Mary Grace Borel

Mary Grace Borel Shumate Marshal Sweet Paxton (October 31, 1915 – May 18, 1998) was an American socialite and film actress. She was the granddaughter of Antoine Borel, a San Francisco banker and consul general of Switzerland, and her family was prominent on the San Francisco social scene. Her debut was attended by 200 guests in 1934. Her 1935 marriage to the physician son of the San Francisco Police Commissioner was said to be "the highlight of the 1935 social season". Two years later she sued for divorce and, in 1938, remarried to film actor Alan Marshal, with whom she had one son. She sued for divorce in 1947; she later remarried two more times. Using the stage name Mary Marshall, she acted in two films and two television series. Upon her death in 1998, she was buried in the same crypt as her second husband, Alan Marshal.

Early life and education Mary Grace Borel was born in San Francisco, California, on October 31, 1915. She was the eldest daughter of Antoine A. Borel Jr., and his wife Mardie McMahon. Her paternal grandfather, Antoine Borel, was a prominent San Francisco banker and consul general of Switzerland. She had one younger sister, Victoire. Mary Grace's own family's doings were often written up in the local society pages, as for example a news item about Mary Grace's eighth birthday party in 1923, her family's summer vacation plans after their return from Europe in 1927, and her participation in the annual Horse Show and Race Meet of the Gymkhana Club of San Mateo and her sister's own blue-ribbon-winning horse.

Borel graduated from the Dominican Convent in San Rafael.

Marriages

Before the year was out, Borel's engagement to Charles Albert Shumate, the physician son of San Francisco Police Commissioner Thomas E. Shumate, was announced. Their wedding, which took place in April 1935, was said to have been "the highlight of the 1935 social season". Borel sued for divorce in October 1937 on the grounds of "extreme cruelty". but was not disqualified from presiding at the hearing. Shumate did not attend the hearing but was represented by his attorney. They had one son, Christopher ("Kit"), In August 1947, Borel filed for divorce from Marshal on the grounds of cruelty.

Borel married for a fifth time to Willard C. Chamberlin in 1972. They divorced in 1983.

Later life Borel, credited as Mary Marshall, made her film debut in Prejudice (1949), a drama produced by the Protestant Film Commission. She appeared in one other film role and two television series episodes.

Filmography