Jojo Capece
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Jojo Capece (full name Marie Josette Capece Minutolo), born September 3, 1941 in New York City, is an author, sculptor and painter. She has led an eventful life, including periods in Istanbul, Reagon-era Washington, D.C., Thatcherite London, Rome and San Francisco. She has published three books, All Roads Lead to Rome (2011), Bella Figura (2013) and Portofino Souvenir (2015), and a screenplay, For Better or Worse.[1]
Biography[edit]
Capece was born in Manhattan, the second daughter of three, to attorney, Joseph Capece Minutolo, and Rose D'Andrea, daughter of Mark D'Andrea, bespoke tailors of D'Andrea Brothers, Rockefeller Center. She was introduced to the art of illustrator René Gruau and Alberto Giacometti at an early age. Her paternal grandfather, a concert pianist, also gave her a love of culture and music. Her initial wish to be an actress was forbidden by her mother and she turned her attention to studying art and anatomy at Parsons School of Design.[2]
Discouraged by her parents from developing an art career, she studied at New York University,[2] then joined Condé Nast's Glamour magazine.[3] Fashion publicist Eleanor Lambert schooled her in public relations, and a stint working with television led to a position as Public Relations Director of Fabergé (cosmetics).[2]
In 1967, Capece married Willard Douglas Campbell, Jr., an Air Force officer. They moved to Istanbul, Turkey, living in Istinye overlooking the Bosporus. For three years, she learned the Turkish language and worked with disadvantaged girls from Anatolia. While in Istanbul, she was injured severely in an automobile accident that left her in hospital for two months. She brought her piano to Istanbul, entertaining friends at home by playing American jazz. She played the lead in Murray Schisgal's play, The Typists, at the Mobile Oil Theater. Artistically, she became involved in the restoration committee for the Topkapi Palace and experimented with techniques in metal from the Hittite period for sculpture.
Upon returning to America, she lived in Washington, D.C. where she gave birth to three children. She accepted commissions for paintings and works on paper from the Cafritz family, Colonel Eugene Myers, (former director of the Corcoran Gallery of Art) and Joe Hirshhorn of the Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden. She was actively involved with the first Reagan Administration. In 1984 Capece began her PR company, Mary Jo Campbell Ltd.[4][5]
In 1986, she divorced, opened a branch office on Bond Street, London, and moved to Chelsea with her children where they were educated at Harrow School, Royal Academy of Dramatic Art and University of St Andrews respectively. By 1990, living in the Cotswolds, she began to devote time to writing and art, terminating business pursuits. In 1993 the Holy See granted Capece an annulment from her original marriage.
She lived in the historic center of Rome for a dozen years. Having transported her piano to Rome, she played with a three-piece combo at a theatre on via Veneto in "Evenings with Gershwin". Artistically, she studied with Giovanni Paganin, the futurist sculptor in Milan, Professor Domenico Annichiarico, Academia di Belle Arti, Carrara, and Maestro Massoni in Rome.[6] Schooled traditionally, all work was approached in clay with mythological and allegorical figures that showed emotion. At her atelier in Centro Storico, she developed figurative collections of sculpture and lost wax casting into bronze. Her work in marble was accomplished in Rome. Daniel Besseiche Gallery in France and Higgonet's Galleria del Leone in Venice represented Capece's work and exhibited her sculpture. Keeping a foothold in London for commissions and through the Chelsea Arts Club, London, Capece was a guest artist for life drawing sessions at the Royal Academy of Arts.[6]
Personal life[edit]
In 1992, in Rome, Capece was introduced to author it:Carlo Cristiano Delforno. He encouraged Capece's writing and sculpture for several years until his death. This romantic interest had a profound influence on her sculpture best described in the novel, All Roads Lead to Rome.
In 1998, while in London, Capece was introduced to Anthony Shaffer, the playwright. Their secret relationship lasted for several years, during which time Capece returned to live in London. Shaffer's sudden death changed Capece's life dramatically. Claiming that Shaffer had intended to marry her, Capece unsuccessfully challenged Shaffer's legal wife, Diane Cilento, for a share of his fortune. The case turned on whether Shaffer's London flat, or his estate in Queensland, should be considered his primary residence.[7][8][9] While in legal proceedings after Shaffer's death, Capece studied at the Heatherley School of Fine Art, London, and wrote Death of a Playwright, detailing the complexities she faced.
In December 2007 Capece returned to America where her children resided. Moving to San Francisco, Capece re-met widower the Honorable Edgar dePue Osgood.[2] Within eight months, Mayor Gavin Newsom married the couple at City Hall. They remarried later in a religious ceremony at Chelsea Old Church, London.
Capece has published three books, All Roads Lead to Rome (2011), Bella Figura (2013) and Portofino Souvenir (2015), and written a screenplay, For Better or Worse. She continues to work on paintings and sculpture commissions. Her artwork was included in a benefit fundraiser for the Italian town of Amatrice, held at the Instituto Culturale Italiano in San Francisco in December 2016.[10]
Literary work[edit]
- All Roads Lead to Rome, ISBN 1466282851, published 2011
- Bella Figura, ISBN 1482076616, published 2013
- Portofino Souvenir, ISBN 1518707173, published 2015
- For Better or Worse, screenplay, optioned 2007, Writer's Guild of America
Publications and appearances[edit]
- The Omnivore, "Forever 50," July 24, 2014[11]
- "Bay Area Author Turns Love Affair With Italy Into Book", CBS TV Eyewitness News, February 1, 2012
- "Jojo Capece's 'Bella Figura'", Fox Television News, August 20, 2013[12]
Distinctions[edit]
- Honorable Seref Uyeligi, 1969 from the Turkish American University
- Member President Reagan's Task Force for the Initiative of Women's Business Ownership, 1984
- American advisor to Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher's Committee, Women Into Business, 1988
References[edit]
- ↑ Accardi, Catherine. "Portofino Souvenir & A Conversation with Jojo Capece". Italo-Americano. Retrieved May 27, 2016.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 "Author brings Rome to life at Florida book signings". Next Ooze. March 14, 2012. Retrieved 16 February 2017.
- ↑ Watts, Merritt (2016). First Jobs: True Tales of Bad Bosses, Quirky Coworkers, Big Breaks, and Small Paychecks. Picador. ISBN 978-1250061256. Retrieved 16 February 2017. Search this book on
- ↑ GAMAREKIAN, BARBARA (January 8, 1985). "INAUGURATION ANTICIPATION: IT'S WILD". The New York Times. Retrieved 16 February 2017.
- ↑ McLellan, Joseph (April 14, 1982). "All for Wolf Trap". The Washington Post. Retrieved 16 February 2017.
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 "Benefit Auction Welcome to the Amatrice Benefit Auction. Join us December 8, 2016 at the Italian Cultural Institute". Amatrice. 2016.
- ↑ "Anthony Shaffer's mistress denied fortune". UPI. February 10, 2004. Retrieved 16 February 2017.
- ↑ O'Neill, Sean (February 10, 2004). "Shaffer's lover fails in battle over his estate". The Telegraph. Retrieved 16 February 2017.
- ↑ Barkham, Patrick (February 10, 2004). "Writer's tangled love life laid bare by fight over will". The Time. Retrieved 16 February 2017.
- ↑ Accardi, Catherine (January 11, 2017). "Artists in San Francisco for Amatrice". L'Italo-Americano. Retrieved 16 February 2017.
- ↑ The Omnivore, "Forever 50," July 24, 2014
- ↑ "Jojo Capece's 'Bella Figura'", Fox Television News, August 20, 2013
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