Rose Porteous (née Lacson, born October 26, 1948) is a Filipino-born Australian socialite. She rose to prominence in the 1980s as the central figure in a series of lawsuits launched by her former stepdaughter, Gina Rinehart, the daughter of Porteous's late husband, Australian iron ore pioneer, Lang Hancock.
Porteous had worked as a maid for Hancock, who was her third husband.
Not long after Hancock's death, his widow married her current husband, William Porteous. Gina Rinehart's lawsuits accused Rose Porteous of marrying Hancock only for his fortune and alleged that her stepmother's actions had contributed to her father's death.
At the coronial inquest into Hancock's death, the state coroner, Alistair Hope, declined to recommend that any charges be laid in respect of Lang Hancock's demise.
Rose Porteous's brushes with the law include matters relating to insurance fraud and prescription fraud. As at October 2005 she is being sued for $14m by her Melbourne-based lawyers.
After a brief stint in the tabloid media, Rose Porteous retreated to a more quiet life in Perth and is regarded as something of a recluse by the locals, although she still occasionally appears on lifestyle programs for television.
Recently, it has been widely reported by Australian newspapers that the wealthy socialite is selling her iconic Perth Mansion "Prix'd Amour", which is scheduled for demolition by developers and moving to a smaller residence in the Melbourne suburb of Toorak.
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