Gloria Vanderbilt

{{Short description|American artist, author, actress, and designer (1924–2019)}}

{{Infobox person

| birth_name = Gloria Laura Vanderbilt

| image = Gloria Vanderbilt 1959.JPG

| caption = Vanderbilt in 1959

| birth_date = {{birth date|1924|02|20}}

| birth_place = New York City, U.S.

| death_date = {{death date and age|2019|06|17|1924|02|20}}

| death_place = New York City, U.S.

| family = Vanderbilt family

| occupation = {{hlist|Artist|actress|fashion designer|socialite}}

| parents = {{Plainlist|

| spouse = {{Plainlist|

{{marriage|Pat DiCicco|1941|1945|end=div}}
{{marriage|Leopold Stokowski|1945|1955|end=div}}
{{marriage|Sidney Lumet|1956|1963|end=div}}
{{marriage|Wyatt Emory Cooper|December 24, 1963|January 5, 1978|end=d}}}}

| children = 4, including Anderson Cooper

}}

Gloria Laura Vanderbilt (February 20, 1924 – June 17, 2019) was an American artist, author, actress, fashion designer, heiress, and socialite. During the 1930s, she was the subject of a high-profile child custody trial in which her mother, Gloria Morgan Vanderbilt, and her paternal aunt, Gertrude Vanderbilt Whitney, each sought custody of her and control over her trust fund. Called the "trial of the century" by the press, the court proceedings were the subject of wide and sensational press coverage, due to the wealth and prominence of the involved parties and the scandalous evidence presented to support Whitney's claim that Gloria Morgan Vanderbilt was an unfit parent.{{Cite news|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/history/2019/06/17/poor-little-rich-girl-gloria-vanderbilt-was-caught-between-neglectful-mother-an-oppressive-aunt/|title='Poor little rich girl': Gloria Vanderbilt was caught between a neglectful mother and an oppressive aunt|last=Brockell|first=Gillian|date=June 17, 2019|newspaper=The Washington Post}}

In the 1970s, Vanderbilt launched a line of fashions, perfumes, and household goods bearing her name. She was particularly noted as an early developer of designer blue jeans.{{Cite web |last=Lam |first=Katherine |date=2019-06-17 |title=How Gloria Vanderbilt became a designer jeans pioneer, fashion industry leader |url=https://www.foxbusiness.com/business-leaders/gloria-vanderbilt-designer-jeans-pioneer |access-date=2023-06-13 |website=Fox Business |language=en-US}}

Early life

Vanderbilt was born on February 20, 1924, in Manhattan, New York City, the only child of railroad heir Reginald Claypoole Vanderbilt of the Vanderbilt family{{cite book |last= Vanderbilt |first= Gloria |year= 1996 |title= A Mother's Story |publisher= Alfred A. Knopf |location= New York |edition= 1st |page= [https://archive.org/details/mothersstory00vand/page/5 5] |isbn= 978-0-679-45052-8 |url= https://archive.org/details/mothersstory00vand/page/5 |url-access=registration}}{{cite news |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=BeBPAAAAIBAJ&pg=6411,4674316&dq=gloria+morgan+vanderbilt&hl=en |title= Vanderbilt Dead After Hemorrhage Last Night |date= September 4, 1925 |work= Evening Independent |via= Google News |access-date= August 6, 2013}} and his second wife, Gloria Morgan Vanderbilt.{{cite book |last= Vanderbilt |first= Gloria |year= 1996 |title= A Mother's Story |publisher= Alfred A. Knopf |location= New York |edition= 1st |page= [https://archive.org/details/mothersstory00vand/page/7 7] |isbn= 978-0-679-45052-8 |url= https://archive.org/details/mothersstory00vand/page/7 |url-access=registration}}{{cite news |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=YNxgAAAAIBAJ&pg=4123,2380685&dq=gloria+morgan+vanderbilt&hl=en |title= Reginald C. Vanderbilt and Gloria Morgan to Wed Tomorrow |date= March 5, 1923 |work= Providence News |via= Google News |access-date= August 6, 2013}} When Vanderbilt was born, her father was heard to exclaim in delight, "It is fantastic how Vanderbilt she looks! See the corners of her eyes, how they turn up?"Vanderbilt II, Arthur T., "Fortune's Children: The Fall of the House of Vanderbilt". Morrow: 1989, 340. She was baptized in the Episcopal Church by Bishop Herbert Shipman as Gloria Laura Vanderbilt. After her father's death, she was confirmed and raised in the Catholic Church, to which her mother belonged.{{cite book |quote= Reggie was anxious to have his child baptized a Protestant. [His elder daughter] Cathleen had been christened in the Catholic faith; he wanted this baby christened in his own, and I consented. This ceremony was performed by Bishop Herbert Shipman in our large, formal, seldom-used drawing room. ... She was named Gloria after myself and Laura after my mother. ... James Deering was the baby's godfather and Gertrude Whitney was made her godmother .... |first1= Gloria Morgan |last1= Vanderbilt |first2= Palma |last2= Wayne |title= Without Prejudice |location= New York |publisher= E. P. Dutton |year= 1936 |page= 118}} From her father's first marriage to Cathleen Neilson, she had one elder half-sister, Cathleen Vanderbilt.{{cite news |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=0qZIAAAAIBAJ&pg=3863,182902&dq=reginald+vanderbilt&hl=en |title= Reginald Vanderbilt Dies Suddenly Today |date= September 4, 1925 |work= The Meriden Daily Journal |via= Google News |access-date= August 6, 2013}}

Upon their father's death from cirrhosis, when Vanderbilt was 18 months old, she and her half-sister became heiresses to a half share, each, in a $5 million trust fund, equivalent to ${{Inflation|US|5|1925|r=0}} million in {{Inflation/year|US}} value.{{cite book |last= Vanderbilt |first= Gloria |title= A Mother's Story |year= 1996 |publisher= Alfred A. Knopf |location= New York |edition= 1st |page= [https://archive.org/details/mothersstory00vand/page/5 5] |isbn= 978-0-679-45052-8 |url= https://archive.org/details/mothersstory00vand/page/5 |url-access=registration}} The control of Vanderbilt's share, while she was a minor, belonged to her mother, who, for years, traveled to and from Paris, taking her daughter with her. They were accompanied by a beloved nanny—Emma Sullivan Kieslich,Vanderbilt II, Arthur T., 346. whom young Gloria had named "Dodo"—who would play a tumultuous part in the child's life,{{cite web |url= https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=CdEgAAAAIBAJ&pg=4045,90630&dq=gloria+vanderbilt&hl=en |title= Mrs. Vanderbilt's Paris Life Exposed |date= October 2, 1934 |work= Lewiston Daily Sun |via= Google News |access-date= August 13, 2010}} and her mother's identical twin sister, Thelma, who was the lover of the Prince of Wales (later Edward VIII), during this time. As a result of her spending habits, her mother's use of finances was scrutinized by the child's paternal aunt, Gertrude Vanderbilt Whitney. A sculptor and philanthropist, Whitney wanted custody of her niece, which resulted in a custody trial.{{cite book |last= Vanderbilt |first= Gloria |title= It Seemed Important at the Time: A Romance Memoir |year= 2004 |publisher= Simon & Schuster |location= New York |page= [https://archive.org/details/itseemedimportan00vand/page/9 9] |chapter= The Scarlet Sting of Scandal |isbn= 0-7432-6480-0 |url= https://archive.org/details/itseemedimportan00vand |url-access= registration }}{{cite news |url= https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=INEgAAAAIBAJ&pg=3135,4193225 |title= Gloria Vanderbilt Is Ward of Court |date= November 21, 1934 |work= Lewiston Daily Sun |via= Google News |access-date= August 13, 2010}} The trial was so scandalous that at times, the judge would make everyone leave the room, so as to listen to what young Vanderbilt had to say without anyone influencing her. Some people heard weeping and wailing from inside the courtroom. Testimony was heard depicting Vanderbilt's mother as an unfit parent, including an allegation from Marie Caillot, her discharged French maid, of a lesbian affair with the Marchioness of Milford Haven, a relative of the British royal family, which Lady Milford Haven would subsequently deny in her own testimony.{{cite news |first=Ula |last=Ilnytzky |url=https://www.sfgate.com/entertainment/article/Gloria-Vanderbilt-heiress-jeans-queen-dies-at-14003486.php |title=Gloria Vanderbilt, heiress, jeans queen, dies at 95 |newspaper=San Francisco Chronicle |agency=Associated Press |date=June 17, 2019 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190617173343/https://www.sfgate.com/entertainment/article/Gloria-Vanderbilt-heiress-jeans-queen-dies-at-14003486.php |archive-date=June 17, 2019}} Vanderbilt's mother lost the battle, and Vanderbilt became the ward of her aunt Gertrude.{{cite book |editor-last= Goldsmith |editor-first= Barbara |title= Little Gloria...Happy at Last |year= 1981 |location= New York |publisher= Dell |url= https://archive.org/details/littlegloriahapp00dell |url-access= registration |via= Internet Archive |isbn= 978-0-440-15120-3 |access-date=August 13, 2010}}

File:Gloria Morgan-Vanderbilt with daughter.jpg

Litigation continued, however. Vanderbilt's mother was forced to live on a drastically reduced portion of her daughter's trust, which was worth more than $4 million, at the end of 1937,{{cite magazine | url= https://books.google.com/books?id=wkoEAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA16 | title=Life on the American Newsfront: 1938 Comes to Thousands in Times Square and ... to Gloria Vanderbilt at the Ritz |magazine= Life |via= Google Books |date= January 17, 1938 |access-date= November 24, 2011 |volume= 4 |issue= 3 |pages= 16–17}} equivalent to ${{Inflation|US|4|1937|r=0}} million in {{Inflation/year|US}} value. Visitation was also closely watched, to ensure that Vanderbilt's mother did not exert any undue influence upon her daughter with her supposedly "raucous" lifestyle. Vanderbilt was raised amidst luxury at her aunt Gertrude's mansion in Old Westbury, Long Island, surrounded by cousins her age who lived in houses circling the vast estate and in New York City.{{Cite web|url=https://www.usatoday.com/story/life/people/2019/06/17/gloria-vanderbilt-dead-age-95-son-anderson-cooper-confirms/2080530002/|title=Gloria Vanderbilt dead at age 95: 'What an extraordinary woman,' son Anderson Cooper says|website=USA TODAY|language=en|access-date=June 21, 2019}}

The story of the trial was told in the 1980 Barbara Goldsmith book, Little Gloria... Happy at Last, and a 1982 NBC miniseries of the same name based on it, which was nominated for six Emmy Awards and a Golden Globe Award.{{Cite web|url=https://www.usatoday.com/story/life/people/2019/06/17/gloria-vanderbilt-dead-age-95-son-anderson-cooper-confirms/2080530002/|title=Gloria Vanderbilt dead at age 95: 'What an extraordinary woman,' son Anderson Cooper says|website=USA TODAY|language=en|access-date=June 19, 2019}} Actress Jennifer Dundas played Gloria.{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1982/10/22/arts/tv-weekend-little-gloria-and-a-new-nbc-series.html|title=Tv Weekend; 'Little Gloria' and a New Nbc Series|last=O'Connor|first=John J.|date=October 22, 1982|work=The New York Times|access-date=June 21, 2019|language=en-US|issn=0362-4331|url-access=limited}}

Vanderbilt attended the Greenvale School on Long Island; Miss Porter's School in Farmington, Connecticut; and then the Wheeler School{{cite news |url= https://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/projo/access/603678751.html?dids=603678751:603678751&FMT=ABS&FMTS=ABS:FT&type=current&date=May+26,+1985&author=Gloria+Maroni&pub=The+Providence+Journal&desc=SOCIAL+SIDE+Vanderbilt+at+home+at+Wheeler,+her+happy+place&pqatl=google |work= Providence Journal |title= Social Side Vanderbilt at home at Wheeler, her happy place |first= Gloria |last= Maroni |id={{ProQuest| }} |date= May 26, 1985 |access-date= July 6, 2017 |archive-date= November 7, 2012 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20121107031904/http://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/projo/access/603678751.html?dids=603678751:603678751&FMT=ABS&FMTS=ABS:FT&type=current&date=May+26,+1985&author=Gloria+Maroni&pub=The+Providence+Journal&desc=SOCIAL+SIDE+Vanderbilt+at+home+at+Wheeler,+her+happy+place&pqatl=google |url-status= dead }}{{cite news |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=oBwsAAAAIBAJ&pg=1480,30985&dq=gloria+vanderbilt+wheeler-school+graduation&hl=en |title= Vanderbilt Chooses Work Instead of Being Idle Rich |date=October 1, 1979 |work= Times Daily |via= Google News}} in Providence, Rhode Island, as well as the Art Students League in New York City, developing the artistic talent for which she would become increasingly known during her career. When Vanderbilt came of age and took control of her trust fund, she cut her mother off entirely,{{cite book |last= Vanderbilt |first= Gloria |title= It Seemed Important at the Time: A Romance Memoir |publisher= Simon & Schuster |location= New York |chapter= Wedded Bliss... |year= 2004 |isbn= 0-7432-6480-0 |url= https://archive.org/details/itseemedimportan00vand |url-access=registration}} though they later were reconciled. Her mother died in Los Angeles, in 1965.{{cite news|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=6ctIAAAAIBAJ&pg=2576,4446192 |title=Gloria Morgan Vanderbilt, Socialite, Dies of Cancer|date=February 15, 1965|newspaper=Meredien Journal|access-date=June 18, 2019}}

Career

=Theater arts=

From 1954 to 1963, Vanderbilt applied herself to acting. She studied acting at the Neighborhood Playhouse, with teacher Sanford Meisner, and debuted in 1954, in The Swan, staged at Pocono Playhouse in Mountainhome, Pennsylvania. In 1955, she appeared on Broadway, as Elsie, in a revival of William Saroyan's The Time of Your Life. Vanderbilt also appeared in a number of live and filmed television dramas, including Playhouse 90, Studio One in Hollywood, and The Dick Powell Show. She made an appearance in a two-part episode of The Love Boat, in 1981.{{cite news |last1=Szabo |first1=Julia |title= Inside Epiphany; All Hams On Deck |url= https://www.nytimes.com/2001/02/25/magazine/inside-epiphany-all-hams-on-deck.html |access-date=June 18, 2019 |work=The New York Times |date= February 25, 2001 |language=en|url-access=limited}} Other TV programs on which she appeared include Person to Person, with Edward R. Murrow, The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson, The Oprah Winfrey Show, Live! with Kelly and Michael and CBS News Sunday Morning.

=Fashion=

Vanderbilt began her career as a fashion model when she was 15 years old, appearing in Harper's Bazaar.{{Cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2019/jun/17/gloria-vanderbilt-new-york-artist-socialite-dies-95|title=Gloria Vanderbilt, New York artist, model, heiress and socialite, dies at 95|last1=Bekiempis|first1=Victoria|date=June 17, 2019|work=The Guardian|access-date=June 19, 2019|last2=agencies|language=en-GB|issn=0261-3077}}

During the 1970s, Vanderbilt ventured into the fashion business itself, first with Glentex, licensing her name and a collection of her paintings for a line of scarves.{{cite news| url= https://www.latimes.com/fashion/la-ig-gloria-vanderbilt-jeans-style-fashion-appreciation-20190617-story.html|title=How Gloria Vanderbilt used her authenticity and 'great taste' to build her denim line|first= Marques |last=Harper|work=Los Angeles Times|location=Los Angeles|date=June 17, 2019|access-date=June 18, 2019}} In 1976, Indian designer Mohan Murjani's Murjani Corporation proposed launching a line of designer jeans carrying Vanderbilt's signature embroidered on the back pocket, as well as her swan logo. Her jeans were more tightly fitted than other jeans of that time and were an immediate success with customers.

File:President Ronald Reagan and Nancy Reagan greeting Gloria Vanderbilt.jpg and First Lady Nancy Reagan greeting Gloria Vanderbilt in 1985]]

In 1978, Vanderbilt sold the rights to her name to the Murjani Group{{cite web |url=http://www.murjanigroup.com

|title=Murjani Group—Powering International Lifestyle Brands

|work=Murjani Group}} and re-launched her own company, GV Ltd, which she had founded in 1976. With her company, she launched dresses, blouses, sheets, shoes, leather goods, liqueurs, and accessories. In the period from 1982 to 2002, L'Oreal launched eight fragrances under the brand name Gloria Vanderbilt.{{cite web |url= http://www.fragrantica.com/designers/Gloria-Vanderbilt.html |title= Gloria Vanderbilt Fragrances |work= Fragrantica}} Murjan sold rights to the name Gloria Vanderbilt to the owners of Gitano Group Inc.{{cite news |newspaper=The New York Times

|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1993/12/08/business/company-news-gitano-group-the-target-of-a-trademark-lawsuit.html

|title=Gitano Group the Target of a Trademark Lawsuit

|quote=Gloria Vanderbilt Apparel is owned by the Dabah family, whose patriarch, Morris Dabah, founded Gitano

|date=December 8, 1993

|url-access=limited}} in 1988.{{cite web |website=encyclopedia.com

|url=https://www.encyclopedia.com/books/politics-and-business-magazines/gitano-group-inc

|quote=In December of 1988 Gitano bought the rights to the Gloria Vanderbilt trademarks

|title=The Gitano Group, Inc.}}

Jones Apparel Group acquired the rights to Gloria Vanderbilt jeans in 2002.{{cite news

|url= https://www.chron.com/business/article/Jones-to-buy-Gloria-Vanderbilt-Apparel-2060018.php

|title=Jones to buy Gloria Vanderbilt Apparel

|work=Houston Chronicle |publisher=Hearst Communications |location=Houston

|date=March 19, 2002 |access-date=June 18, 2019}}{{cite news

|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2002/03/20/business/company-news-jones-apparel-to-acquire-gloria-vanderbilt.html

|title=Company News; Johns Apparel to Acquire Gloria Vanderbilt

|agency=Reuters |work=The New York Times

|location=New York |date=March 20, 2002 |access-date=June 18, 2019|url-access=limited}}

Gloria Vanderbilt herself became an icon thanks to the numerous portrait shots.

Among the famous photographers were Cecil Beaton, Gordon Parks, Horst P. Horst, Gianni Penat, Jeff Riedel,

Paul Schutzer, Thomas Iannaccone, Ron Galella and Jack Robinson.{{cite web | url=https://www.theguardian.com/fashion/gallery/2019/jun/17/gloria-vanderbilt-a-life-in-pictures | title=Gloria Vanderbilt – a life in pictures | work=the Guardian | date=June 17, 2019 | last1=Gilbert | first1=Sarah }}

==Fraud trial==

In the 1980s, Vanderbilt accused her former partners in GV Ltd. and her lawyer of fraud. After a lengthy trial (during which time the lawyer died), Vanderbilt won and was awarded nearly $1.7 million, but the money was never recovered.

She was also awarded $300,000 by the New York City Bar Association. Vanderbilt also owed millions of dollars in back taxes, since the lawyer had never paid the IRS, and she was forced to sell her Southampton, New York, and Upper East Side homes.{{cite news|last1=Horwell|first1=Veronica|title=Gloria Vanderbilt obituary| url= https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2019/jun/17/gloria-vanderbilt-obituary |access-date=June 18, 2019|work=The Guardian|location=Kings Place, London|date=June 17, 2019}}

=Art=

Vanderbilt studied art at the Art Students League of New York. She became known for her artwork, with one-woman exhibitions held of her oil paintings, watercolors, and pastels. Her first exhibition was held in 1948.{{Cite web|title=Fashion icon and artist Gloria Vanderbilt dies at 95| url= https://www.cnn.com/2019/06/17/entertainment/gloria-vanderbilt-dies/index.html|last=McLaughlin|first=Eliott C.|date=June 17, 2019|website=CNN|access-date=May 12, 2020}} This artwork was adapted and licensed, starting about 1968, by Hallmark Cards and by Bloomcraft (a textile manufacturer), and Vanderbilt began designing specifically for linen, pottery, and glassware.{{Cite web |url= https://www.huffpost.com/entry/gloria-v-the-reinvention_b_780097|title=PHOTOS: The Reinventions Of Gloria Vanderbilt|date=November 9, 2010| work= HuffPost|language=en|access-date=June 18, 2019}}

In 2001, Vanderbilt returned to art and opened her first art exhibition, "Dream Boxes", at the Southern Vermont Arts Center in Manchester; it was a critical success. She launched another exhibition of 35 paintings at the Arts Center in 2007.{{cite news |url=https://deadline.com/2019/06/gloria-vanderbilt-dead-actress-fashion-designer-mother-of-cnn-anderson-cooper-95-1202633511/|title=Gloria Vanderbilt Dies: Actress, Fashion Designer, Mother Of CNN's Anderson Cooper Was 95|first=Denise|last=Petski|work=Deadline Hollywood|publisher= Penske Media Corporation|location=United States|date=June 17, 2019|access-date=June 18, 2019}} Two years later, Vanderbilt returned to the Arts Center as a panelist at its Annual Fall Show Exhibition, signing copies of her latest novel, Obsession: An Erotic Tale.

When Vanderbilt celebrated her 90th birthday on February 20, 2014, a collection of her drawings, paintings and collages was placed on display in the 1stdibs Gallery at New York Design Center in New York City, in an exhibit called "The Left Hand Is The Dreamer".{{cite web|url=http://www.downtownmagazinenyc.com/gloria-vanderbilt/|title=Gloria Vanderbilt Exhibit: The Left Hand Is The Dreamer|work=Downtown Magazine NYC|date=March 2014}}

=Writings=

Vanderbilt wrote two books on art and home decor, four volumes of memoirs, three novels, and a singular collection of short stories, The Things We Fear Most. She was also a regular contributor to The New York Times, Vanity Fair and Elle.{{cite web |url= http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/148141.Gloria_Vanderbilt |title= Gloria Vanderbilt (Author of It Seemed Important at the Time) |website= Goodreads.com |date= January 3, 2013 |access-date= March 7, 2013}} In November 2010, Vanderbilt was the subject of a new book chronicling her life, The World of Gloria Vanderbilt,{{cite book |last= Goodman |first= Wendy |year= 2010 |title= The World of Gloria Vanderbilt |location= New York |publisher= Abrams |isbn= 978-0810995925 |others= Cooper, Anderson (forward) |url-access= registration |url= https://archive.org/details/worldofgloriavan0000good }} written by Wendy Goodman, New York magazine's design editor. The book, published by Abrams Books, featured many previously unreleased photographs.{{Cite web |url= https://www.shethepeople.tv/news/fashion-icon-gloria-vanderbilt-dies-95|title=Fashion Icon Of 70s, Gloria Vanderbilt Dies At The Age Of 95|last=Srivastava|first=Anushika|date=June 18, 2019|website=SheThePeople TV|language=en-US|access-date=June 21, 2019}}

In January 2017, HarperCollins Publishers released a book coauthored by Vanderbilt and her son Anderson Cooper, The Rainbow Comes and Goes: A Mother and Son on Life, Love, and Loss. The book was described by its publisher as "{a} touching and intimate correspondence between Anderson Cooper and his mother, Gloria Vanderbilt, offering timeless wisdom and a revealing glimpse into their lives".{{cite book| url= https://www.harpercollins.com/9780062454942/the-rainbow-comes-and-goes|title=The Rainbow Comes and Goes|publisher=HarperCollins US}}{{Cite web|url=https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-rainbow-comes-and-goes-anderson-cooper/1123361800|access-date=May 27, 2021|title=The Rainbow Comes and Goes: A Mother and Son on Life, Love, and Loss|Paperback }}

=''Nothing Left Unsaid'' documentary=

On April 9, 2016, HBO premiered Nothing Left Unsaid: Gloria Vanderbilt & Anderson Cooper, a two-hour documentary produced and directed by Liz Garbus. It features a series of conversations between the mother and son, covering her life and family history in the public eye.{{cite web| url= http://www.hbo.com/documentaries/nothing-left-unsaid-gloria-vanderbilt-and-anderson-cooper| title= Nothing Left Unsaid: Gloria Vanderbilt and Anderson Cooper| work= HBO.com| access-date= April 10, 2016| archive-date= December 23, 2021| archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20211223145544/https://www.hbo.com/documentaries/nothing-left-unsaid-gloria-vanderbilt-and-anderson-cooper| url-status= dead}}

Personal life

=Marriages=

In 1941, aged 17, Vanderbilt went to Hollywood, where she became the second wife of Pat DiCicco, an agent for actors and an alleged mobster.{{cite book |last= Vanderbilt |first= Gloria |title= It Seemed Important at the Time: A Romance Memoir |publisher= Simon & Schuster |location= New York |year= 2004 |page= [https://archive.org/details/itseemedimportan00vand/page/31 31] |chapter= The Great Thing |isbn= 0-7432-6480-0 |chapter-url= https://archive.org/details/itseemedimportan00vand/page/31 |chapter-url-access=registration}} They divorced in 1945 and had no children together.{{cite book |last= Vanderbilt |first= Gloria |title= It Seemed Important at the Time: A Romance Memoir |publisher= Simon & Schuster |location= New York |page= [https://archive.org/details/itseemedimportan00vand/page/36 36] |chapter= Happy Birthday |year= 2004 |isbn= 0-7432-6480-0 |chapter-url= https://archive.org/details/itseemedimportan00vand/page/36 |chapter-url-access=registration}} She later alleged that DiCicco was an abusive husband who called her "Fatsy Roo" and beat her. "He would take my head and bang it against the wall," Vanderbilt said, "I had black eyes."{{cite news |last= Higginbotham |first= Adam |date= November 23, 2004 |url= https://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/3632253/Last-of-the-big-spenders.html |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220112/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/3632253/Last-of-the-big-spenders.html |archive-date=January 12, 2022 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live |title= Last of the Big Spenders |newspaper= The Daily Telegraph |access-date= August 6, 2013}}{{cbignore}}

In April 1945, within weeks of divorcing DiCicco, Vanderbilt married conductor Leopold Stokowski, who was 42 years her senior. He had three daughters by his previous marriages to Olga Samaroff, an American concert pianist, and Evangeline Love Brewster Johnson, a Johnson & Johnson heiress. She was his third and last wife.{{cite web|title=Leopold Stokowski Biography—A Brief Biography of the Eventful Career of Leopold Stokowski|url=http://www.stokowski.org/Leopold%20Stokowski%20Biography.htm|website=stokowski.org|access-date=April 23, 2017}} The marriage ended in divorce in October 1955 and produced two sons: Leopold Stanislaus "Stan" Stokowski (born August 22, 1950), and Christopher Stokowski (born January 31, 1952).

File:Gloria Vanderbilt and Wyatt Emory Cooper.jpg in 1970]]

Vanderbilt's third husband was the director Sidney Lumet. She was the second of his four wives. They were married on August 28, 1956, and divorced in August 1963. They had no children together.

Vanderbilt's fourth marriage was to author Wyatt Emory Cooper, on December 24, 1963. The marriage, which lasted 15 years, ended with his death in 1978 while he was undergoing open-heart surgery. They had two sons: Carter Vanderbilt Cooper (January 27, 1965 – July 22, 1988), who died by suicide at age 23 by jumping to his death from the family's 14th-floor apartment,{{cite news |title=Mrs. Vanderbilt's Son Plunges to his Death |url= https://www.nytimes.com/1988/07/23/nyregion/ms-vanderbilt-s-son-plunges-to-his-death.html |newspaper=The New York Times |date=July 23, 1988 |access-date= August 1, 2014|url-access=limited}}{{cite news |last=James |first=Susan Donaldson |date= September 21, 2011 |title=Anderson Cooper on Brother's Suicide: Grief Never Ends |url= https://abcnews.go.com/Health/suicide-experts-applaud-anderson-cooper-discussing-brothers-suicide/story?id=14566724 |agency=ABC News |access-date= August 1, 2014}} and Anderson Hays Cooper (born June 3, 1967), a CNN news anchor.

=Relationships=

Vanderbilt maintained a romantic relationship with photographer and filmmaker Gordon Parks for many years until his death in 2006.{{cite news|url=http://partners.nytimes.com/library/magazine/home/20000716mag-relations-vanderbilt.html |title=Gloria Vanderbilt + Gordon Parks |last=VanMeter |first=Jonathan |date=July 16, 2000 |department=How Race Is Lived in America |newspaper=The New York Times |access-date=April 2, 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110611192956/http://partners.nytimes.com/library/magazine/home/20000716mag-relations-vanderbilt.html |archive-date=June 11, 2011 |url-status=live |url-access=limited}} Other relationships included Marlon Brando, Frank Sinatra, Howard Hughes and Roald Dahl.{{cite news|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/gloria-vanderbilt-death-anderson-cooper-mother-socialite-blue-jeans-fashion-art-a8962206.html|title=Gloria Vanderbilt Death: Fashion Designer, Actor and Mother of Anderson Cooper, Aged 95|first1=Katie|last1=O'Malley|first2=Harriet|last2=Hall|work=The Independent|publisher=Independent Print Limited|location=London|date=June 18, 2019|access-date=June 18, 2019}}{{cite news|url=https://www.foxnews.com/entertainment/gloria-vanderbilt-dead-95|title=Gloria Vanderbilt, model, fashion designer and mother to Anderson Cooper, dead at 95|first=Jessica|last=Sager|agency=Fox News|date=June 17, 2019|access-date=June 18, 2019}}

Vanderbilt was very close friends with fashion designer Diane von Fürstenberg. While appearing as a guest on her son Anderson Cooper's television talk show, Anderson on September 19, 2011, Vanderbilt referred to comedian and actress Kathy Griffin as her "fantasy daughter".{{cite news|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/celebritology/post/anderson-cooper-talks-to-mom-gloria-vanderbilt-about-brothers-suicide-video/2011/09/20/gIQAv4UshK_blog.html|title=Anderson Cooper talks to mom Gloria Vanderbilt about brother's suicide (Video)|author=Sarah Anne Hughes|date=September 20, 2011|newspaper=Washington Post}}

Truman Capote was speculated to have modeled the character of Holly Golightly in Breakfast at Tiffany's on Vanderbilt, but others say it was based on her friend Carol Grace."Big City Book Club: 'Breakfast at Tiffany's'." November 29, 2011. Web. {{ProQuest| }} June 17, 2019.{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1992/08/02/style/holly-golightly-grow-up.html?gwh=3223B69ADB7F817ABD8707DBFD7CB4F0&gwt=pay |title=Holly Golightly inspiration" |newspaper=The New York Times |date=August 2, 1992 |access-date=August 17, 2015 |url-access=limited}}

=Religious beliefs=

Vanderbilt was baptized into the Episcopal Church as an infant, but was raised a Roman Catholic and received the Catholic Sacrament of Confirmation. She was particularly fascinated with St. Thérèse of Lisieux. Although religious in her youth, she was not a practicing Catholic in her later years.{{cite magazine|url=http://www.vanityfair.com/online/daily/2009/10/psychoanalyzing-gloria-vanderbilt-rubin-museum-of-art|title=Psychoanalyzing Gloria Vanderbilt|author=David Foxley|magazine=Vanity Fair|date=October 23, 2009}}

=Death and burial=

Vanderbilt died at her home in Manhattan on June 17, 2019, aged 95, of stomach cancer.{{cite magazine|url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/gloria-vanderbilt-dead-fashion-icon-886196|title=Gloria Vanderbilt, Heiress With a Knack for Reinvention, Dies at 95|magazine=The Hollywood Reporter|first=Chris|last=Koseluk|date=June 17, 2019}} While she was rumored to be worth $200 million, upon her death Vanderbilt left son Anderson her estate, which was worth approximately $1.5 million.{{Cite magazine|title=Gloria Vanderbilt Leaves Her Son Anderson Cooper $1.5 Million in Her Will|url=https://www.townandcountrymag.com/society/tradition/a28261059/gloria-vanderbilt-anderson-cooper-will-inheritance/|last=Hallemann|first=Caroline|date=July 9, 2019|magazine=Town & Country|access-date=May 12, 2020}}

Works

= Art and home decor =

{{cite book |last= Vanderbilt |first= Gloria | title = Gloria Vanderbilt Book of Collage |url= https://archive.org/details/gloriavanderbilt00vand |url-access= registration | publisher = Galahad Books | location = New York City | year = 1970 | oclc = 1143871 | isbn = 0-88365-097-5 }}
{{cite book |last1= Vanderbilt |first1= Gloria |last2= Roderick |first2= Phyllis Hingston | title = Gloria Vanderbilt Designs for Your Home | publisher = Simon & Schuster | location = New York | year = 1977 | isbn = 978-0-671-22637-4}}

= Memoirs =

{{cite book | last = Vanderbilt | first = Gloria | title = Woman to Woman | publisher = Doubleday | location = Garden City, New York | year = 1979 | isbn = 978-0-385-13645-7 | url = https://archive.org/details/womantowoman00vand | url-access= registration}}
{{cite book |last= Vanderbilt |first= Gloria |title= Once Upon a Time: A True Story |publisher= Alfred A. Knopf |location= New York |year= 1985 |isbn= 978-0-394-54112-9 |url= https://archive.org/details/onceupontimetru000vand | url-access= registration}}
{{cite book|last=Vanderbilt|first=Gloria|title=Black Knight, White Knight|publisher=Alfred A. Knopf|location=New York|year=1987|isbn=978-0-394-54412-0|url=https://archive.org/details/blackknightwhite00vand | url-access= registration}}
{{cite book|last=Vanderbilt|first=Gloria|title=A Mother's Story|publisher=Alfred A. Knopf|location=New York|year=1995|isbn=978-0-679-45052-8|url=https://archive.org/details/mothersstory00vand | url-access= registration}}
{{cite book|last=Vanderbilt|first=Gloria|title=It Seemed Important at the Time: A Romance Memoir|publisher=Simon & Schuster|location=New York|year=2004|isbn=978-0-743-26480-8|url=https://archive.org/details/itseemedimportan00vand | url-access= registration}}
{{cite book |last=Cooper|first=Anderson and Gloria Vanderbilt |title=The Rainbow Comes and Goes| publisher= Harper-Collins |year=2016|isbn= 978-0-06-245494-2}}

= Novels =

{{cite book | last = Vanderbilt | first = Gloria | title = Never Say Good-Bye: A Novel | publisher = Alfred A. Knopf | location = New York | year = 1989 | isbn = 978-0-394-57155-3 | url-access = registration | url = https://archive.org/details/neversaygoodbyen00vand }}
{{cite book | last = Vanderbilt | first = Gloria | title = The Memory Book of Starr Faithfull: A Novel | publisher = Alfred A. Knopf | location = New York | year = 1994 | isbn = 978-0-394-58775-2 | url = https://archive.org/details/memorybookofstar00vand | url-access= registration }}
{{cite book | last = Vanderbilt | first = Gloria | title = Obsession: An Erotic Tale | publisher = HarperCollins | location = New York | year = 2009 | isbn = 978-0-061-73489-2 | url = https://archive.org/details/obsession00glor | url-access= registration }}{{cite news |last= Harris |first= Paul |date= April 11, 2009 |url= https://www.theguardian.com/books/2009/apr/12/erotic-novel-gloria-vanderbilt |title= Socialite, 85, Shocks New York with Sex Novel |work= The Observer |location= London |access-date= August 6, 2013}}

References

=Citations=

=Sources=

{{cite book |title= The Vanderbilt Women: Dynasty of Wealth, Glamour and Power |first= Clarice |last=Stasz |location=New York |publisher= St. Martin's Press |year= 1991}}
{{cite book |title= Trio: Oona Chaplin, Carol Matthau, Gloria Vanderbilt: Portrait of an Intimate Friendship |url= https://archive.org/details/triooonachaplinc00saro |url-access= registration |first= Aram |last= Saroyan |location= New York |publisher= Linden Press/Simon & Schuster |year= 1985|isbn= 9780671509194 }}
{{cite book |title= That Vanderbilt Woman |first= Philip |last= Van Rensselaer |location= Chicago |publisher= Playboy Press |year= 1978}}

External links

{{IMDb name|888742}}
{{find a Grave|189824824}}
{{Charlie Rose view|3515}}
"[https://www.cbsnews.com/news/gloria-vanderbilts-many-loves/ Gloria Vanderbilt's Many Loves]". CBS News. July 31, 2005
[http://www.cbc.ca/player/Shows/ID/2261868125/ "CBC's Q with Jian Ghomeshi"], July 30, 2012

Category:1924 births

Category:2019 deaths

Category:American socialites

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Category:20th-century American businesspeople

Category:21st-century American businesspeople