Myriam Ullens de Schooten Whettnall nee Lechien was a Belgian entrepreneur engaged in art, fashion, and philanthropy best known for being a pastry chef who married a billionaire Belgian aristocrat and used her new found wealth for philanthropic causes. Ullens launched her first business "La Petite Salade", a salad delivery service at the age of 24. She met Baron Ullens when she was looking for investors for her pastry business. A year later she was married to him and gave up her business to purs... moreMyriam Ullens de Schooten Whettnall nee Lechien was a Belgian entrepreneur engaged in art, fashion, and philanthropy best known for being a pastry chef who married a billionaire Belgian aristocrat and used her new found wealth for philanthropic causes. Ullens launched her first business "La Petite Salade", a salad delivery service at the age of 24. She met Baron Ullens when she was looking for investors for her pastry business. A year later she was married to him and gave up her business to pursue philanthropy. One of her most remarkable project, opening in 2007, was the Ullens Center for Contemporary Art in Beijing which was the first international-standard museum in China dedicated to contemporary art. Her other projects included the Mimi Foundation, which created support systems for cancer patients in French and Belgian hospitals and Club des Combins, an organization that provides insurance to the mountain guides of Verbier, an alpine Swiss resort. She also launched her own fashion label, named Maison Ullens. Myriam Ullens was shot and killed in front of her home in Lasne by her stepson Nicolas Ullens de Schooten Whettnall who was arrested for the murder.
