Marietta Peabody Tree (April 17, 1917 – August 15, 1991) was an American socialite and political reporter, who represented the United States on the United Nations Commission on Human Rights, appointed under the administration of John F. Kennedy. Early life Marietta Endicott Peabody was the only daughter of Malcolm Endicott Peabody, the rector of Grace Episcopal Church in Lawrence, Massachusetts, and Mary Elizabeth Parkman. Her grandfather Rev. Endicott Peabody was founder and first headmaster of Groton School where her four brothers Endicott, Samuel, George, and Malcolm were educated. Tree's mother Mary was a dedicated charity volunteer, and encouraged her daughter to get involved with the community. Tree attended St. Timothy's School, where she excelled in athletics above studies. An effervescent, leggy blonde, she was recognized as an accomplished flirt from an early age. She undertook a grand tour of Europe and finishing school in Florence upon graduation to avoid college. When asked to predict her own future, she wrote down: "Parties, people, and politics." Her father insisted that she attend college, and she enrolled at the University of Pennsylvania in 1936. Although she withdrew from the Class of 1940, in later interviews she would exclaim: "I'll never stop being grateful to my father for forcing me to go to college. It changed my life." In 1964 she was presented with an honorary Doctor of Laws degree, and in 1971 with an honorary Bachelor of Arts. She is also an honorary member of Alpha Kappa Alpha sorority. Desmond FitzGerald During college, Marietta was courted by New York City lawyer Desmond FitzGerald. The couple married on September 2, 1939. A year later, Marietta gave birth to a daughter Frances FitzGerald, who became a noted journalist and historian. Her ardent liberal Democratic views clashed with those of her Republican husband and apparently created tensions in the marriage. After America entered the Second World War in December 1941, Marietta accepted a post as part of the American delegation assisting the British Ministry of Information. During the war years, Marietta became romantically involved with the film director John Huston. Ronald Tree While involved with Huston and married to FitzGerald, Marietta began an affair with Ronald Tree, who was a grandson of retail magnate Marshall Field and MP for Harborough, Leicestershire. Tree and Peabody divorced their spouses at the end of World War II and married on July 26, 1947. Marietta moved into Tree's home, Ditchley