Monday, July 09, 2018

The Queen of Cool—Neile Adams McQueen



The Queen of Cool


Neile Adams McQueen



Steve McQueen remains the undisputed King of Cool, and Every King has a Queen, especially if your last name is McQueen. 



I recently interviewed Neile Adams McQueen, who was married to Steve McQueen from 1956 to 1972 and is the matriarch of the McQueen family today. We spoke about many things including the provenance of Loren Janes Rolex Submariner, which I will be including details of in my next update on that subject coming later this week.




Neile Adams McQueen's life journey is absolutely amazing! It has been said that behind every great man there is a great woman, and that certainly was the case with Steve McQueen as Neile helped him every step of the way with his early and middle career. Even after Steve and Neile were divorced Steve McQueen still heavily depended on her opinions and instincts.







1965 Monaco Grand Prix 




Neile supported her husband Steve in many of his endeavors and hobbies. We see Neile and Steve McQueen in this next set of photos attending the 1965 Monaco Grand Prix where Steve was absolutely fascinating with the racers.



In the photo below we see Grand Prix racers Graham Hill and Sir Jackie Stewart chatting with Steve McQueen. This photo is interesting as they both seem equally fascinated with each other.




In this next photo, we see Steve McQueen wrapping out with legendary Formula One race car driver, Sir Stirling Moss.






The McQueen Family

Steve McQueen was a dedicated family man and was madly in love with his two children. 




In particular, his daughter Terry was the apple of his eye and we see Terry pictured above with Neile and Steve as well as in the photo below where Steve is walking with Terry in Los Angeles in 1964.



In the family portrait below from the early 1970s we see Chad, Steve, Neile and Terry McQueen.








Steve McQueen's Love of Rolex






Neile and I had a great conversation about The King Of Cool and his appreciation of Rolex. Neile said, "Steve was very fond of Rolex." I mentioned to Neile that I have spent thousands of hours over the past decade searching for photos of Steve McQueen wearing his Rolex Submariner and that the first time I was aware of him wearing one was when he was racing at Sebring in 1970. 



Neile said, "I remember when we were on Christmas vacation in Switzerland in 1969 Steve bought some Rolex watches, which he was very fond of."



Below is a photo of Steve McQueen at Sebring with wife Neile, son Chad, and daughter Terry talking with Steve during a break.



In the photo above and below we see Steve McQueen at Sebring in 1970 wearing his Rolex Submariner he wore while he performed in the endurance race.



Below we see a photo of Steve and Neile on the set of Sand Pebbles, taken in 1966 in Hong Kong.



In the photos below, we see Neile and Steve McQueen in a convertible Mercedes 300SL in New York.




The next set of photos below were taken on the set of The Thomas Crown Affair, and the first one shows Neile McQueen with Steve.








Neile has worn a Rolex Lady-Date for many decades and mentioned that her son Chad wears his father's Submariner and her granddaughter, Molly wears her daughter Terry's Rolex today. Terry McQueen who was Steve & Neile McQueen's daughter is pictured below on the left with her daughter Molly, and notice Terry is wearing her Rolex LadyDate. Unfortunately Terry passed away from a rare disease when Molly was ten years old, so her grandmother Neile raised her. Neile and Molly are pictured on the right and notice Neile wearing her ladies Rolex two-tone Datejust.




In the photo below we see Steve & Neile's daughter Terry McQueen with her daughter Molly on her lap, and we also see Terry wearing her yellow gold Rolex Ladydate.



Neile is pictured below in a more recent photo with her granddaughter Molly.





This means that the entire McQueen nuclear family wore Rolex watches! Neile mentioned "Recently I have really been enjoying wearing my Cartier watch!" 

Neile Adams McQueen is an amazing lady who as achieved so much in her life, and she has played a strong role as being the matriarch of her family and has had a strong influence on her children and grandchildren. Since Steve McQueen was The King of Cool, that makes Neile the Queen of Cool in my mind! Neile is pictured below with her daughter Terry and son Chad.




Steve & Neile McQueen's son Chad is pictured below with his mother Neile and his first wife, Stacey Toten notice Chad is wearing his father's Rolex Submariner. Today Chad McQueen owns two different Rolex Submariner models that belonged to and were worn by his father.




Below we see a photo of Neile McQueen with her son Chad and grandson Steven McQueen, who is Chad's son.



Speaking of COOL—below is a photo of Steven McQueen who is Neile & Steve McQueen's grandson, and his parents are Stacey Toten and Chad McQueen. Steven McQueen is a talented actor, and appears to be down to earth and very friendly.