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Sydney Biddle Barrows (born January 14, 1952), known as the Mayflower Madam, was an American madam. After her escort service was exposed and disbanded, she gained worldwide notoriety, in part because she was part of the upper-class Biddle family of Philadelphia and is a Mayflower descendant. During her years as a madam, she used the alias Sheila Devin. She is related to the Drexel banking family of Philadelphia.

After graduating from New York's Fashion Institute of Technology, followed by a short career in the fashion industry, she was introduced to the world of high-class prostitution and started her own escort service named Cachet, which existed in New York City from 1979 to 1984. Unlike other escort agencies, Cachet offered an unparalleled service at the time, focusing on delivering a classy and elegant experience to the wealthy and powerful who either visited or lived in New York City. Some of its clients included industrialists, high-powered business executives and lawyers, foreign diplomats and Arabian oil sheiks.

In October 1984, her escort service was shut down and she was charged with promoting prostitution by the New York City District Attorney's Office. After her guilty plea, she published a best-selling autobiography, Mayflower Madam, which later became a television movie of the same name starring Candice Bergen. She has written two subsequent books on modern sexual etiquette.

In late 2008 Barrows finished Uncensored Sales Strategies, co-authored with marketing expert Dan Kennedy. Since the mid-late 1990's, Barrows has run a consulting business with a focus on customer service and Experience Strategy.

An expert on luxury lifestyle, high-end retail and exclusive service delivery in restaurants and professional services environments, Barrows consults with owners and managers and trains staff to improve brand experiences. She has been married to "attorney of last resort" Darnay Hoffman, whose clients include Joel Steinberg since May 14, 1994. She currently lives in New York City.

This author page uses material from the Wikipedia article "Sydney Biddle Barrows", which is released under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share-Alike License 3.0