Marjorie Finlay

Marjorie Moehlenkamp Finlay (October 5, 1928 – June 1, 2003) was an American opera singer and television personality.

A coloratura soprano, Finlay performed concert, opera, and supper club singing.

After winning a talent contest in 1950, she toured on the ABC radio network show Music With the Girls. Finlay later had her own television program and served as an MC for El Show Pan-Americano in Puerto Rico. She toured South America and released an album in Mexico. She is the maternal grandmother of singer-songwriter Taylor Swift, who dedicated her songs "Marjorie" and "Timeless" to her.

Spouse - Robert Finlay, ​(m. 1952)​
Children

• Alison Finlay in 1957, 
• Andrea Gardner Finlay 1958

Relatives

• Taylor Swift (granddaughter)
• Austin Swift (grandson)

Early life and education

Marjorie Moehlenkamp was born on October 5, 1928, in Memphis, Tennessee, to Elmer Henry Moehlenkamp of St. Charles, Missouri, and Cora Lee Morrow of Arkansas. She was raised in St. Charles.

Three of her paternal great-grandparents were from Germany. In 1948, Moehlenkamp performed at Mexico Senior High School as a soloist in the Lindenwood Vesper Choir. She earned her Bachelor of Music from Lindenwood University in 1949. Moehlenkamp was in Mu Phi Epsilon, a professional music fraternity.

Career

She was a singer in the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra's pop concert at Kiel Auditorium. In 1950, Moehlenkamp was working as a receptionist at Boatmen's National Bank in St. Louis. She won a talent contest on the ABC network show Music With the Girls. This awarded her a radio spot and she toured on the network radio show for 15 months. During the summer of 1951, Moehlenkamp studied at the Berkshire Music Center and then in New York City on the advice of musician Edwin McArthur. Moving to Puerto Rico, Finlay had her own television program and performed in concerts, operas, and supper clubs, including a two-week stint at the Caribe Hilton Hotel.

Finlay was the mistress of ceremonies for El Show Pan-Americano on APA-TV in Santurce, Puerto Rico. She was active in the Pro Arte Societies, a civic music organization. Her Spanish was reportedly "bad" enough to be funny to her audiences. Her television show ran six nights a week for 17 months. In 1962, Finlay performed at a Kiel Auditorium Pop Concert. Her performance included "Fanciulla È Sbocciato L'Amore" from La rondine and "Jewel song" in addition to pop songs.

Personal life

She married Robert Finlay, president of Raymond Construction Company, on March 22, 1952, in Palm Beach, Florida. After her marriage, Finlay and her husband moved to Havana, Cuba, where his office was located before relocating to Puerto Rico due to political unrest.

They moved to Caracas before returning to Santurce, Puerto Rico with their children. Finlay gave birth to Alison Finlay in 1957, and then to Andrea Gardner Finlay in 1958, who later became the mother of Taylor Swift.

Death and legacy

Finlay died on June 1, 2003, in Reading, Pennsylvania, at the age of 74. Finlay was the mother of Andrea Gardner Swift (née Finlay, born 1958), and through her was maternal grandmother of singer-songwriter Taylor Swift and her brother, actor Austin Swift. Swift cited Finlay for inspiring her to pursue a career in music. The character Swift portrayed in the 2015 music video, Wildest Dreams, was inspired by Finlay. In 2020, Swift released the song "Marjorie" from her ninth studio album Evermore; Swift credited her grandmother with backing vocals which were sampled in the track. 

In 2022, Swift included a photograph of Finlay in the music video of "Anti-Hero". When Swift re-recorded her third studio album, Speak Now, she released a vault track (a song not published on the original album) called "Timeless". The lyric video included various photos of Finlay and her husband, along with photos of Swift's paternal grandparents, Rose and Archie Dean Swift.