Beautiful American socialite and model Barbara Daly Baekeland were brutally killed by her own son. She was regarded as a glamour queen and frequently treated like a movie celebrity due to her status as a well-known socialite and one of the top ten most attractive women in New York. She was well-known in her own right because she had posed for prestigious fashion publications. She wed Brooks Baekeland, the wealthy heir to the illustrious Bakelite Plastics empire, who was charming and good-looking. Barbara was a painter and aspiring actress, and her husband was a writer. Both of them took great pleasure in their active socializing with the most prominent and attractive people in society. They were passionate about traveling and discovering new vistas, so they traveled all over the world. Everyone thought they were a perfect match and had a perfect relationship because they appeared to be so happy together, but beneath the glittering surface of wealth and power lay a troubled past and an abnormal world of insanity. While trying to assist her son Antony, who was homosexual, by luring him into an incestuous relationship, Barbara Daly Baekeland was sadly killed by him instead.
Early Youth & Life
Nini and Frank Daly welcomed Barbara into the world in 1922 in Boston, Massachusetts. Just a few years before she was born, her mother had a nervous collapse. Barbara appears to have inherited the emotional instability and unpredictable conduct of her mother.
When her husband committed suicide in 1932, Barbara’s mother, who was then a young child of 10 years old, was still struggling to deal with her own nervous breakdown and was coming to terms with the arrival of her daughter.
In reality, her father had intentionally locked himself inside his vehicle and poisoned himself with carbon monoxide, which led to his death. Evidently, he wanted to give the impression that it was an accident so that his wife and daughter could get the money from his insurance.
Barbara and her mother moved to the Delmonico Hotel in New York City after receiving the insurance payout.
Barbara Daly experienced a number of serious mental health problems throughout her early years and growing years.
Barbara’s Following Years
As Barbara matured into a beautiful young lady, she established herself as a well-known socialite in New York and started a modeling career with the goal of becoming a Hollywood star. She received regular modeling jobs from reputable fashion magazines like “Harper’s Bazaar” and “Vogue” as a result of her stunning appearances.
She would frequently receive invitations to the fanciest parties due to her extraordinary beauty and social standing, and she steadily established herself as a regular in high-society circles. Many males from wealthy families and members of the elite class were drawn to her because of their exquisite looks. She continued her successful modeling career in the interim with a number of upscale publications before she gave becoming a movie celebrity some thought.
She was given the chance to take part in a screen audition alongside renowned Hollywood star Dana Andrews. But instead of resulting in Barbara becoming a movie star, this excellent career chance brought her into contact with Cornelia Baekeland, a fellow aspiring actor who shared many of Barbara’s goals. Her friendship with Cornelia ultimately paid off handsomely; she met her younger brother, Brooks Baekeland, who was then employed by the Royal Canadian Air Force as a trainee pilot, thanks to Cornelia’s introduction.
Brooks and Barbara formed a handsome couple because they both had striking good looks and led extravagant lives. Their close relationship resulted in an extremely memorable wedding. The pair seemed to surround themselves with wealthy and famous friends who kept them entertained at numerous bacchanals that took place in exotic locations like Paris and Manhattan.
Their early married life seemed to be almost perfect. Celebrities like Tennessee Williams, Yasmin Aga Khan, Greta Garbo, and William Styron frequently visited these wild parties, which were characterized by endless alcohol flow, sexual experimentation, and stimulating music.
The extravagant lifestyle, excessive drinking, lavish parties, and extramarital relationships of Barbara and Brooks persisted. However, resentment slipped into their relationship and damaged their union. Throughout the relationship, Barbara’s mental health problems also came into play, which is why Brooks became frustrated by her offensive outbursts, unstable personality, and repeated suicide attempts.
Despite receiving treatment from psychiatrist Foster Kennedy, she continued to experience mental problems as a result of her drug and alcohol abuse, insecurity, numerous affairs, and rocky marriage. Barbara gave birth to a boy named Antony in 1946, which temporarily reduced the couple’s strife.
Like his socialite parents who had high hopes for their son and believed that he would become a renowned writer, fine painter, a polo player of distinction, and much, much more, Antony seemed smart, intelligent, and beautiful. Despite showing a lot of promise, Antony also began experiencing mental health problems and needed psychiatric treatment, just like his mother. Due to his schizophrenia, Antony frequently exhibited paranoid inclinations.
Finally divorcing Barbara in 1968, Brooks did so for Sylvie, a seductive young woman who also happened to be his son’s teacher and had paid them a weekend visit. Barbara and her son Antony moved in together after getting a divorce, and over time, they developed a compulsive codependency.
Arrangements with Her Offspring
When Barbara learned that Anthony’s son was having a romantic relationship with the bisexual Jake Cooper when he was 20 years old, she was devastated. In her obsession to make things right for her gay son Antony, Barbara appeared to have a complex, neurotically dependent, and incestuous relationship with him.
To satisfy his sexual desires, she hired prostitutes and invited her socialite friends to sleep with her son. When all else failed, she convinced her son to have a physical relationship with her in the hopes that it would help him deal with his homosexuality.
When Barbara learned that Anthony’s son was having a romantic relationship with the bisexual Jake Cooper when he was 20 years old, she was devastated. In her obsession to make things right for her gay son Antony, Barbara appeared to have a complex, neurotically dependent, and incestuous relationship with him.
To satisfy his sexual desires, she hired prostitutes and invited her socialite friends to sleep with her son. When all else failed, she convinced her son to have a physical relationship with her in the hopes that it would help him deal with his homosexuality.
Estimated Net Worth
Unknown.
Trivia
Even though Brooks Baekeland thought Barbara was stunning and was inspired by her confidence, he was most definitely not considering marriage when she told him she was expecting. In reality, she was not pregnant at all, and she concocted the pregnancy deception to entice him to propose to her.
She met Samuel Adams Green, a well-known contemporary art curator, by chance in 1969, and they soon began dating. Even though Samuel seemed largely uninterested in Antony’s artistic talent, she took the chance to introduce him to her son Antony and to show him some of his paintings.
Green broke off the romance after six weeks. Green had Barbara totally fixated, and she was unwilling to let go. To please him and get back into his apartment and his life, she even went as far as crossing Central Park barefoot in the snow while wearing nothing but her Lynx fur coat.