Louise Linton

Louise Linton (née Hay; born 20 December 1980) is a Scottish actress. She has appeared in the horror films Cabin Fever and Intruder and in minor roles in the television series CSI: NY and Cold Case.[2][3] Linton is married to Steven Mnuchin, the former United States Secretary of the Treasury.

Louise Linton
Linton in 2017
Born
Louise Hay

(1980-12-20) 20 December 1980
Edinburgh, Scotland
Alma materPepperdine University (BA)
University of West Los Angeles (JD)
Occupationactress, director, producer, animal rights activist
Years active2006[1]–present
Spouse(s)
​
​
(m. 2006; div. 2009)​

​
(m. 2017)​
Websitelouiselinton.com

Early life

Louise Hay was born in the Murrayfield area of Edinburgh, Scotland,[3] the youngest of three children of William and Rachel Hay.[4][5] Her family owns Melville Castle outside Edinburgh,[4] where she used to spend weekends.[1]

Linton was educated at St George's School for Girls and Fettes College.[6] She was interested in acting from an early age; after observing students from Pepperdine University participating at the Edinburgh Festival, she vowed to her father that she would one day attend "Pepperdine and be an actress."[7] She trained in Edinburgh with a private coach from the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art, from which she gained honours after an exam.[8]

Linton's mother died of breast cancer, aged 53, when Linton was 14 years old.[4][9] After boarding school, Louise spent part of her gap year as a volunteer in northern Zambia, before attending university in the United States.[10]

Career

Linton has stated that she adopted her stage surname from her grandfather, partly to protect her family and partly to avoid confusion with the author Louise Hay.[4]

Her first role was as a guest star in CSI: NY playing Simone de Lille, a French au pair to a New York teenager played by Shailene Woodley. The episode aired in 2007.

Her first film was 2007's Lions for Lambs, directed by Robert Redford, starring Tom Cruise and Meryl Streep, in which Linton played Miss M,[11] but her scenes were dropped from the final release.[9] In 2008, she portrayed Katie in the Roy Lee horror film The Echo.[12] According to the film's director, Yam Laranas, Linton was not his first pick of actress but he agreed to give her the role because her then-husband Ronald Richards paid him $200,000.[13] Her first lead role was in the sci-fi film Scavengers. In 2016, she appeared in Cabin Fever, a remake of the 2002 film of the same name and played the lead role of Elizabeth in the thriller Intruder.[1][12] In 2009 Linton appeared in the Cold Case episode “WASP” in which she played Louise Patterson, a 1940's Women Air Force Service Pilot.[14] She also appeared in the film Crew 2 Crew. Linton was featured in the 2003 reality TV series Hopelessly Rich.[15]

In 2009, she was honored at the Scottish Style Awards as the country's 'Most Stylish Woman’.[16]

Linton posed for Maxim in 2009.[1][17] Maxim dubbed her "the hottest thing to come out of Scotland since microwaved haggis.”[18]

In interviews from 2009 to 2011, Linton recounted volunteering during her 1999 gap year in what she described as "war-torn Zambia", and the night she spent "hiding in the bush as Hutu rebels attacked the village she was working in".[4][9][19] In 2016, she drew widespread criticism for her self-published memoir about her experiences in Zambia, titled In Congo's Shadow, co-authored by Wendy Holden.[10] An excerpt from the memoir, published in The Telegraph, drew intense scrutiny, with many readers objecting to her portrayal of Zambia, as well as Linton's claim that she was a "central character" in the events.[20]

"I tried not to think what the rebels would do to the 'skinny white Muzungu with long angel hair' if they found me." - Louise Linton in her memoir, In Congo's Shadow.

The Zambian High Commission in London and others criticised the book for its inaccuracies and promotion of the false narrative of "the white saviour".[21][22][23][24] Her representative, Mike Sitrick, says she was targeted unfairly. "Had her critics checked," he claims, "they would have found that articles written contemporaneously with the events reported in Louise's book, by among the most respected media in the world, were consistent with Louise's reporting of those events, as was a United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees briefing in March 1999.”[25]

Shortly after The Telegraph published its extract from the book, Linton withdrew her book from sale.[21] She later apologised for causing offence and promised to donate all profits from the book to an appropriate charity, which she founded.[26] [27]The Telegraph withdrew the published extract and also apologised for any inaccuracies in Linton's text.[28][29]

Louise was blessed and fortunate enough to be raised in a Scottish castle, and to not understand the reality of some human beings with a different background.

— Shona Hampel, longtime friend of Linton, March 2018 Elle profile[7]

In February 2017, Linton succeeded her fiancé, Steven Mnuchin, as the interim CEO of Dune Entertainment. Mnuchin had founded Dune in 2004 but stepped down as part of his ethics agreement to divest his business roles in preparation for his appointment as Secretary of the Treasury.[30] Linton publicly announced her new role in early May,[31] which immediately drew the attention of Senator Ron Wyden (D-Oregon), a member of the Senate Finance Committee. Wyden questioned whether the appointment of Linton meant Mnuchin had fully divested from the company. Although the Treasury replied that she was serving in an uncompensated capacity, Linton resigned as interim CEO later in May.[32]

Linton is involved in The Rockshiel Trust, a Scottish legal entity, which applied to develop townhouses and apartments in the upmarket area of Murrayfield in Edinburgh close to the Hay family's Edinburgh home.[33] The plans for 9 Kinellan Road were objected to by the local community[34] and the plans submitted to Edinburgh City Council in January 2019 were later withdrawn.[35]

Linton’s production company Stormchaser Films acquired Serial Daters Anonymous and completed the film’s production and post production. Linton stars opposite Sam Page. The film has not yet been released.[36]

In 2019, Linton wrote, directed, produced, financed, and starred in the upcoming feature film Me, You, Madness opposite Ed Westwick in which she plays a murderous, sex-addicted hedge fund manager.[37][38][39] The movie is set to be released on February 12, 2021.[39]

Personal life

Linton was married to Los Angeles defense attorney Ronald Richards from 2006 to 2009.[4][9][40][41]

Linton met Mnuchin through mutual friends[1][42] at a 2013 wedding reception in Los Angeles. The pair were engaged in 2015 after dating for two years.[7] On 24 June 2017, Linton married Mnuchin.[43] The civil ceremony, at which Vice President Mike Pence officiated, took place at the Andrew W. Mellon Auditorium in Washington, D.C.[44]

Linton serves on the board of Mattel Children's Hospital UCLA[45] and the Old Fettesian's US Board of Trustees for Fettes College in Edinburgh.[46][47] She was an ambassador for Erskine Wounded Warriors Scotland from 2010 to 2012, and is an ambassador for the Scottish Butterfly Trust for Cystic Fibrosis.[46]

Controversy

In July 2016, excerpts of Linton's self-published novel depicting her gap year in Zambia came under fire by Twitter users and Zambians for her factual errors and condescending comments. Twitter users popularized the hashtag #lintonlies to highlight the issues in the book, which confused Zambia with Congo and Rwanda

In August 2017, Linton was criticised for posting a photo on Instagram of herself accompanying her husband on a trip to Fort Knox on a United States government plane, using hashtags to highlight the designer clothing and accessories she wore. In her reply, she called the critic "adorably out of touch", and suggested that she contributed more to the US economy and paid more in taxes than the woman criticising her.[1][48][49] Following extensive publicity, Linton apologised for both her initial post and her response to criticism released by her publicist, saying "it was inappropriate and highly insensitive".[50] The couple reimbursed the government for the travel costs.[51] Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington filed a Freedom of Information Act request for the authorisation and costs of the trip, noting the trip "seems to have been planned around the solar eclipse."[52] Later, Linton said she was a "bozo" for the Instagram post.[53]

In November 2017, Linton and Mnuchin sparked a new wave of criticism when they posed holding a sheet of dollar bills – the first to include Mnuchin's signature – at the Bureau of Engraving and Printing.[54][55] Afterward, Linton's outfit, including elbow-length black leather gloves, was compared to Darth Vader and Cruella de Vil.[7][53]

In January 2018, Linton was one of many celebrities, sports stars, journalists and politicians that was outed by The New York Times for allegedly purchasing fake followers – some of whom used information copied from real people – on various types of social media in order to overstate her following and influence.[56]

The Treasury's Office of Inspector General is reviewing the flight taken by Mnuchin and Linton.[57] ABC News reported in September 2017 that the office had opened a second inquiry following reports that Mnuchin had requested use of a government jet to take him and Linton on their honeymoon in Scotland, France and Italy.[58][59]

Filmography

Film
Year Title Role Notes
2007 Lions for Lambs Skin Care Consultant Scenes cut from final release
2008 The Echo Katie
2008 Banking on Love Dina
2008 Heineken Experience: Brew You Woman Short film
2010 Screwball: The Ted Whitfield Story Shannon Storm
2012 She Wants Me Jessica
2012 Crew 2 Crew Samantha
2013 The Power of Few Corey's Mother
2013 Scavengers Emerson
2014 Serial Daters Anonymous Claire
2016 Cabin Fever Deputy Winston
2016 Intruder Elizabeth Also producer
2016 The Midnight Man Annie Luster
2016 Rules Don't Apply Betty
2017 Odious N/A Executive producer
2021 Me, You, Madness Catherine Black Post-production; Also writer, producer

Television
Year Title Role Notes
2007 The Daily Habit Amy 2 episodes
2007 CSI: NY Simone de Lille Episode: "A Daze of Wine and Roaches"
2009 Cold Case Louise Patterson '44 Episode: "WASP"
2011 William & Kate: The Movie Vanessa Rose Bellows Television film
2012 A Smile as Big as the Moon Julie Television film

References
  1. "Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin's actress wife Louise Linton got into an Instagram war – here's everything we know about her". Business Insider. Archived from the original on 22 August 2017. Retrieved 22 August 2017.
  2. Youngson, Andrew (4 August 2014). "Louise's star is on the rise". Press and Journal. Archived from the original on 2 February 2017. Retrieved 22 August 2017.
  3. "People: The business diary". The Scotsman. 21 July 2014. Archived from the original on 19 September 2016.
  4. "Queen of California". The Herald Magazine. Press Reader. 19 February 2011. Archived from the original on 5 October 2016.
  5. "Louise Linton Biography". FrostSnow. Archived from the original on 22 August 2017. Retrieved 22 August 2017.
  6. Stenson, Joe (3 May 2016). "Louise Linton reveals brush with death in Zambia". Edinburgh Evening News. Archived from the original on 8 July 2016.
  7. Battan, Carrie (13 February 2018). "Louise Linton Is SuperDuper Sorry". Elle. Retrieved 13 February 2018.
  8. "Scottish Field – January 2016". Archived from the original on 22 August 2017.
  9. "Interview: Louise Linton, actress". The Scotsman. 7 November 2009. Retrieved 23 August 2017.
  10. Schaub, Michael (6 July 2016). "Controversial Africa memoir draws fire for Louise Linton, actress, self-published author and Trump dining companion". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on 6 July 2016.
  11. Bennett, Ray. "Lions for Lambs". The Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on 22 August 2017. Retrieved 22 August 2017.
  12. Louise Linton at IMDb
  13. "Louise Linton's ex-husband paid $200K for her movie role, director claims". Fox News. 23 August 2017. Retrieved 24 November 2019.
  14. Geier, Thom. "Louise Linton's Richest Roles, From Marie Antoinette to Billionaire Steven Mnuchin's Wife (Photos)". The Wrap.
  15. Hod, Itay (22 August 2017). "Louise Linton Starred on Reality Show 'Hopelessly Rich' Before Bragging About Her and Mnuchin's Fortune". The Wrap. Retrieved 3 July 2018.
  16. "Louise Linton Crowned 'Most Stylish Woman' by Scottish Style Awards". zimio.com.
  17. "LOUISE LINTON". Maxim. Retrieved 22 August 2017.
  18. Masters, Kim. "Meet Steven Mnuchin's Actress-Author Fiancee". The Hollywood Reporter.
  19. Barry, Maggie (28 November 2010). "Scottish actress counts her blessings as she hits the big time in LA". Daily Record. Retrieved 23 August 2017.
  20. "'But I soon learned that Africa is rife with hidden danger', The web reacts to the 'Whitest story of the year'". Zambian Observer. 4 July 2016. Retrieved 23 August 2017.
  21. "Zambian embassy slams Louise Linton memoirs". The Scotsman. 11 July 2016. Archived from the original on 17 July 2016.
  22. Ngoma, Lydia (5 July 2016). "Louise Linton's Zambia is not the Zambia I know". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 16 July 2016.
  23. "'Angel-haired' aid worker memoir ridiculed". BBC News. 5 July 2016. Archived from the original on 20 April 2017.
  24. Karen Attiah (6 July 2016). "Louise Linton just wrote the perfect White-Savior-in-Africa story". The Washington Post. Archived from the original on 7 July 2016.
  25. Masters, Kim (29 November 2016). "Meet Steven Mnuchin's Actress-Author Fiancee". The Hollywood Reporter.
  26. Horne, Marc (9 July 2016). "Actress says sorry as gap-year adventures cause African storm". The Times. Archived from the original on 23 August 2017.
  27. Barnes, Brooks (9 January 2021). "Louise Linton Has Made a Movie". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 10 January 2021.
  28. "The Telegraph issues a formal apology over Louise Linton's book". Zambian Observer. 22 July 2016. Retrieved 23 August 2017.
  29. "Gap year in Africa Book – Telegraph statement". The Telegraph. 20 July 2016. Retrieved 23 August 2017. [The prior excerpt] drew a number of complaints from Telegraph readers that the article mistakenly implied that the conflicts in Congo and Rwanda had spilled over into Zambia, that Zambia was a war-torn country in 1999 and that armed rebels had crossed Lake Tanganyika to Zambia that year. Other claims of inaccuracy were also made.
  30. Gonzalez, Sandra (9 May 2017). "Treasury Secretary's fiancée is interim CEO of Dune Entertainment". CNN. Retrieved 23 August 2017.
  31. Kassel, Matthew; Hallemann, Caroline (22 August 2017). "Meet Louise Linton, the Blonde Bombshell Who's Stirring Up Controversy on Capitol Hill". Town & Country. Retrieved 23 August 2017.
  32. Wattles, Jackie; Alesci, Cristina (26 May 2017). "Treasury secretary's fiancée to resign from Hollywood CEO job after senator's criticism". CNN. Retrieved 23 August 2017.
  33. "Revealed: Trump Treasury Secretary's ties to controversial Edinburgh housing plan". www.scotsman.com. Retrieved 18 August 2019.
  34. "Minutes of Community Council Meeting 19 February 2019". Murrayfield Community Council. Retrieved 18 August 2019.
  35. "19/00082/FUL | Proposed development or 10 townhouses and 9 apartments. | 9 Kinellan Road Edinburgh EH12 6ES". citydev-portal.edinburgh.gov.uk. Retrieved 18 August 2019.
  36. Thomas, Eric. "Treasury Empress Louise Linton's Romcom Is Being Released And It Looks Bonkers". Elle.
  37. Pederson, Erik (16 April 2019). "'Me, You, Madness': First-Look Image Of Pic From Writer-Director-Star Louise Linton". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved 24 December 2019.
  38. Gardner, Chris. "On Set With Louise Linton: Inside Her "Homicidal Sociopath" Character, Three-Way Sex Scene in New Film". The Hollywood Reporter.
  39. "Mnuchin's Wife Linton Plays Murderous Fund Manager in New Movie". Bloomberg.com. 28 January 2021. Retrieved 28 January 2021.
  40. Merlan, Anna (6 July 2016). "Actress Who Wrote Ridiculous, Fake-Seeming Zambia Memoir Is Dating Donald Trump's Finance Chair". Jezebel. Retrieved 22 August 2017.
  41. Didcock, Barry (26 February 2017). "Louise Linton: Scots public schoolgirl goes from z-list horror films to Trump's White House (no change there then, eh?)". The Herald. Glasgow. Retrieved 22 August 2017. ...found herself a husband – attorney Ronald Richards, 14 years her senior. They divorced in 2010 after 'four or five' years of marriage. 'I think I was just a bit too young and we weren't exactly right for each other...Life moves quickly, particularly in fast-paced Los Angeles. It's not something I regret. I feel like I learned so much from it, and he and I are still dear friends'.
  42. Kim, Leena (19 June 2017). "All the Jewels Louise Linton Wore to Her Wedding". Town & Country. Retrieved 13 February 2018.
  43. Rogers, Katie (22 June 2017). "A Weekend Wedding for Steven Mnuchin". The New York Times. Retrieved 29 August 2017.
  44. Stefansky, Emma (25 June 2017). "Amid All the D.C. Drama, Trump and Family Attend Steve Mnuchin's Wedding". Vanity Fair. Archived from the original on 22 August 2017. Retrieved 22 August 2017.
  45. "Mattel Party on the Pier".
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  47. "Interview: Louise Linton, actress". The Scotsman. 12 January 2011. Retrieved 23 August 2017.
  48. Haberman, Maggie; Bouchard, Mikayla (22 August 2017). "Mnuchin's Wife Mocks Oregon Woman Over Lifestyle and Wealth". The New York Times. Archived from the original on 22 August 2017. Retrieved 22 August 2017.
  49. Jackson, Russell (22 August 2017). "Louise Linton criticised for ′deplorable′ social media boast". The Scotsman. Archived from the original on 22 August 2017. Retrieved 22 August 2017.
  50. Paletta, Damian (22 August 2017). "The treasury secretary's wife just apologized for a 'highly insensitive' Instagram post". The Washington Post. Retrieved 22 August 2017.
  51. "Treasury secretary's wife: I deserve my Hermès scarf because I'm rich and pay taxes". Vox. 22 August 2017. Retrieved 23 August 2017.
  52. Delk, Josh (23 August 2017). "Watchdog requests documents about Mnuchin and wife's Ky. trip timed with eclipse". The Hill. Retrieved 24 August 2017.
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Further reading
  • Linton, Louise; Holden, Wendy (16 April 2016). In Congo's Shadow: One girl's perilous journey to the heart of Africa. CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform. ISBN 978-1522708049.
  • Kim, Leena (19 June 2017). "All the Jewels Louise Linton Wore to Her Wedding". Town & Country. Retrieved 23 August 2017.
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