Wendi Deng Murdoch

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Template:Short description Template:Use mdy dates Template:Family name hatnote Template:Infobox person Wendi Deng Murdoch (Template:Zh; born Deng Wen'ge; December 5, 1968) is a Chinese-born American entrepreneur and socialite. She was the third wife of media mogul Rupert Murdoch from 1999 until 2013.

Early life and education

Wendi Deng was born in Jinan, Shandong, and raised in Xuzhou, Jiangsu.Template:Sfn Her birth name was Deng Wen'ge, (Template:Zh),Template:Sfn<ref name="the_monthly">Template:Cite news</ref> meaning "Cultural Revolution".Template:Sfn<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref> She has two older sisters, and a brother,Template:Sfn<ref name=":0" /> and both of her parents were engineers.Template:Sfn<ref name=Vogue20160720>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> When she was a teen she changed her given name to "Wendi".<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref name="the_monthly"/><ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

She attended Xuzhou First Secondary School (a.k.a. Xuzhou No.1 Middle School). She became a competitive volleyball player.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref> While she was in high school, her father relocated to Guangzhou, where he was a factory director<ref name=":0" /> at the People's Machinery Works; she and her family remained in Xuzhou until they joined their father a short time later.Template:Sfn In 1985, she was enrolled at the Guangzhou Medical College.<ref name=":0" />

In 1988, she left medical school and went to the United States on a study permit. She enrolled at California State University, Northridge,<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> where she studied economics and was among the top scoring students.<ref name="nymag features 14302">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref name="name">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> She obtained a BA in Economics from California State University at Northridge and an MBA from Yale University.<ref name=Vogue20160720 />

Career and public profile

Upon graduation from Yale in 1996,<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Deng met Bruce Churchill. At that time, Churchill oversaw finance and corporate development at the Fox TV branch in Los Angeles. He offered Deng an internship at News Corp subsidiary Star TV in Hong Kong, which developed into a full-time junior executive position. Though a junior employee, she took a role in working to plan Star TV's operations in Hong Kong and China and helped to build up Chinese distribution for Star's Channel V music channel.<ref name=":0">Template:Cite news</ref> Within one year, she became a vice president.<ref name=Vogue20160720 /> Additionally, she investigated interactive TV opportunities for News Digital Systems.<ref name=":0" />

Deng was an advisor for MySpace's China operation, prior to the company's sale to Specific Media in June 2011.<ref name="chinaeconomicreview 2007/07/04"> Template:Cite news</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> She led the Murdoch family's Chinese internet investments and helped form business links with China for high-speed video and internet access.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

In 2009, Deng co-founded the online platform Artsy<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> with Carter Cleveland<ref name=T&C20180315>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> and Dasha Zhukova,<ref name=FT20160705>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> which has since become one of the top online places for buying, viewing and learning about art.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref name=Vogue20160720 /><ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Other investors include Peter Thiel, François Pinault and Eric Schmidt.<ref name=FT20160705 /><ref name=Vogue20160720 />

In 2011, Deng co-produced her first film with Florence Sloan,<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref> Snow Flower and the Secret Fan, a movie about two footbound children in Qing dynasty China,<ref>Snow Flower and the Secret Fan Fox Searchlight Pictures. Retrieved September 14, 2011.</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref> directed by Wayne Wang.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> The film won the Golden Angel Award at the Chinese American Film Festival.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> She also produced the Netflix documentary Sky Ladder<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> directed by Academy Award-winning Kevin MacDonald, showcasing the art of Cai Guo-Qiang.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> The film premiered in January 2016 at the Sundance Film Festival.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Sotheby's hosted a private reception and screening of the film in October 2016 before the film's Netflix debut.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

Deng is a collector of Chinese contemporary art.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> She has also invested in tech start-ups including Oscar, Snapchat, Uber, and Warby Parker.<ref name=T&C20180315 /><ref name=Vogue20160720 />

Personal life

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Rupert and Deng in 2011

Jake and Joyce Cherry hosted Deng in their home during her studies in the United States. Later, Jake Cherry left his wife,<ref name="nymag features 14302" /> and married Deng in 1990.<ref name="Tom Leonard">Template:Cite news</ref> While married to Cherry, Deng obtained a green card.<ref name="nymag features 14302" /><ref name="Tom Leonard" /> They divorced after 2 years and 7 months of marriage.Template:Sfn<ref name="nymag features 14302"/> Cherry later said that they stayed together for only four to five months when he learned that Deng was spending time with David Wolf, a man closer to her age.<ref name="Tom Leonard"/>

In 1997, she met media mogul Rupert Murdoch, who is 37 years her senior, while working as an executive at the Murdoch-owned Star TV in Hong Kong.<ref name=Vogue20160720/> They married in 1999<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> on board his yacht Morning Glory,<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> less than three weeks after the finalization of his divorce from his second wife, Anna Murdoch (née Torv).Template:Sfn<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref name=VF20140219>Template:Cite magazine</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref> The couple had two daughters: Grace (born 2001) and Chloe (born 2003). Tony Blair is Grace Murdoch's godfather.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> In June 2013, Rupert Murdoch filed for divorce from Deng, citing irreconcilable differences.Template:Sfn<ref name="BBC13">"Rupert Murdoch files for divorce from Wendi Deng". BBC News. June 13, 2013.</ref>

On July 19, 2011, Deng counterattacked Jonathan May-Bowles (comedian Jonnie Marbles) after he threw a pie at her husband Rupert Murdoch while he was giving testimony before a British parliamentary committee considering the News International phone hacking scandal.<ref>John Plunkett and Jane Martinson "Rupert Murdoch attacked at phone-hacking hearing". The Guardian. July 19, 2011.</ref> May-Bowles was subsequently sentenced to six weeks' imprisonment.<ref name="cnnaug">Template:Cite news</ref>

In February 2014, The Daily Telegraph and Vanity Fair alleged that Deng might have had an affair with former UK Prime Minister Tony Blair.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref name=VF20140219/> An article in The Economist claimed that as a result of Rupert Murdoch's suspicion that Blair had an affair with his wife, he ended his long-standing association with Blair in 2014.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

In early 2018, The Wall Street Journal published a story suggesting that Jared Kushner and Ivanka Trump,<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> longtime friends of Deng, were warned by US intelligence agencies that she may be using her relationship with them to further the goals of the Chinese government.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Michael Wolff, author of Fire and Fury: Inside the Trump White House, posited that the article was an attempt by Rupert Murdoch, owner of The Wall Street Journal, to spread the idea that "Wendi is a Chinese spy" in the aftermath of their acrimonious divorce.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

Template:As of, Deng was living in New York City with her two daughters.<ref name="Vogue20160720" /> Grace attends Yale University (class of 2025), and Chloe studies at Stanford (2026).<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref name="IBT">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref name="Kitty">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Grace and Chloe are due to inherit shares in their father's business interests, but they do not have voting rights. They are not involved in the September 2024 court case in which their half-siblings are challenging their father about changing the terms of a family trust which was set up as part of the divorce settlement between Rupert and his second wife Anna.<ref name="clarke2024">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref name="rutenbert2024">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

See also

References

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Source

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