Reinaldo Herrera

{{Infobox person

| name =

| image = Reinaldo Herrera wedding.jpg

| alt =

| caption = Herrera in 1968

| birth_name = Reinaldo José Patricio del Monte Carmelo y de las Mercedes Herrera y Guevara{{efn|name=name}}

| birth_date = {{Birth date|1933|07|26|df=y}}

| birth_place = Caracas, Venezuela

| death_date = {{Death date and age|2025|03|18|1933|07|26|df=y}}

| death_place = New York City, U.S.

| resting_place = Caracas, Venezuela

| citizenship = {{hlist|Venezuela|United States}}

| occupation =

| years_active =

| spouse = {{marriage|Carolina Herrera|1968}}

| children = 4 (2 adopted)

| family = House of Herrera

}}

Reinaldo Herrera Guevara (26 July 1933 – 18 March 2025) was a Venezuelan-American{{cite web |last=Taulés |first=Silvia |date=20 March 2025 |title=La herencia millonaria de Reinaldo Herrera: de las obras de arte a la mansión caraqueña |url=https://www.vanitatis.elconfidencial.com/famosos/2025-03-20/reinaldo-herrera-herencia-millonaria-arte-mansion-caraquena_4089540/ |access-date=3 April 2025 |website=El Confidencial |language=es}} socialite and journalist. Born to a noble Venezuelan family, he was the 5th Marquis de Torre Casa—a Spanish title—for seventeen years. His significant American education and decades as a jet setter ingratiating himself with the global elite positioned him for his career within media. After several years hosting early talk show Buenos días, he was employed by Vanity Fair for smooth relations with high society figures. He was married to fashion designer Carolina Herrera.

Early life and family

Reinaldo Herrera Guevara{{efn|name=name|Full name: Don Reinaldo José Patricio del Monte Carmelo y de las Mercedes Herrera y Guevara.{{cite web|last=Jimenez|first=Gonzalo|date=19 March 2025|title=Muere Reinaldo Herrera, el influyente esposo de la diseñadora Carolina Herrera|url=https://cnnespanol.cnn.com/2025/03/19/entretenimiento/reinaldo-herrera-esposo-carolina-herrera-muere-orix|access-date=3 April 2025|website=CNN|language=es}} Sometimes, both of his father's surnames are included, which can be written as Herrera-Uslar y Guevara.{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=b9gjAQAAMAAJ|title=Vogue|date=1972|publisher=Condé Nast Publications|page=15}} His mother's first surname has been noted as "Ladrón de Guevara", and his surnames in that instance written as Herrera y Ladrón de Guevara.{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=9LKpsunQ70AC|title=Elenco de grandezas y títulos nobiliarios españoles|date=1974|publisher=Ediciones de la Revista Hidalguía.|language=es|page=476}} It is therefore possible that his name at its most complete was Don Reinaldo José Patricio del Monte Carmelo y de las Mercedes Herrera-Uslar y Ladrón de Guevara, Marquís de Torre Casa.}} was born to Don Reinaldo Herrera Uslar and María Teresa Guevara Pietrantoni de Uslar, members of Venezuelan nobility and the House of Herrera, on 26 July 1933 in Caracas. He was the eldest of four children,{{cite web |date=30 March 2025 |title=Reinaldo Herrera, Arbiter of Style for Vanity Fair, Dies at 91 |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2025/03/30/style/reinaldo-herrera-dead.html |last1=Green |first1=Penelope }} with siblings including Luis Felipe and Carolina.{{cite book|last=Suárez|first=Ramón Darío|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=J_YIAQAAIAAJ|title=Historial genealógico de los Febres-Cordero y algunas de sus alianzas|date=1969|publisher=Ediciones Euroamérica|language=es|page=50}} Their father was a prominent Venezuelan sugarcane plantation owner, aristocrat, and art collector, brother of José Herrera Uslar, uncle of Gustavo J. Vollmer and great-uncle of Julio Herrera Velutini.{{cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1992/12/28/obituaries/maria-herrera-uslar-society-figure-was-78.html |title=Maria Herrera-Uslar; Society Figure Was 78 |work=The New York Times |date=28 December 1992 |access-date=6 February 2017 |archive-date=15 January 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180115132052/http://www.nytimes.com/1992/12/28/obituaries/maria-herrera-uslar-society-figure-was-78.html |url-status=live }} Reinaldo Herrera Guevara grew up in the {{Ill|Hacienda La Vega (Caracas)|lt=Hacienda La Vega|es|Hacienda La Vega}}, one of the first properties owned by the Herrera dynasty in Latin America.{{cite web |title=Hacienda de La Vega |url=https://www.houseofherrera.com/family-estates#:~:text=The%20Hacienda%20de%20La%20Vega}}{{cite book|title=Parroquia La Vega: estudio micro-histórico|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=7m7jAAAAMAAJ&q=hacienda+la+vega+caracas|publisher=Concejo Municipal del Distrito Federal|year=1977|access-date=27 March 2021|language=es|first1=María Luisa|last1=Herrera de Weishaar|first2=María Leonor|last2=Ferreira Ferreira|first3=Carlos Nestor|last3=Alvarez Cabrera}}

In 1975, Herrera inherited the title {{ill|Marquis de Torre Casa|es|Marquesado de Torre Casa}}, a Spanish noble title re-created in 1924 by Alfonso XIII.{{cite web |url=http://www.boe.es/boe/dias/1975/02/20/pdfs/A03632-03633.pdf |title=Gobierno De Espana, Agencia Estatal Boletín Oficial del Estado – Order 3742 |date=1 February 1975 |access-date=22 January 2013 |archive-date=23 September 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150923230345/http://www.boe.es/boe/dias/1975/02/20/pdfs/A03632-03633.pdf |url-status=live }} Cited as Don Reinaldo Herrera y Guevara, he had petitioned for succession due to his father's death in 1973, which was confirmed in 1975.{{Cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=EO5DRh_a3eEC |title=Revista Hidalguía número 117. Año 1973 |publisher=Ediciones Hidalguia |page=148 |language=es}}{{Cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=oKAe9tq_0tYC |title=Revista Hidalguía número 129. Año 1975 |publisher=Ediciones Hidalguia |page=148 |language=es}} He ceded the title to Alejandro Alfonzo-Larraín Recao in 1992 after the court of Madrid ruled that, since Herrera had no male heirs, it could not continue in his branch.{{cite web|last=García|first=Alba|date=19 March 2025|title=El curioso motivo por el que Reinaldo, marido de Carolina Herrera, se quedó sin el título de marqués de Torre Casa|url=https://www.infobae.com/espana/2025/03/19/el-curioso-motivo-por-el-que-reinaldo-marido-de-carolina-herrera-se-quedo-sin-el-titulo-de-marques-de-torre-casa/|access-date=3 April 2025|website=Infobae|language=es-ES}}{{cite web |url=http://www.boe.es/boe/dias/1992/11/27/pdfs/A40400-40400.pdf |title=Gobierno De Espana, Agencia Estatal Boletín Oficial del Estado – Order 26340 |date=16 March 1992 |access-date=22 January 2013 |archive-date=28 May 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160528152247/http://www.boe.es/boe/dias/1992/11/27/pdfs/A40400-40400.pdf |url-status=live }}

He did not visit Venezuela after 2013, and described what the nation became under Nicolás Maduro as "horrific". In May 2017, Herrera's nephew, also called Reinaldo Herrera, was kidnapped and murdered in Venezuela along with a business partner;{{cite web|date=12 May 2017|title=Asesinan al sobrino político de Carolina Herrera en Caracas|url=https://www.vanitatis.elconfidencial.com/noticias/2017-05-12/asesinan-al-sobrino-politico-de-carolina-herrera-en-caracas-venezuela-maduro_1382105/|access-date=3 April 2025|website=El Confidencial|language=es}}{{cite web|date=13 May 2017|title=Secuestran y matan al sobrino de Carolina Herrera en Venezuela|url=https://www.elfinanciero.com.mx/mundo/secuestran-y-matan-al-sobrino-de-carolina-herrera-en-venezuela/|access-date=3 April 2025|website=El Financiero|language=es}} another nephew, Roberto Antonio Picón Herrera, was involved in election oversight for the Democratic Unity Roundtable and in June 2017 was detained as a political prisoner.{{cite web|date=19 March 2025|title=Muere Reinaldo Herrera, esposo de Carolina Herrera y editor de 'Vanity Fair', a los 91 años|url=https://elpais.com/gente/2025-03-19/muere-a-los-91-anos-el-aristocrata-reinaldo-herrera-esposo-de-carolina-herrera-y-editor-de-vanity-fair.html|access-date=3 April 2025|website=El País|language=es}}{{cite web|title=MUD rechaza detención arbitraria de Roberto Picón y pide liberación|url=https://2001online.com/nacionales/mud-rechaza-detencion-arbitraria-de-roberto-picon-y-pide-liberacion|access-date=3 April 2025|website=2001online|language=es}}

Education and career

Herrera was educated in the United States, attending prep school at St. Mark's School before Harvard University and Georgetown University.{{Cite web |last=Vázquez |first=Pamela |date=19 March 2025 |title=Reinaldo Herrera Guevara, aristócrata y esposo de Carolina Herrera, muere a los 91 años |url=https://www.glamour.mx/articulos/reinaldo-herrera-guevara-aristocrata-y-esposo-de-carolina-herrera-muere-a-los-91-anos |access-date=3 April 2025 |website=Glamour |language=es-MX}}{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=P-iFAAAAIAAJ|title=Hispanic Business Volume 8|date=1986|publisher=Hispanic Business Publications|page=41}} He was a television journalist in Venezuela, and one of the inaugural hosts of Buenos días on RCTV from 1966 into the 1970s. He then began working for Vanity Fair before 1980,{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=bogpAQAAIAAJ|title=Elle|date=2003|publisher=Elle Publishing Company|page=304}} and was made a contributing editor by Tina Brown, who had interviewed him at Tatler. Brown recognized the magazine needed "to become the hottest, slickest, most informed page-turner" and that Herrera would be invaluable.{{cite book|last=Maier|first=Thomas|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=CduybslNsucC|title=Newhouse: All the Glitter, Power & Glory of America's Richest Media Empire & the Secretive Man Behind it|date=1997|publisher=Big Earth Publishing|isbn=978-1-55566-191-5|pages=241–243}}

His official role at Vanity Fair was as special projects editor,{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=rAYdP6oNsaEC|title=Spy|date=1986|publisher=Sussex Publishers, LLC|page=50}} though he served as a general fixer for it, based on his extensive connections.{{cite book|last=Haden-Guest|first=Anthony|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=POIVBgAAQBAJ|title=The Last Party: Studio 54, Disco, and the Culture of the Night|date=17 February 2015|publisher=Open Road Media|isbn=978-1-4976-9555-9|page=125}} When the magazine was threatened with closure in 1985 and decided its fortunes would rely on a Ronald Reagan cover issue, Herrera "pulled the strings" to get them access to the Reagans.{{cite book|last=Bachrach|first=Judy|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=mBKbG1HhpVoC|title=Tina and Harry Come to America: Tina Brown, Harry Evans, and the Uses of Power|date=2001|publisher=Simon and Schuster|isbn=978-0-684-83763-5|page=144}} He did also pitch stories while at Vanity Fair, and was one of four editors at the magazine who helped Eleanor Lambert curate the Best Dressed lists before the quartet took it over;{{cite book|last=Carter|first=Graydon|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=o-4jEQAAQBAJ|title=When the Going Was Good: An Editor's Adventures During the Last Golden Age of Magazines|date=25 March 2025|publisher=Penguin Group|isbn=978-0-593-65590-0|page=185}} Herrera, his wife, and both of his biological daughters would be inducted into the Best Dressed Hall of Fame by 2000.{{cite magazine|last=Grill|first=Theresa|date=6 August 2014|title=The International Best-Dressed List Hall of Fame|url=https://www.vanityfair.com/style/2014/09/international-best-dressed-hall-of-fame|access-date=3 April 2025|magazine=Vanity Fair}} Former deputy editor Dana Brown wrote that Herrera was "maybe the most charismatic and charming man to ever exist", noting that he was known at the magazine as Reggie.{{cite book|last=Brown|first=Dana|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=T2YsEAAAQBAJ|title=Dilettante: True Tales of Excess, Triumph, and Disaster|date=22 March 2022|publisher=Random House Publishing Group|isbn=978-0-593-15849-4|page=160}}

Among his other publishing roles, he worked for Town & Country magazine.

Personal life and death

When he was a young man, Herrera began an affair with Tina Onassis Niarchos after meeting in Paris at a ball hosted by Marie-Hélène de Rothschild. Herrera asked Onassis to marry him and she agreed, asking her husband, Aristotle Onassis, for a divorce; Aristotle refused a divorce, but gave consent for the affair to continue, including around him and their children.{{cite book |last1=Wright |first1=Michael |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=WGtr2BMIPGYC |title=All the Pain Money Can Buy: The Life of Christina Onassis |last2=Wright |first2=William |date=24 September 2000 |publisher=Simon and Schuster |isbn=978-0-7432-1163-5 |page=55}} The Onassises divorced in 1960, and though Herrera had been Tina's "most constant" affair, they did not have plans to wed.{{cite magazine |date=4 July 1960 |title=People, Jul. 4, 1960 |url=https://time.com/archive/6807120/people-jul-4-1960/ |access-date=3 April 2025 |magazine=TIME}}

He married childhood friend María Carolina Josefina Pacanins y Niño in 1968 in Caracas.{{cite news |last=Philby |first=Charlotte |date=6 March 2010 |title=My Secret Life: Carolina Herrera, fashion designer, 71 |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/people/profiles/my-secret-life-carolina-herrera-fashion-designer-71-1915501.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180106091214/http://www.independent.co.uk/news/people/profiles/my-secret-life-carolina-herrera-fashion-designer-71-1915501.html |archive-date=6 January 2018 |access-date=19 September 2017 |work=The Independent |location=London}}{{cite book |last1=Nagel |first1=Rob |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=kyUrAQAAIAAJ |title=Hispanic American Biography |last2=Rose |first2=Sharon |date=1995 |publisher=International Thomason Pub. |isbn=978-0-8103-9824-5 |page=102}} Carolina and her two daughters from a previous marriage moved into the Hacienda La Vega,{{cite book |last1=Ruiz |first1=Vicki L. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=_62IjQ-XQScC |title=Latinas in the United States, set: A Historical Encyclopedia |last2=Korrol |first2=Virginia Sánchez |date=3 May 2006 |publisher=Indiana University Press |isbn=978-0-253-11169-2 |page=325}} with the couple also maintaining a home in New York City. Together, they have two biological daughters, and six grandchildren:{{cite book |last=Kotur |first=Alexandra |title=Carolina Herrera: Portrait of a Fashion Icon |publisher=Assouline |year=2004 |pages=8–13 |chapter=Foreword by Hamish Bowles}}

Carolina Adriana Herrera-Pacanins (b. 1969), who was married to {{ill|Miguel Báez Spínola|es|Miguel Báez Spínola "El Litri"}} between 2004 and 2017.{{Cite web |date=21 March 2025 |title=La millonaria herencia (y un título perdido) que recibirán Carolina Adriana Herrera y su hermana tras morir su padre |url=https://www.elespanol.com/corazon/famosos/20250321/millonaria-herencia-titulo-perdido-recibiran-carolina-adriana-herrera-hermana-morir-padre/932656919_0.html |access-date=20 April 2025 |website=El Español |language=es}} Their three children are: Olympia Baez, Miguel Baez V, and Atalanta Baez.{{Cite web |date=12 September 2024 |title=La nieta de Carolina Herrera, Olympia Báez, es la nueva 'it girl' que tienes que fichar |url=https://www.hola.com/fashion/tendencias/20240912717663/olimpia-baez-herrera-nieta-carolina-herrera-estilo-look-basico-nueva-york/ |access-date=11 February 2025 |website=¡HOLA! |language=es}} As of 2025, Carolina Jr. was in a relationship with Portuguese businessman Pedro de Noronha.
Patricia Cristina Herrera-Pacanins, who married Gerrit Livingston Lansing Jr., a son of Suydam Rosengarten Lansing and Gerrit Livingston Lansing Sr. (a descendant of Robert Livingston),{{cite news |date=31 July 2010 |title=LANSING--Gerrit Livingston |url=https://www.legacy.com/obituaries/NYTimes/obituary.aspx?page=lifestory&pid=144372122&searchResultPosition=2 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200528000608/https://www.legacy.com/obituaries/NYTimes/obituary.aspx?page=lifestory&pid=144372122&searchResultPosition=2 |archive-date=28 May 2020 |access-date=11 May 2019 |work=The New York Times}} in 2002. The two have three children together: Carolina Lansing-Herrera,{{Cite web |date=15 February 2025 |title=Conoce a Carolina, la nieta más desconocida de Carolina Herrera: de su etapa en Madrid a la conexión mágica con su madre |url=https://www.hola.com/actualidad/20250215814363/carolina-herrera-asi-es-nieta-mas-desconocida/ |access-date=19 February 2025 |website=¡HOLA! |language=es}} Gerrit Lansing-Herrera, and Magnus Lansing-Herrera.{{Cite web |date=26 January 2025 |title=Magnus Lansing Is an Expert on Downtown NYC Architectural History. He's 17. |url=https://www.townandcountrymag.com/leisure/arts-and-culture/a63385420/magnus-lansing-nolita-architecture/ |access-date=11 February 2025 |website=Town & Country |language=en-US}}{{cite news |date=24 November 2002 |title=WEDDINGS/CELEBRATIONS; Patricia Herrera, Gerrit Lansing Jr. |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2002/11/24/style/weddings-celebrations-patricia-herrera-gerrit-lansing-jr.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190419214224/https://www.nytimes.com/2002/11/24/style/weddings-celebrations-patricia-herrera-gerrit-lansing-jr.html |archive-date=19 April 2019 |access-date=11 May 2019 |work=The New York Times}}{{cite news |last1=Chang |first1=Bee-Shyuan |date=6 May 2011 |title=What a Carolina Herrera Daughter and Consultant Is Wearing |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2011/05/08/fashion/08WHATIWORE.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190511165110/https://www.nytimes.com/2011/05/08/fashion/08WHATIWORE.html |archive-date=11 May 2019 |access-date=11 May 2019 |work=The New York Times}}{{cite news |last1=Keltner de Valle |first1=Jane |date=22 April 2019 |title=Designer Patrick McGrath Brings New Life to Patricia Herrera Lansing's New York City Home |url=https://www.architecturaldigest.com/story/designer-patrick-mcgrath-brings-new-life-to-patricia-herrera-lansings-new-york-city-home |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190511165109/https://www.architecturaldigest.com/story/designer-patrick-mcgrath-brings-new-life-to-patricia-herrera-lansings-new-york-city-home |archive-date=11 May 2019 |access-date=11 May 2019 |work=Architectural Digest |language=en}}

Herrera also shared his wife's other daughters, Mercedes and Ana Luisa. All six moved their primary residence to New York when Herrera became an editor at Vanity Fair, with his wife deciding to put her fledgling fashion career on hold until the children were older. Herrera died in New York on 18 March 2025, at the age of 91.{{Cite web |title=Latinvex | Reinaldo Herrera: The Last Gentleman |url=https://latinvex.com/reinaldo-herrera-the-last-gentleman/ |website=latinvex.com}}{{Cite web |title=Reinaldo Herrera, Taste-Maker and Husband to Carolina Herrera, Remembered |url=https://airmail.news/issues/2025-3-29/reinaldo-herrera |website=airmail.news}} His body was repatriated and interred at the family site in Caracas on 21 March.