Pearl, born on October 12, 1889, in Sturgis, Michigan, was the daughter of William Balser Skirvin, an Oklahoma millionaire who made his fortune in oil and founded the Skirvin Hotel. Her younger sister was silent film actress Marguerite Skirvin. In 1916, she married George Mesta, a steel manufacturer from western Pennsylvania, who died in 1925. She was the sole heir to his vast fortune. She first moved to Newport, then to Washington in 1940. In 1944, she changed the spelling of her first name to “Perle.”
She became involved in the National Women's Party and championed the Equal Rights Amendment. Nicknamed “the hostess with the mostess,” she was best known for the parties she threw, which brought together members of Congress, ministers, and other socialites. Being invited to one of her parties was a sign of having entered the exclusive circle of Washington high society. Her influence peaked during the Truman era, but as a former friend of the Eisenhowers, she maintained her social position throughout the 1950s despite her support for the Democratic Party. Truman rewarded her by appointing her head of the US Embassy in Luxembourg between 1949 and 1953. According to some reports, when asked how she wished to be addressed in her new role, she replied, “Call me Madam,” hence the name of the musical that Irving Berlin dedicated to her.
The appointment of a woman to a diplomatic post abroad, without prior experience in foreign affairs, was controversial in the United States and Luxembourg. Perle attracted considerable local and international interest, as well as visits from celebrities and politicians. The charismatic Mesta became close to Grand Duchess Charlotte and influential ministers.
Mesta organizes parties for people from all walks of life, from celebrities to hundreds of children from Luxembourg orphanages. Every month, she welcomes American soldiers stationed in Europe to dinner at the residence. She created a scholarship fund to enable Luxembourg students to study in the United States, on condition that they return and put their education to use in their country. Perle Mesta's work in Luxembourg was recognized when she became the first woman to receive the Order of the Oak Crown.
In 1960, she published an autobiography: Perle: My Story. She is the subject of a book by Paul Lesch, Playing Her Part: Perle Mesta in Luxembourg. Lesch also made a documentary about Perle Mesta's stay in Luxembourg entitled Call Her Madam (Samsa Film, 1997), whose title is taken from the musical Call Me Madam (1950), inspired by Perle Mesta's diplomatic episode.
Pearl died in 1975 at the age of 85 in Oklahoma City.
Sources :
● https://www.luxtimes.lu/luxembourg/perle-mesta-her-luxembourg-connection/
1244625.html?Űclid=IwY2xjawKRWDRleHRuA2FlbQIxMAABHtqfLpGqm9z2QvzbAEnUU3C9wCMqiCuscL8cchNAwtYWHprLVoO9nTFhjP3X_aem_sAsB8qDj8m8vxwhCIYrHQg
● https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Perle_Mesta