Mariane and Daniel Pearl came from different faiths and different cultures, yet they were able to merge their lives, dreams, and goals together in spite of their differences.
In their marriage contract which they proclaimed at their wedding, Mariane and Daniel Pearl promised to grow old together. Although a terrorist act stopped them from keeping that promise, Mariane wrote a book about their life together to keep their promise to "view our life together as a work of literature."
Here is information about how Daniel and Mariane met, their wedding, and more.
Daniel Pearl: October 10, 1963 in Princeton, New Jersey.
Mariane van Neyenhoff: July 23, 1967 in Clichy, Hauts-de-Seine, France.
Daniel: February 2, 2002. Daniel's death at the age of 38 was confirmed on February 21, 2002 by the U.S. State Department. Daniel had been kidnapped on January 23, 2002 in Karachi and later murdered.
On August 11, 2002, Daniel was buried in Mount Sinai Memorial Park in Los Angeles, California. His gravestone reads: "Journalist. Musician. Humanist. He lost his life in pursuit of the truth."
Source: Verne Gay, Newday.com, "The Life and Death of Daniel Pearl", October 9, 2006.
Mariane and Daniel were introduced to one another at one of her mother's parties in Paris in the fall 1998.
Mariane: "He [Daniel] looked to me like an elegant extraterrestrial casting a delighted but somewhat perplexed glance at the earthly specimens ... 'You're both journalists. You should meet,' someone said in introduction."
Source: A Mighty Heart, page 38.
After several months of corresponding by mail, their first date was Danny's arrival in Paris from Madrid in time to cook breakfast for Mariane.
Mariane and Daniel were married on August 21, 1999 in the south of France at Chateau de Valmousse in Lambesc. They had a Jewish-Buddhist wedding ceremony which they wrote together.
- Daniel and Mariane's marriage contract which they proclaimed at their wedding:
"... We promise to grow old together, while keeping each other young, maintaining our sense of humor, sharing love and secrets."
- "We promise to discover new things, places, and people together, to view our life together as a work of literature."
"We promise to share our happiness with our friends and relatives."
"We promise not to let money, lack of money, or passage of time change us."
"We promise each to treasure the other's happiness at least as much as our own, to support each other's creativity, and always to keep faith in the strength of the other's love."
Source: A Mighty Heart, page 49
Daniel and Mariane had one son.
- Adam Daniel Pearl: Born in May 2002 in Paris, France, three months after his father's death.
Daniel: Journalist.
Mariane: Journalist, columnist, television and radio reporter, and author.
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A Mighty Heart: the Brave Life and Death of My Husband, Daniel Pearl
by Mariane Pearl with Sarach Crichton
Mariane about being married to Danny: "Oh, it was great. You know, Danny's like this kind of character that has a lot of imagination and that he likes to be like silly and, you know. So at the same time we laughed a lot. We had like a friendship, you know."
Source: Larry King Interview with Mariane Pearl, March 19, 2002.
Source: A Mighty Heart, page 5.
Wall Street Journal reporter about Mariane and Daniel: "Mr. Pearl, who attracted women by the droves, met Mariane at a party in Paris in 1998, and immediately announced that he had fallen in love. The two were married in August 1999. They originally planned to get married in September but pushed up the date because Mariane's mother was dying of cancer. She held herself upright to walk her daughter down the aisle but was too sick to sit through the wedding reception. So it was from an upstairs window that she listened as her new son-in-law played Bach for her from below."
Source: WSJ.com
Mariane about their interfaith marriage: "Danny is like really respectful of his origins, you know? So he would share with me the cultural part of being Jewish, and I would share with him the cultural part of being a Buddhist."
Source: Larry King Interview with Mariane Pearl, March 19, 2002.
Angelina Jolie: "I had looked at Danny’s and Mariane’s wedding footage just before, and it made me terribly sad. It was such a happy moment for her, so beautiful. They loved each other so much, those two, and you can see it in the wedding. It was hard not to cry.”
Source: Official Site -- A Mighty Heart
