in 1952, brown met james stillman 'pebble' rockefeller jr. at a party, and they became engaged. later that year, while on a book tour in nice, france, she died at 42 of an embolism, shortly after surgery for an ovarian cyst. kicking up her leg to show her nurses how well she was feeling caused a blood clot that had formed in her leg to dislodge and travel to her heart.