Nina Maria Felicia Bernstein: Who Is Leonard Bernstein’s Daughter?

Nina Maria Felicia Bernstein is the daughter of Leonard Bernstein and Felicia Montealegre Bernstein. Nina’s mother was an actress and social activist. Her father Leonard was known as the first American conductor to receive international acclaim. A successful composer and conductor, Leonard received several awards for both his conducting and his compositions.

Nina Maria Felicia Bernstein: Bio Summary

How Old Is Nina Maria Felicia Bernstein?

Nina Maria Felicia Bernstein is 61 years old as of 2023 because she was born in the year 1962 and celebrates her birthday once every year on the 28th of February. She was born in New York City, New York, USA to Louis Bernstein best known as Leonard Bernstein (August 25, 1918 – October 14, 1990), and Felicia María Cohn Montealegre (February 6, 1922 – June 16, 1978).

Nina Bernstein grew up in a financially stable household. Her parents were both successful entertainers. Her mother Felicia Montealegre Bernstein was a popular Costa Rican actress, known for her television appearance and her performance in theatrical roles on and off Broadway. She was also a social activist.

Nina’s father Leonard Bernstein was a well-known American conductor, composer, pianist, music educator, author, and humanitarian. He was an influential conducting teacher and mentor. Nina is believed to have had access to a comfortable life while growing up. She didn’t enjoy the comforts alone as she has siblings.

Nina has two siblings, an older sister, and an older brother. Her sister is Jamie Bernstein and her brother is Alexander Bernstein. Nina has a great relationship with her two older siblings. Her maternal grandparents were Clemencia Cristina Montealegre Carazo and Roy Elwood Cohn, a United States mining executive.

Nina’s paternal grandparents were Jennie (née Resnick) and Samuel Joseph Bernstein. Unfortunately, Nina’s educational background and qualifications are unavailable.

Nina Bernstein Is A Food Educator And A Former Actress

Nina Maria Felicia Bernstein followed in her parent’s footsteps. Just like her parents, she involved herself in the entertainment industry. She is a former actress. For years, Nina worked at the American Repertory Theatre in Cambridge. She worked with the Library of Congress on making the Bernstein Archives digitally available to the public.

ALSO, READ: Felicia Montealegre: How Did Leonard Bernstein’s Wife Die?

Nina is known for her contributions to Leonard Bernstein: A Total Embrace, a film about her elder sister, Jamie, and her journey around the world bringing their father Leonard Bernstein’s music and teaching legacy to new audiences (2000 – 2005). Nina has been working as a food educator in underserved communities since the year 2008.

Nina is known for The Making of ‘West Side Story’. She appeared as herself in American Masters, Leonard Bernstein: Larger Than Life, and Leonard Bernstein – Das zerrissene Genie. She was given special thanks in “Bernstein’s Wall”, “The Stories of West Side Story the Steven Spielberg Film”, and “West Side Story: A New Generation”.

Nina Bernstein’s Love Life

Nina Maria Felicia Bernstein has successfully kept her romantic relationships away from the spotlight. Although there isn’t much information about her love life, she is also known as Nina Bernstein Simmons, which is why it is assumed that she is a married woman, married to a Simmons. It is unknown if she has any children or not.

Nina’s parents Leonard Bernstein and Felicia Montealegre met in the year 1946 at a party. Fast forward, Leonard and Felicia became husband and wife on September 9, 1951. Leonard was someone who had affairs with both men and women. Felicia had penned a letter to Leonard early on in their marriage.

“You are a homosexual and may never change,” she writes. “You don’t admit to the possibility of a double life, but if your peace of mind, your health, your whole nervous system depend on a certain sexual pattern what can you do?” She added: “I am willing to accept you as you are, without being a martyr…let’s try and see what happens if you are free to do as you like, but without guilt and confession.”

“Let’s relax in the knowledge that neither of us is perfect and forget about being HUSBAND AND WIFE in such strained capital letters, it’s not that awful!” However, Leonard Bernstein and Felicia Montealegre remained married until Felicia died of lung cancer on June 16, 1978, at the age of 56. Leonard also died on October 14, 1990, at age 72, of a heart attack.

ALSO, READ: Jamie Bernstein: Inside The Life Of Leonard Bernstein’s Daughter

Nina Bernstein and her siblings Jamie Bernstein and Alexander Bernstein opened up about their mother knowing about their father’s bisexuality. “Our mom was the most elegant, delicious person,” Nina said. Jamie added, “She knew exactly what the deal was.” Alexander chimed in, “They, obviously, loved each other to death. They never fought in front of us. We never saw any darkness. We felt a lot. They kept everything very well tidied and pretty well hidden.”