Marina Habe’s mother, Florence Eloise Hardt, known professionally as Eloise Hardt, was born on September 17, 1917, in Lawton, Oklahoma, an area formerly part of the Indian Territory before Oklahoma’s statehood in 1907. Known as “Cherokee” among friends, she was the daughter of a Cherokee mother and a German father. Eloise recalled spending her early childhood on a reservation before her family relocated to California when she was thirteen.
Hardt’s early life was shaped by hardship and resilience. Her father, an electrical engineer, was left crippled after being struck by lightning. Following a failed suicide attempt, he moved to Texas, abandoning Hardt, her mother, and six siblings to fend for themselves. In time, her two eldest brothers made their way to California, eventually sending for the rest of the family to join them.
A Tragic Full Circle
Settled in California, Hardt began to build a life of her own. At the age of 22, she married Phil Edgar Scott on June 30, 1940. The wedding took place at the Church of the Good Shepherd, the Roman Catholic parish in Beverly Hills. Her sister Marcella served as the witness. But the marriage was short-lived. When her husband was sent overseas, the separation ultimately led to divorce. Nearly three decades later, in a tragic full circle, the same church would hold the funeral service for her daughter, Marina Habe, in 1969.
Later in life, Marcella—Eloise’s sister—dedicated herself to rehabilitative work at Folsom Prison and California State Prison. Teaming up with a psychologist, she helped lead workshops aimed at men serving life sentences. It’s possible that the devastating loss of her niece shaped her decision to engage with incarcerated individuals on such a personal level.
From Model to Hollywood Actress
Eloise was described as exceptionally beautiful. In her teens, she began working as a model to support her mother and younger siblings. She modeled for Tom Kelley, the photographer best known for taking the iconic nude calendar photo of Marilyn Monroe. Hardt later signed a contract with Columbia Pictures, where she received training in acting, singing, and dancing.
During World War II, Eloise volunteered at the famed Hollywood Canteen, a gathering place for servicemen awaiting deployment overseas. There, she met and fell in love with an airman who later lost his life in combat.
Co-founded by Bette Davis, the Canteen was staffed by many of Hollywood’s brightest stars—such as Rita Hayworth, Marlene Dietrich, Judy Garland, and Frank Sinatra—who donated their time to boost morale and entertain the troops. Admission was limited to enlisted servicemen, and all food, drinks, and entertainment were provided at no cost.
Eloise Hardt’s Relationship with Director John Huston
Before and after her marriage to Hans Habe, Eloise Hardt maintained both a romantic relationship and an enduring friendship with legendary actor and Academy Award–winning director John Huston. She was first introduced to Huston in 1944 by photographer Tom Kelley.
Huston, the father of actress Anjelica Huston, was known for directing films such as The Misfits, starring Marilyn Monroe and Clark Gable; The African Queen, featuring Humphrey Bogart and Katharine Hepburn; as well as the 1982 adaptation of Annie.
Eloise Hardt was described as a key figure in director John Huston’s life. She helped manage his household and cared for his horses. Huston was especially fond of Marina, who was the same age as his daughter Anjelica.
Through her relationship with Huston, Hardt was introduced to several notable figures from the world of film and diplomacy. “There were many people there who were much older than me, like Charlie Chaplin and Sir Charles Mendl, and they would all come out to his house on Sundays,” Hardt later recalled.
Life with the Huston Family: Rivalry and Loss
The Huston household was often turbulent, and tensions between the children ran high. Hardt recalled the strident sibling rivalry between Tony and Anjelica Huston, who “hit and spit and hurt each other” and were jealous of their father’s affection for Marina. “They used to tie Marina up, and I’d go after them and beat the shit out of them. They didn’t mean it, but they were so jealous. John adored Marina because she was a blue-eyed blond little girl.”
At Christmas in 1959, Eloise and Marina spent the holidays with the Hustons in Ireland. As a gift, Marina received a tin box filled with oysters—each one hiding a pearl inside. Marina was especially enamored by Anjelica’s mother, Enrica, who would die in a car accident several weeks after Marina’s murder. A photo from that 1959 Christmas shows 8-year-old Marina Habe with Tony and Anjelica Huston.
Many years later, Anjelica Huston recalled how beautiful Marina had become as a teenager, describing her at seventeen as having long blonde hair, sloe eyes, and delicate, graceful features. “She was,” Anjelica wrote, “one of the most beautiful girls I had ever seen.”
Anjelica Huston later shared that during the 1968 filming of Sinful Davey, she developed a close friendship with Eloise Hardt, while her own mother, Enrica Soma, was away and Marina was studying in Hawaii. After production wrapped, Anjelica and her mother traveled to Los Angeles, where Eloise and Marina met them at the airport.
Just weeks after Marina Habe’s murder, John Huston’s then-estranged wife, Enrica, died in a car accident on January 29, 1969. It was Anjelica Huston who called Eloise to deliver the news. “Anjel was sobbing and sobbing. I couldn’t get through my own pain to answer. It was like I was in some kind of nightmare that was never ending.”
Enrica was the mother of Anjelica and Tony Huston, and had a younger daughter, Allegra, from a later relationship. In the midst of Hardt’s own grief, John Huston asked if she would care for four-year-old Allegra. Eloise declined, saying it simply felt wrong.
Tragic Coincidences
Interestingly, both John Huston and Marina Habe share a connection to Sunset Boulevard: Huston struck and killed a pedestrian there in 1933, while Marina drove along the same road on the day of her disappearance in 1968. After the 1933 accident, Huston reportedly gave up driving altogether. During their relationship, Eloise often drove him around.
In 1968, while the couple were in Ireland working on a film, tensions came to a head. According to Hardt, Huston had been especially harsh toward Anjelica on set. “He was very brutal when directing her,” she recalled. That night, after a heated argument, Hardt offered to drive him—but accidentally crashed the car into a tree. “It was late and dark and we were at each other’s throats, and I put the car in the wrong gear and went up against a tree.”
John Huston later met his fifth and final wife, Celeste Shane, at a party held at Eloise Hardt’s home. At the time, Hardt was married to Paul MacNamara, a well-connected Hollywood figure with ties to many actors from the Golden Age—a relationship explored in a later section.
In one of John Huston’s biographies, Eloise Hardt and her daughter Marina Habe are described as living in West Hollywood, directly across the street from screenwriter Anthony Veiller. Veiller also collaborated with director John Huston on several films. A previously unreported detail is that Veiller married Grace Hornburg, John Hornburg’s mother, and served as John’s stepfather—the last known person to see Marina alive. He remained John Hornburg’s stepfather until his death in 1965.
Life in Hollywood
Eloise Hardt went on to appear in numerous films during the 1940s and 1950s—several of them directed by John Huston—mostly in supporting roles, before becoming a familiar face on television. Her guest appearances included popular shows such as Charlie’s Angels, Dynasty, Dallas, Columbo, and Days of Our Lives.
Some bloggers who have looked into the Marina Habe case—but only scratched the surface—have referred to Eloise Hardt in a dismissive way, describing her as a B-movie actress who didn’t quite make it. Their commentary implies that she aspired to fame but lacked the talent or presence to succeed.
However, a closer look tells a different story. In reality, Hardt never set out to become a major star; with her extensive Hollywood connections, she certainly had the opportunity, but she intentionally chose smaller roles—favoring steady work over the spotlight, acting for the love of the craft, and ultimately choosing the role of wife and mother over that of actress.
When she moved to Germany with Hans, Eloise continued acting on stage in both English and German—not to become a star, but simply to do what she loved. She also appeared on Broadway, as reported by The New York Times in 1952, in the play The Fifth Season. As a homage to her Cherokee roots, she chose the stage name Cherokee Hardt.
Hardt also appeared in Marilyn Monroe’s final film, Something’s Got to Give, which was never completed due to production complications and Monroe’s death in 1962. A year earlier, John Huston had directed Monroe in her last completed film, The Misfits. Over a decade earlier, Huston had also directed Monroe in her first significant role, helping launch her career.
Notably, in 1961 and 1962, Marilyn Monroe lived just around the corner from Eloise and Marina—at the intersection of Doheny Drive and Cynthia Street, only a four-minute walk from their home on Cynthia Street.
Connections to Roman Polanski and the Manson Era
Hardt was a well-known figure in Hollywood with an extensive network; interestingly, she attended the same party as Sharon Tate at the Daisy in 1967. The Daisy was a members-only club in Beverly Hills that attracted numerous celebrities, including Sharon Tate, Jay Sebring, Roman Polanski, Steve McQueen, Natalie Wood, and Warren Beatty.
These Hollywood connections paint a vivid picture of Hardt’s social circles—circles that would later intersect with some of the most tragic events of the era. At the time, she could have never imagined that her own daughter’s name would one day be mentioned alongside Sharon Tate’s in the dark shadow of Los Angeles true crime.
Interestingly, both John Huston and Anjelica Huston had ties to Roman Polanski, whose wife, Sharon Tate, was tragically murdered by the Manson Family. John Huston appeared in Polanski’s film Chinatown, while Anjelica was dating Jack Nicholson. It was at Nicholson’s home that Polanski was later accused of being involved with a minor. For decades, Marina Habe’s murder has been rumored to be connected to the same Manson Family.
Hardt also had a role in the television show Death Valley Days, which dramatized true stories from Death Valley country, filming her part in 1961 for the episode “The Madstone” (Season 9, Episode 17). Eight years later, Charles Manson would be arrested in Death Valley during the Barker Ranch raids—adding yet another true crime story to the region’s saga.
Marriage to Hans Habe and the Birth of Marina
Hans Habe frequently traveled between Europe and the United States, and it was during one of these trips that he met Eloise. The two fell in love while Hans was still married to German actress Ali Ghito. He divorced Ghito in 1948 and married Hardt the very next day—before the divorce was officially finalized, leading Ghito to accuse him of bigamy. Habe seemed to have a penchant for actresses. After his marriage to Hardt, he married Hungarian actress Licci Balla.
Eloise Hardt—now using the name Eloise Habe—put her movie acting career on hold and moved to Munich, Germany, to be with Hans. Together, they had one daughter, Marina Elizabeth Habe, born on February 23, 1951, in Germany.