Marina Torlonia di Civitella-Cesi

Coat of arms of the House of Torlonia

Torlonia was born in Rome, at Palazzo Núñez-Torlonia, the youngest daughter of Marino Torlonia, 4th Prince of Civitella-Cesi[1] and his American wife, Mary Elsie Moore, a daughter of Charles Arthur Moore, a shipping broker and hardware manufacturer from Connecticut.[2][3] The Torlonia family gained its fortune in the administration of Vatican finances.

She had three siblings:

• Donna Olimpia Torlonia dei Principi di Civitella-Chesi (1909–1924)
• Don Alessandro Torlonia, 5th Prince of Civitella-Cesi, the husband of Infanta Beatriz of Spain (an aunt of King Juan Carlos I of Spain).[3][4]
• Donna Cristina Torlonia dei Principi di Civitella-Cesi (1913–1974)[3][4]

In February 1934, Torlonia had made her New York City debut.[5] Torlonia enjoyed going to nightclubs and charity work, and in 1934 she led many charity fundraising efforts.[6] Some of the charity fundraisers she was involved with include the American Auxiliary Hospital in Mougins, France,[7][8] the Italian Welfare League,[9] New York City Cancer Institute,[10][11] the New York Diet Kitchen Association,[12][13] the Babies Hospital of the City of New York,[14] Soldiers and Sailors Club of New York,[15] New York Exchange for Woman's Work,[16] Woman's Auxiliary of the Osteopathic Clinic of New York,[17] Goddard Neighborhood Centre,[18] Children's Village at Dobbs Ferry, New York,[19] among others.

In 1936, Torlonia was dressed as "wealth" with a tall headdress and two hand maids at a one of a nationwide set of birthday celebrations for President Roosevelt.[20] The following year in 1937 at the Roosevelt Birthday Ball Torlonia was one of a hundred women specially dressed to celebrate the event, she was dressed as "The East", representing the Eastern United States fashion, and in attendance was the President's mother Sara Roosevelt.[21][22]

Sculptor Marino Marini created a wax portrait of Marina Torlonia in 1935.[23]

Donna Marina Torlonia dei Principi di Civitella-Cesi was married twice, her husbands being:

• Francis Xavier Shields (1909–1975), the American amateur tennis player.[24] They married on 13 June 1940, in North Conway, New Hampshire,[25] and divorced in 1950. The Shieldses had two children: a son, Francis Alexander Shields and a daughter, Marina Shields.
• Edward W. Slater, an architect and partner at architectural firm Slater and Chiat, whom she married on 29 December 1950.[26][27] They had one son, Edward Torlonia Slater (born 1955).

Torlonia was the maternal grandmother of American actress Brooke Shields, the daughter of her son Francis Alexander Shields.[28][29]

Torlonia died on 15 September 1960, in an automobile accident in Piacenza, Italy, shortly after leaving the wedding of her nephew Marco Torlonia, 6th Prince of Civitella-Cesi, with princess Orsetta Caracciolo, niece of film director Luchino Visconti.[30] Along with Marina, Duke Raffaele Canevaro of Galluzo, and the Countess Eleanor Terry died in the accident.[31][32][33]