Edith Louise (Sylvia) Hawkes was born on April 1st in 1904 to Arthur Hawkes in Paddington, London. After some experience modelling lingerie she had become a Cochran Dancer,the equivalent of a Ziegfield Follies Girl, and appeared in a number of West End plays. She made her debut with Dorothy Field, as Silly and Dotty, in 'Midnight Follies', appeared in 1925 in 'Tell me More' at London's Winter Gardens, and in 'The Whole town's Talking'. She met Anthony Ashley-Cooper ( Lord Ashley - Eldest son and heir to the 9th Earl of Shaftsbury. ) Born 1900 educated Eton, Sandhurst and Cambridge. ADC Governor Bombay 1929-30 ADC CIC India 1930-31 ... Who's Who)

They were married in 1927 and moved into Purton Stoke House. As they were involved with many film and theatre stars they held many parties there. Local maids were scandalised by the apparent casual attitudes of behaviour and dress. .
The favourite vantage point for the villagers to see the "starlets" in the garden was from the upstairs rooms in what is now Cartmel, the house on the opposite corner in Pond Lane.The marriage was short-lived. Sylvia left Lord Ashley after a few months.
In 1933 Douglas Fairbanks found himself attracted to Lady Ashley.
Sylvia was tall, willowy, and golden haired, with a classically fair complexion. She had a fetching gap in her front teeth, which she later had capped. She wore clothes and jewelry beautifully, the better to match the successful exchange of her original cockney accent for more languorous Mayfair intonations. She also possessed a shrewd quick wit that augmented her ravishing looks. She moved in high society. She danced with Prince George at the Ritz.

March 7th 1936 - Douglas Fairbanks married Lady Ashley in Paris. Douglas and Sylvia moved into a Santa Monica beach house with a huge over sexed bull mastiff called Marco Polo. The dog was a bisexual menace and nobody was spared his attentions. He weighed about 200 pounds and pumped up and down on anything that moved.
D. Fairbanks died in 1939 and left Sylvia $1,000,000 in his will.
Sylvia then married Lord Stanley of Alderly (6th Baron) on 18 Jan 1944 divorced 1948
Afterwards she married Clark Gable in 1949 - After seventeen months she started divorce proceedings - divorced 1951

Her final marriage was to Prince Dmitri Djordjadze

She died 30 June 1977 as Princess Sylvia Djordjadze and is buried in Hollywood.
(David Niven describes her in his autobiography ... Sylvia had a ravishing blond beauty, outspoken and impeccable sense of humour. She was a selfish woman. She was a man’s woman. She was devoted to the great indoors, to her milky white skin, her flawless complexion, loathed the thought of animals being slaughtered, was happiest among the chattering chic of café society and owned a Chihuahua the size of a mouse called " Minnie " She adored spending money.)
Accounts of Sylvia are given by :- Douglas Fairbanks Jnr. and David Niven in their autobiographies and by Jayne Ellen Wayne in her biography of Clark Gable.