Serena Mary Dunn Rothschild, Lady Rothschild (née Dunn; 28 April 1935 – 13 January 2019), was a British Thoroughbred racehorse owner and the wife of Jacob Rothschild, 4th Baron Rothschild.

Early life

Lady Rothschild was born as Serena Mary Dunn, the daughter of Sir Philip Gordon Dunn, Bt., and Lady Mary Sybil St. Clair-Erskine (daughter of James St Clair-Erskine, 5th Earl of Rosslyn). Her sister is the writer Nell Dunn. Her paternal grandfather was Sir James Dunn, Bt., a prominent Canadian financier.

Thoroughbred racing

Rothschild oversaw the management of Waddesdon Stud at Waddesdon Manor in Buckinghamshire. In November 2006, she paid 3 million guineas for the mare Spinning Queen, then a world record price (for a filly or broodmare) of 4.6 million guineas when she purchased Magical Romance at the Tattersalls sale.

In 2009, her colt Pounced, trained by John Gosden and ridden by Frankie Dettori, won the Breeders' Cup Juvenile Turf at Santa Anita Park in Arcadia, California. In 2011, her colt Nathaniel won the King Edward VII Stakes (G2) at Ascot and the King George VI and Queen Elizabeth Stakes (G1), also at Ascot. In 2012, she won the Eclipse Stakes (G1) with Nathaniel, The Lancashire Oaks (G2), and then the Irish Oaks (Classic G1) with Great Heavens.

Personal life

On 20 October 1961, she married financier Jacob Rothschild, with whom she had four children:

• Hannah Mary Rothschild (b. 1962); Hannah married William Lord Brookfield III (b. 1959). They have three children:
  • Nell Tomoka (b. 1994),
  • Clemency Ruth (b. 1997), and
  • Mary Esther Rose (b. 1998).
• Beth Matilda Rothschild (b. 1964); Beth married Antonio Tomassini (b. 1959). They have three children:
  • Jacob Ferdinando Fulvio (b. 1992),
  • Edoardo Philip James (b. 1994), and
  • Tess (b. 1996).
• Emily "Emmy" Magda Rothschild (b. 1967); Emily married Julian David Warren Freeman-Attwood (b. 1953). They have two children:
  • Ivy Antarctica (b. 1999) and
  • Lily Tibet (b. 2002).
• Nathaniel Philip Victor James Rothschild (b. 1971).

The couple made their home at Pewsey, Wiltshire, and maintain a villa on the Greek island of Corfu. She and her husband were involved in a number of charitable and humanitarian organizations, and she was a Vice President of the Wiltshire Blind Association.

Lady Rothschild died in a London hospital on 13 January 2019 following a short illness. She was 83.