Wendi Deng Murdoch

邓文迪

California State University, Northridge (BA) Yale University (MBA) Wendi Deng Murdoch (; born Deng Wen'ge; December 5, 1968) is a Chinese-born American entrepreneur and socialite. She was the third wife of media mogul Rupert Murdoch from 1999 until 2013.

Early life and education

Wendi Deng was born in Jinan, Shandong, and raised in Xuzhou, Jiangsu. Her birth name was Deng Wen'ge, (), meaning "Cultural Revolution". She has two older sisters, and a brother, and both of her parents were engineers. When she was a teen she changed her given name to "Wendi".

She attended Xuzhou First Secondary School (a.k.a. Xuzhou No.1 Middle School). She became a competitive volleyball player. While she was in high school, her father relocated to Guangzhou, where he was a factory director at the People's Machinery Works; she and her family remained in Xuzhou until they joined their father a short time later. In 1985, she was enrolled at the Guangzhou Medical College.

In 1988, she left medical school and went to the United States on a study permit. She enrolled at California State University, Northridge, where she studied economics and was among the top scoring students. She obtained a BA in Economics from California State University at Northridge and an MBA from Yale University.

Career and public profile

Upon graduation from Yale in 1996, Deng met Bruce Churchill. At that time, Churchill oversaw finance and corporate development at the Fox TV branch in Los Angeles. He offered Deng an internship at News Corp subsidiary Star TV in Hong Kong, which developed into a full-time junior executive position. Though a junior employee, she took a role in working to plan Star TV's operations in Hong Kong and China and helped to build up Chinese distribution for Star's Channel V music channel. Within one year, she became a vice president. Additionally, she investigated interactive TV opportunities for News Digital Systems.

Deng was an advisor for MySpace's China operation, prior to the company's sale to Specific Media in June 2011. She led the Murdoch family's Chinese internet investments and helped form business links with China for high-speed video and internet access.

In 2009, Deng co-founded the online platform Artsy with Carter Cleveland and Dasha Zhukova, which has since become one of the top online places for buying, viewing and learning about art. Other investors include Peter Thiel, François Pinault and Eric Schmidt.

In 2011, Deng co-produced her first film with Florence Sloan, Snow Flower and the Secret Fan, a movie about two footbound children in Qing dynasty China, directed by Wayne Wang. The film won the Golden Angel Award at the Chinese American Film Festival. She also produced the Netflix documentary Sky Ladder directed by Academy Award-winning Kevin MacDonald, showcasing the art of Cai Guo-Qiang. The film premiered in January 2016 at the Sundance Film Festival. Sotheby's hosted a private reception and screening of the film in October 2016 before the film's Netflix debut.

Deng is a collector of Chinese contemporary art. She has also invested in tech start-ups including Oscar Health, Snapchat, Uber, and Warby Parker.

Personal life

Jake and Joyce Cherry hosted Deng in their home during her studies in the United States. Later, Jake Cherry left his wife, and married Deng in 1990.{{cite news| last= Leonard| first= Tom| url= https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/asia/1372878/How-Murdochs-wife-won-her-ticket-to-America.html

In 1997, she met media mogul Rupert Murdoch, who is 37 years her senior, while working as an executive at the Murdoch-owned Star TV in Hong Kong. on board his yacht Morning Glory, less than three weeks after the finalization of his divorce from his second wife, Anna Murdoch (née Torv). The couple had two daughters: Grace (born 2001) and Chloe (born 2003). Tony Blair is Grace Murdoch's godfather. In June 2013, Rupert Murdoch filed for divorce from Deng, citing irreconcilable differences.

On July 19, 2011, Deng counterattacked Jonathan May-Bowles (comedian Jonnie Marbles) after he threw a pie at her husband Rupert Murdoch while he was giving testimony before a British parliamentary committee considering the News International phone hacking scandal. May-Bowles was subsequently sentenced to six weeks' imprisonment.

In February 2014, The Daily Telegraph and Vanity Fair alleged that Deng might have had an affair with former UK Prime Minister Tony Blair.

In early 2018, The Wall Street Journal published a story suggesting that Jared Kushner and Ivanka Trump, longtime friends of Deng, were warned by US intelligence agencies that she may be using her relationship with them to further the goals of the Chinese government. Michael Wolff, author of Fire and Fury: Inside the Trump White House, posited that the article was an attempt by Rupert Murdoch, owner of The Wall Street Journal, to spread the idea that "Wendi is a Chinese spy" in the aftermath of their acrimonious divorce.

, Deng was living in New York City with her two daughters.

References

Source

References

1. Ellis, Eric. (June 2007). "Wendi Deng Murdoch – A Life". [[The Monthly]].
2. (February 9, 2014). "Sex and single-mindedness: The Wendy Deng story". [[The Japan Times]].
3. (January 16, 2018). "Who Is Wendi Deng? Rupert Murdoch's Ex-Wife, Ivanka Trump's Bestie and Suspected Chinese Spy". [[Newsweek]].
4. Haskell, Rob. (July 20, 2016). "Wendi Murdoch Is Nothing Less Than a Force of Nature".
5. Jonathan Watts. (July 20, 2011). "Wendi Deng hailed in China for defending Rupert Murdoch". [[The Guardian]].
6. (November 2, 2000). "Rupert Murdoch's Wife Wendi Wields Influence at NewsCorp". [[The Wall Street Journal]].
7. Adams, Stephen. (July 19, 2011). "Rupert Murdoch hit by custard pie: Wendi Deng's volleyball spike". The Daily Telegraph.
8. Danaher, Patricia. (November 12, 2011). "The Saturday interview: Wendi Murdoch". The Guardian.
9. Chozick, Amy. (June 15, 2012). "Wendi Murdoch Is Creating a Career of Her Own". The New York Times.
10. Steve Fishman. (September 11, 2005). "The Boy Who Wouldn't Be King". New York Media.
11. "Wendi Deng: Heiress Apparent?". The Asia Magazine.
12. (June 14, 2013). "Wendi Deng profile: The demerger".
13. (November 1, 2000). "Rupert Murdoch's Wife Wendi Wields Influence at News Corp.". Wall Street Journal.
14. (July 4, 2007). "Wendi Murdoch to work with MySpace". [[China Economic Review]].
15. (July 12, 2011). "Wendi Deng's MySpace China Venture".
16. Lowensohn, Josh. "MySpace sells to Specific Media for $35 million".
17. Guardian Staff. (November 5, 2000). "Who is Wendi Murdoch?". The Observer.
18. (2018-03-15). "Artsy's Wendi Murdoch Just Wants to Sell You a Painting".
19. Shnayerson, Michael. (March 15, 2018). "Artsy's Wendi Murdoch Just Wants to Sell You a Painting".
20. Garrahan, Matthew. (July 5, 2016). "Vice Media buys Dasha Zhukova's Garage art magazine".
21. Robehmed, Natalie. "Why Artsy Is Succeeding In Putting The Art World Online".
22. Schuetz, Molly. (March 27, 2018). "New York's Artsy Is Making It Even Easier to Buy Art Online". Bloomberg.com.
23. Lipsky-Karasz, Elisa. (July 6, 2011). "The Producers".
24. [http://www.foxsearchlight.com/snowflowerandthesecretfan/ Snow Flower and the Secret Fan] [[Fox Searchlight Pictures]]. Retrieved September 14, 2011.
25. (August 25, 2011). "Interview of Wendi Deng Murdoch for ''Swan Flower and the Secret Fan''". [[The Charlie Rose Show]].
26. Ebert, Roger. "Snow Flower and the Secret Fan Movie Review (2011) {{!}} Roger Ebert".
27. "Chinese American Film Festival (C.A.F.F.) (2011)".
28. Eckardt, Stephanie. (October 10, 2016). "Wendi Murdoch's New Documentary On the Chinese Artist Cai Guo-Qiang Will Explode On Netflix".
29. (October 14, 2016). "Artist Cai Guo-Qiang Takes Center Stage in Netflix Documentary Sky Ladder".
30. "Wendi Murdoch at Sundance 2016 for the opening World Premiere documentary of SKY LADDER: THE ART OF CAI GUO-QIANG".
31. Sporn, Stephanie. (October 14, 2016). "Cai Guo-Qiang & Wendi Murdoch Bring 'Sky Ladder' to Sotheby's".
32. (March 4, 2013). "Wendi Murdoch and Kenzo Digital: Where Art and Technology Meet". Asia Society.
33. Chozick, Amy. (June 15, 2012). "Wendi Murdoch Is Creating a Career of Her Own". The New York Times.
34. (June 14, 2013). "The Vogue Interview: Wendi Deng". [[Vogue (magazine).
35. Anthony, Andrew. (February 8, 2014). "Wendi Deng: dizzying rise of the Shanghai star". The Guardian.
36. Seal, Mark. (February 19, 2014). "Seduced and Abandoned".
37. Danaher, Patricia. (November 12, 2011). "The Saturday interview: Wendi Murdoch". The Guardian.
38. (24 Nov 2013). "Rupert Murdoch in rift with Tony Blair over claims of 'multiple' encounters with ex-wife Wendi Deng". The Daily Telegraph.
39. [https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/22895642 "Rupert Murdoch files for divorce from Wendi Deng"]. BBC News. June 13, 2013.
40. John Plunkett and Jane Martinson [https://www.theguardian.com/media/2011/jul/19/rupert-murdoch-attacked-phone-hacking-hearing "Rupert Murdoch attacked at phone-hacking hearing"]. ''The Guardian''. July 19, 2011.
41. (August 16, 2011). "CC Murdoch pie thrower reportedly blogging from prison". [[CNN]].
42. Singh, Anita. (February 5, 2014). "Wendi Deng's 'love note for Tony Blair' published". The Daily Telegraph.
43. (December 17, 2014). "Life after power: The loneliness of Tony Blair". The Economist.
44. Monica Hunter-Hart. (May 31, 2018). "Who Is Ivanka Trump's Best Friend? It's Reportedly Another Powerful Businesswoman".
45. O'Keefe, Kate. (January 15, 2018). "U.S. Warned Jared Kushner About Wendi Deng Murdoch". [[Wall Street Journal]].
46. Lockie, Alex. (January 16, 2018). "Jared Kushner reportedly was warned that his close friend Wendi Deng Murdoch may be a Chinese spy". [[Business Insider]].
47. Beth Marengo and Samaria Parker. (April 18, 2022). "Who's who: Meet the Murdoch Family".
48. (July 9, 2011). "Rupert Murdoch and His Family". [[International Business Times]].
49. Hillman, Sir William Arbuthnot and Charles. "Murdoch family genealogy".
50. (17 September 2024). "Rupert Murdoch's family feud over future of News Corp and Fox plays out in Nevada court".
51. (24 July 2024). "The Murdoch Family Is Battling Over the Future of the Fox Empire".