Glorya Kaufman
Glorya Kaufman | |
---|---|
Born | Glorya Pinkis Detroit, Michigan |
Occupation | Philanthropist |
Spouse(s) | Donald Bruce Kaufman |
Children | Curtis Kaufman Gayl Kaufman Laura Kaufman Stacie Lyn Kaufman |
Glorya Kaufman is an American philanthropist.
Early life
Glorya (Pinkis) Kaufman was born to a Jewish family[1] in Detroit, Michigan during the Great Depression.[2] Her father worked as a production manager for Automotive News and her mother volunteered for Jewish charities. Her parents could not afford dancing lessons for her.
Philanthropy
In 1994, Kaufman made a donation for the construction of the 10,040-square-foot Donald Bruce Kaufman branch of the Los Angeles Public Library in Brentwood, Los Angeles.[2]
In 1999, Kaufman donated US$18 million to the University of California, Los Angeles, which named Glorya Kaufman Hall in her honor.[2] However, she admitted to being disappointed in the way UCLA handled her donation.[2]
In 2009, Kaufman donated US$20 million to the Los Angeles Music Center to establish the Glorya Kaufman Presents Dance series.[2] She has also donated millions to the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater and the Juilliard School in New York City.[2] In 2011, she donated several millions to the University of Southern California for the establishment of the Glorya Kaufman School of Dance, which enrolled its first cohort of BFA majors in 2015, and the construction of the Glorya Kaufman International Dance Center.[2] A year later, in 2012, she joined the Board of Trustees at USC.
Personal life
Kaufman is the widow of Donald Bruce Kaufman, who with Eli Broad co-founded Kaufman & Broad, now known as KB Home (NYSE: KBH), in 1957.[2] Broad's wife, Edythe Lawson, is Kaufman's first cousin.[3] They had four children, Curtis, Gayl, Laura and Stacie Lyn. Donald and his son-in-law, Eyal Horwitz, both died in a plane crash in 1983; afterward Glorya turned to charity work.[2] She raised her family in a sprawling Brentwood ranch house.
Kaufman currently resides in a US$18.2 million Italian-style villa in Beverly Hills, California with Erté tables and Louis Icart prints.[2]
References
- Haam Magazine: "The Jewish Campus Tour" by Talia Kamdjou March 19, 2014
- A Patron With Passion in Los Angeles, The New York Times, January 11, 2013
- Los Angeles Times: "To Glorya Kaufman, the art of dance is a gift on several levels" By Deborah Vankin December 01, 2012