Paulina Longworth

Paulina Longworth

Paulina Longworth Sturm (February 14, 1925 – January 27, 1957) was the only child of Alice Roosevelt Longworth, and the granddaughter of U.S. President Theodore Roosevelt.

Paulina was born on Valentines Day, the same day that her grandmother, (Theodore Roosevelt's first wife) Alice Hathaway Lee Roosevelt, and her great-grandmother, Martha Bulloch Roosevelt, both died unexpectedly 41 years earlier on February 14, 1884.

Paulina's mother, Alice Roosevelt Longworth, was a famous beauty in her youth, and was a celebrity closely followed by the press, particularly when she was part of a diplomatic tour of Asia led by Secretary of War Howard Taft and other officials. Her White House wedding in 1906 was considered a huge event at the time.

Paulina suffered through incredible melancholy throughout her life. She had a complex relationship with her famous mother who was overbearing and belittling to her, while at the same time unavailable for emotional and physical comfort. Paulina lost her father at the age of six; was widowed at 26; and died of a pill overdose at the age of 31 in 1957.