Andrea Bronfman

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Andrea Brett Morrison Bronfman (May 30, 1945January 23, 2006) was a philanthropist and wife of billionaire Charles Bronfman, who was once co-chairman of Seagram's Co. She died after being struck by a car in New York City in January, 2006. The car turned onto 65th Street from Fifth Avenue, slid on the wet and slick roadway, and hit Bronfman as she was crossing the street. Bronfman was taken to New York Weill-Cornell Medical Center, where she was pronounced dead on arrival. The driver who hit Bronfman stayed at the scene and no charges were filed

In a letter of condolence, the World Jewish Congress, whose president is Edgar Bronfman Sr., called Andrea Bronfman a pillar of her family and of the Jewish community.

Andrea Bronfman and her husband were active in numerous charities including:

  • Andrea and Charles Bronfman Philanthropies
  • Gift of New York a charity put together after the Sept. 11, 2001

She was a key figure in the Jewish community in New York City.

Bronfman was born in London in 1945, and her parents were ardent neo-Zionists. She moved to Canada as a young bride with her first husband, David Cohen. David Cohen was the grandson of Lyon Cohen, a prominent businessman, philanthropist and founder of the Canadian Jewish Congress and "Jewish Times" the first Canadian Jewish newspaper. With his father, Horace Cohen, O.B.E., David Cohen worked in the family businesses, L.Cohen & Son, Coal Merchants and Dredging Contractors; W. R. Cuthbert & Co., Brass Founders; The Freedman Co., Wholesale Clothiers. (Charles Bronfman served as "Best Man" at her first marriage to Cohen.) After that marriage ended in divorce, she married Charles Bronfman.

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