1. Marion Barbara 'Joe' Carstairs was a wealthy British power boat racer known for her speed, eccentric lifestyle, and gender nonconformity.
17 Facts About Joe Carstairs
1. 2.
Captain Carstairs re-enlisted with the Army the week before Joe was born; he and Evelyn divorced soon afterwards.
3.
Joe Carstairs divorced Captain Francis to marry French count Roger de Perigny in 1915, but eventually left him because of his infidelity.
4.
Joe Carstairs had a rocky relationship with her mother, who sent her to the Low-Heywood School for Girls, a boarding school in Stamford, Connecticut, at the age of 11 due to her rebellious behaviour.
5.
Joe Carstairs usually dressed as a man; had tattooed arms; and loved machines, adventure and speed.
6.
Joe Carstairs married a childhood friend, the French aristocrat Count Jacques de Pret, on 7 January 1918 in Paris.
7.
Joe Carstairs lived in a flat above the garage, which was situated near Cromwell Gardens in London's fashionable South Kensington district.
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Marlene Dietrich 8.
In 1925, X-Garage closed and Joe Carstairs inherited a fortune from Standard Oil via her mother and grandmother.
9.
Joe Carstairs was given a Steiff doll in 1925 by her girlfriend, Ruth Baldwin, naming it Lord Tod Wadley.
10.
Joe Carstairs had clothes made for it in Savile Row and had its name placed with her own on the name plaque on the door of her London apartment.
11.
Joe Carstairs was close to several male racing drivers and land speed record competitors, using her considerable wealth to assist them.
12.
In 1934, Joe Carstairs invested $40,000 purchasing the island of Whale Cay in the Bahamas where she lavishly hosted guests such as Marlene Dietrich and the Duke and Duchess of Windsor.
13.
Joe Carstairs constructed a Great House for herself and her guests as well as a lighthouse, school, church, and cannery.
14.
Joe Carstairs created an agricultural enterprise and employed hundreds of Bahamians, building complexes for them.
15.
Joe Carstairs considered herself the official ruler of the island, and made laws banning alcohol and adultery, named all children born on the island, officiated marriages, and hired a private militia to protect the island.
16.
Joe Carstairs later expanded these properties by buying the additional islands of Bird Cay, Cat Cay, Devil's Cay, half of Hoffman's Cay and a tract of land on Andros.
17.
Joe Carstairs died in Naples, Florida in 1993 at the age of 93.