American socialite and philanthropist Lee Annenberg, who died in Rancho Mirage, California, on March 12, aged 91, made her mark in the UK as wife of the American ambassador, Walter Annenberg, appointed by Richard Nixon in 1969. Born Leonore Cohn into the founding family of Columbia Pictures, she married the newspaper magnate, her third husband, in 1951. She was his second wife. They became a firm partnership until his death in 2002. She used their vast wealth to renovate the ambassadorial residence in Regent’s Park and also founded the American Friends of Covent Garden and gave $5m to the National Gallery. She entertained British royals and Hollywood stars in the couple’s Californian ranch. Her only paid job was as President Reagan’s chief of protocol in 1981. She was appointed honorary CBE in 2004.