Barbara Branden - Life

Life

Barbara Weidman was born in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. She met Nathaniel Branden because of their mutual interest in Ayn Rand's works. They became personal friends of Rand in 1950, and when they married in 1953, Rand and her husband, Frank O'Connor, served as the matron of honor and best man. Barbara and Nathaniel Branden co-wrote Who Is Ayn Rand? in 1962. Barbara Branden's essay in the book was the first biography of Rand. When it was written, Rand considered Barbara Branden to be one of the most important proponents of Objectivism.

She served as the Executive Director of the Nathaniel Branden Institute, and gave a series of lectures on "Principles of Efficient Thinking."

In 1954, Nathaniel Branden began a secret romantic affair with Rand with the reluctant permission of both spouses. This relationship continued for 3 years. While their respective spouses, Barbara Branden and Frank O'Connor, had knowledge of the affair and nominally accepted it, Branden later said it led to "years of pain" and "enormous harm", describing it as a "sacrifice".

In 1968, when Rand terminated her association with Nathaniel Branden after she discovered that he had become involved with actress Patrecia Scott more than four years earlier, she likewise disassociated herself from Barbara Branden for keeping this fact from her. The details of these events remain controversial.

In 1986, Barbara Branden published another biography of Rand, The Passion of Ayn Rand. The book was made into an Emmy-award winning motion picture in 1999 starring Helen Mirren as Rand, Eric Stoltz as Branden and Julie Delpy playing Barbara.

Barbara Branden is the estranged cousin of Leonard Peikoff.