Kenyon Fortescue, later known as Helene Whitney, was born in 1914, boasting a rich family heritage as the grandniece of renowned inventor Alexander Graham Bell and cousin once removed of the 26th President of the United States, Theodore Roosevelt.
In 1936, she married Julian Louis Reynolds, the scion of the R.J. Reynolds tobacco fortune, but their union was short-lived, as they divorced in 1939.
Following her divorce, Helene Whitney began her acting career, adopting various stage names, including Joyce Gardner, Helene Whitney, and Helene Reynolds.
After hanging up her acting boots, she transitioned into a new role, becoming the proprietor of a Manhattan Art Gallery, where she showcased her passion for the arts.
Tragically, Helene Whitney's life came to a close on March 28, 1990, at the John F. Kennedy Medical Center, where she succumbed to the effects of pneumonia.