Hope Chandler Hearst, Spouse of David W. Hearst, Dead at 90

NEW YORK, NY--(Marketwire - Jan 13, 2012) - Hope Chandler Hearst passed away peacefully at her home in Honolulu on January 11, 2012. She was 90.

Born Hope Chandler in 1921 in New York City, Hearst was a child actress and model, and famously graced a 1937 cover of LIFE Magazine as the "Prettiest Girl in Paradise." In 1938, in New York's Grace Church, she married the late David Whitmire Hearst, son of William Randolph Hearst and a vice president and director of Hearst Corporation.

The young couple moved to Beverly Hills, Calif., where Hearst's husband began his career with the Los Angeles Evening Herald-Express. Hearst gave birth to two children, Millicent Hearst Boudjakdji and David Whitmire Hearst, Jr.

"Together, David and Hope Hearst exhibited the highest level of support as Hearst Corporation grew and changed," said Frank A. Bennack, Jr., CEO of Hearst Corporation. "And long after her husband's death, Hope regularly assumed the role of cheerleader, encouraging Hearst management in every way."

After her husband's death in 1986, Hearst moved permanently to Hawaii, a place the Hearsts first visited as a newly married couple. She loved Hawaii and her many friends and family members there. Hearst was happiest surrounded by her family and adored pets in the living room of her Honolulu home.

"She was a remarkable, loving, and joyful woman," said her granddaughter Anissa B. Balson, a director of Hearst Corporation and a trustee of the trust established under the will of William Randolph Hearst. "We will all miss her very, very much."

Hearst is survived by her brother, Warren Coley of Hawaii; her son, David W. Hearst, Jr., of California and Hawaii; her grandchildren, Balson, Cherif Boudjakdji and Samia Staehle; and her four great-grandchildren.

In addition to her husband, she is predeceased by her daughter Boudjakdji, who was president of the William Randolph Hearst Foundation, a director of Hearst Corporation and trustee of the trust established under the will of William Randolph Hearst.

Final arrangements will be conducted in private.