 81, her media reported.
Married to the mogul for 31 years, she was described by the New York Post as an “active partner” in building News Corp.
She was the mother of three of Murdoch’s children, Elisabeth, James and Lachlan Murdoch – who is now chairman of Fox and News Corp – and stepmother to his daughter, Prudence.
Murdoch-Mann was an active philanthropist and died on February 17 “surrounded by family” at her home in Palm Beach, Florida.
Born Anna Torv in Glasgow and raised Catholic, she moved to Australia at the age of nine. After her parents divorced, she reportedly raised her own siblings.
Murdoch-Mann became a journalist for the Sydney Daily Telegraph and the Sydney Daily Mirror, where she met Rupert Murdoch and served on the board of his company.
“He never made a major business decision without his advice” The Australiananother title from its media stable, writes.
She wrote several novels during their marriage, including 1988’s Family Business about a multigenerational media dynasty.
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Muriel McKay was killed by her captors and renewed efforts have been made to find her body in recent years.
The then Murdochs divorced in 1999, in one of the costliest separations in history: Murdoch-Mann received a $1.7 billion (£1 billion) settlement.
Murdoch married his third wife, Wendi Deng, 17 days later, Australian media reported.
In an exclusive interview after her split, Murdoch-Mann said Australian Women’s Weekly “I think there will be a lot of heartache and difficulty” over the succession of Murdoch’s media empire.
“There was so much pressure that they wouldn’t have needed at their age,” she added.
This battle inspired the television series Succession and played out in court in real life. It concluded with Murdoch’s eldest son Lachlan poised to control the media group in recent times. last year.
Her mother also remarried, first to financier William Mann, who died in 2017.
Murdoch-Mann later married her third husband, Ashton dePeyster, who survives her with 10 grandchildren and one great-grandchild.
The philanthropist has served on the boards of several children’s hospitals, including in Los Angeles and Haiti.
In 1998, she was named a Dame of the Order of Saint Gregory by Pope John Paul II.
