# Helene Whitney
> Mediated Wiki article. Canonical URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Helene_Whitney
> Markdown URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Helene_Whitney.md
> Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Helene_Whitney
> Source revision: 1354330738
> License: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/)
{{Short description|American actress (1914–1990)}}
{{for|the TV producer of a similar name|Helen Whitney}}
{{Use American English|date=January 2026}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=January 2026}}
{{Infobox person
| name = Helene Whitney
| image = Actress Helen Fortescue Reynolds, Los Angeles, 1930s, cropped.jpg
| caption = Whitney (as Fortescue Reynolds) in Los Angeles, 1930s
| birth_name = Kenyon Fortescue
| birth_date = {{Birth date|1914|7|4}}
| birth_place = [Brussels, Belgium](/source/Brussels%2C_Belgium)
| death_date = {{Death date and age|1990|3|28|1914|7|4}}
| death_place = [Atlantis, Florida](/source/Atlantis%2C_Florida), U.S.
| years_active = 1939–1948
| other_names = Helen Fortescue
Joyce Gardner
Helene Reynolds
| spouse = J. Louis Reynolds (1936–1939; divorced)
| parents = [Granville Roland Fortescue](/source/Granville_Roland_Fortescue)
[Grace Fortescue](/source/Grace_Fortescue)
}}
'''Helene Whitney''' (born '''Kenyon Fortescue''', July 4, 1914 – March 28, 1990) was an American [actress](/source/actress) who appeared in films in the late 1930s and 1940s. She was known as '''Helene Reynolds''' after her marriage.
==Biography==
Whitney was born Kenyon Fortescue in 1914, but was known as Helene.[{{cite news|url=http://www.oysterbayhistory.org/freeres.html|title=Those Other Roosevelts: The Fortescues|last=Spinzia|first=Raymond E.|work=THE FREEHOLDER: Magazine Online|publisher=The Oyster Bay Historical Society|accessdate=2009-01-03|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081207020930/http://www.oysterbayhistory.org/freeres.html|archive-date=2008-12-07|url-status=dead}}][[https://www.ancestry.com/genealogy/records/kenyon-helene-fortescue_32656870 Ancestry.co Historical Person Overview: Kenyon "Helene" Fortescue], accessed May 2017.] Through her mother, [Grace Fortescue](/source/Grace_Fortescue), she was a grandniece (and cousin twice removed) of [Alexander Graham Bell](/source/Alexander_Graham_Bell), who invented the telephone.
Through her father [Granville Roland Fortescue](/source/Granville_Roland_Fortescue), she was a [first cousin once removed](/source/Cousin) of US President [Theodore Roosevelt](/source/Theodore_Roosevelt).
She grew up in [Washington D.C.](/source/Washington_D.C.) where she attended the [National Cathedral School for Girls](/source/National_Cathedral_School).[{{cite news|url=https://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/washingtonpost/access/8430485.html?dids=8430485:8430485&FMT=ABS&FMTS=ABS:FT&date=MAR+31%2C+1990&author=&pub=The+Washington+Post|archive-url=https://archive.today/20120730185356/http://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/washingtonpost/access/8430485.html?dids=8430485:8430485&FMT=ABS&FMTS=ABS:FT&date=MAR+31,+1990&author=&pub=The+Washington+Post|url-status=dead|archive-date=July 30, 2012|title=Obituary: Helene Fortescue Reynolds|date=Mar 31, 1990|newspaper=The Washington Post|page=B5|accessdate=October 15, 2010}}] She married Julian Louis Reynolds,[{{cite magazine|title=Milestones|date=July 27, 1936|magazine=[Time](/source/Time_(magazine))|url=http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,847779,00.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081215075056/http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,847779,00.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=December 15, 2008|accessdate=October 15, 2010}}] and heir to the [Reynolds](/source/Reynolds_Metals) aluminum and tobacco fortunes, on July 15, 1936, in Washington, becoming Helene Fortescue Reynolds.[{{cite news|url=https://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/washingtonpost_historical/access/286990132.html?dids=286990132:286990132&FMT=ABS&FMTS=ABS:AI&date=Mar+26%2C+1939&author=&pub=The+Washington+Post++(1877-1954)&edition=&startpage=5&desc=Helene+Reyonlds+To+Seek+%27Friendly+Divorce%27+in+Reno|archive-url=https://archive.today/20130131183029/http://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/washingtonpost_historical/access/286990132.html?dids=286990132:286990132&FMT=ABS&FMTS=ABS:AI&date=Mar+26,+1939&author=&pub=The+Washington+Post++(1877-1954)&edition=&startpage=5&desc=Helene+Reyonlds+To+Seek+'Friendly+Divorce'+in+Reno|url-status=dead|archive-date=January 31, 2013|title=Helene Reyonlds To Seek Friendly Divorce in Reno|date=Mar 26, 1939|newspaper=The Washington Post|accessdate=2009-01-03}}] After three years of marriage, they divorced in May 1939.[{{cite news|last=Fine|first=Mary Jane|url=http://nl.newsbank.com/nl-search/we/Archives?p_product=PI&s_site=philly&p_multi=PI&p_theme=realcities&p_action=search&p_maxdocs=200&p_topdoc=1&p_text_direct-0=0EB296FD74876AA5&p_field_direct-0=document_id&p_perpage=10&p_sort=YMD_date:D&s_trackval=GooglePM|title=Reliving a scandalous past|date=January 23, 1984|work=The Philadelphia Inquirer|accessdate=2009-01-03}} "The papers crowed about the wedding, when Helen Fortescue and Julian Reynolds married on July 15, 1936, in Washington, DC, where Helene had grown up. They gloated over the divorce a few years later in story after sparing nary a detail.... The divorce was granted in May of 1939."][{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1939/03/28/archives/to-divorce-reynolds-former-helen-fortesque-at-reno-mrs-ch-palmer.html|title=Former Helen Fortesque at Reno to divorce Reynolds|date=March 28, 1939|work=The New York Times|pages=2|accessdate=2009-01-03}} "Mrs. Helen E. Fortesque Reynolds arrived here today by plane from New York, prepared to take up residence to divorce Julian Louis Reynolds, tobacco heir."]
She became an actress, using the stage names of Joyce Gardner, Helene Whitney and Helene Reynolds, appeared in films in the late 1930s and 1940s and later in stage productions.