Eileen McKenna, 61, of Greenwich passed away surrounded by family at her home on September 21, 2014. Eileen was born in New York, NY on June 7, 1953 to the late Patrick and Mary Brady McKenna, the sixth of seven children.
Eileen’s career in advertising spanned 57 years. She began it as a child, appearing in dozens of advertising campaigns and TV shows in the early days of television. In 1959, Eileen made advertising history as the “Little Girl” in a TV spot used to launch what has been called "the most successful single product of all time”, the Xerox 914 copier. Later, Eileen became the first child to be featured in the iconic “Breck Girl” advertising campaign that ran for more than 40 years, winning for Eileen “Breck Girl of the Year” honors in the process. Both campaigns have been featured in collections at the Smithsonian Museum of American History.
In her 2002 autobiography, A Big Life (in advertising), Mary Wells Lawrence, for whom Eileen worked as an account supervisor at Wells Rich Greene, referred to her as “the absolute best” for her work on the TWA account and related an anecdote illuminating Eileen’s attention to detail concerning a key presentation to the Chairman/CEO of Pan Am. For the past 15 years, Eileen worked as a senior account manager at McCann Advertising in New York, chiefly on the L’Oreal business, where she mentored many younger people who were beginning careers in advertising and marketing.
Eileen was also a superlative homemaker, an accomplished cook and life-long gardener and served as past President of the Byram Garden Club.
Survivors include her husband of 30 years, Larry Rebich, and two sons, Max and Zachary Rebich. Also, she is survived by her sister and 27-year next-door neighbor, Elizabeth McKenna and nieces Erin McKenna Riley and Courtney McKenna Armstrong, along with additional siblings and in-laws Kathleen Tomasello (Joe, deceased), Rosemary Giampietro (Pete), Patricia Gable (Gary), Patrick McKenna, Jr. (Arlene), and Francis Colvin (John) and nine more nieces and nephews.
A memorial mass will be held at 10:00AM on Saturday, September 27, at Sacred Heart Church, 95 Henry St, Greenwich, CT 06830.
Memorial donations may be made to FACES (Finding A Cure for Epilepsy and Seizures) at 223 E. 34th Street, New York, NY 10016 or online at www.NYUFaces.org and click on Make a Donation.
Arrangements were handled by the Nicholas F. Cognetta Funeral Home, Stamford, CT.
To leave online condolences, please visit www.cognetta.com.

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