Mr. Jenner. Tell us a little bit—you came to this country. Did you and your husband attempt to resort again to your ballroom dancing?
Mrs. De Mohrenschildt. We were supposed to. We had auditions with Moss and Hart, very successful. And we were almost ready to have a contract in the Rainbow Room. And then I became pregnant with my little girl. And that really shattered us to pieces. We are awfully happy to have a child, but that was not the time to have the child. We had to leave everything in China, because we had to cross all Japan. So that was—at the time it was just like a tragedy. And after she was born, I could never dance.
Mr. Jenner. Now, after the birth of your daughter, did you—what did you do to sustain your family?
Mrs. De Mohrenschildt. I stayed home for 1 year. We just lived on whatever he made. Because I wanted to bring her up—I don't believe in nurses. I like to bring my own child up, train her for everything, in whatever a little baby should be trained.
And then if he could possibly make a little better, I would not go to work.
But then I saw he is not getting any better, but he is getting more and more depressed, and is getting worse. He just didn't care. He had that attitude, "I don't care." I said if that is his attitude, if I don't do something, my daughter will have nothing altogether. So I started to think. What could I do? I spoke English, but crazy pigeon English.
I couldn't do anything architecturally, because I don't know the terminology. I can automatically make the drawings, but I would not be able to render it. It would be impossible for me to have anything.
And then actually, without knowing anything, I became a model. I had two lessons, and I pretended that I was very experienced. I fooled everybody. And I somehow got a job as a model.
And then—at one place it didn't work out, because it was very depressing and horrible atmosphere. On Seventh Avenue it is no joke.
Mr. Jenner. My daughter is a model.