COOL COUPLE
She was one of Hollywood’s most revered stars. He was an emerging force in French fashion. But when they met on Christmas eve in Paris, it seemed ordained by fate.
Kathryn Sermak was Bette Davis’ personal assistant and protégé for the last decade of Miss D’s life. Using one of their final road trips together in France during the summer of 1985 as a backdrop, she describes their poignant relationship and this transformative journey from Biarritz to Paris in Miss D and Me: Life With the Invincible BetteDavis (Hachette Books). In 1997, Sermak co-founded the Bette Davis Foundation with Miss Davis' son, MichaelMerrill, and is a member of the board of trustees. Along with Merrill, Sermak is also co-executor of the Bette Davis Estate. Among the first to receive thePersonal Assistant Career Award, Sermak has been a personal assistant to HHPrincess Shams Pahlavi (sister to the Shah of Iran), French actress Isabelle Adjani, statesman and journalist Pierre Salinger, astronaut Dr. Buzz Aldrin, Motown founder Berry Gordy Jr., famed American designer Patrick Kelly, and the co-creator of “Where’s Waldo,” Michael Gornall.