Gloria Vanderbilt

At 95 years old, Gloria Vanderbilt has this physical status:

Gloria Vanderbilt (February 20, 1924 – June 17, 2019) was an American artist, writer, actress, fashion designer, heiress, and socialite.

She was a member of the Vanderbilt family of New York and the mother of CNN television anchor Anderson Cooper. She was the subject of a high-profile child custody lawsuit in which her mother, Gloria Morgan Vanderbilt Whitney, and her paternal aunt, Gertrude Vanderbilt Whitney, all requested custody of her and control over her trust fund during the 1930s.

The court proceedings, which were described as the "trial of the century," by the media, were widely distributed and sensational media coverage, as well as the fact that Whitney's assertion that Gloria Morgan Vanderbilt was an unfit parent.

She was best known as one of the first designers of designer blue jeans.

Early life

Vanderbilt was born in Manhattan, New York City, on February 20, 1924, the sole child of railroad heir Reginald Claypoole Vanderbilt of the Vanderbilt family and his second wife, Gloria Morgan Vanderbilt. "It's incredible how Vanderbilt she looks" when Vanderbilt was born. How do the corners of her eyes turn up? Gloria Laura Vanderbilt was baptized in the Episcopal church by Bishop Herbert Shipman as Gloria Laura Vanderbilt. She was confirmed and raised in the Catholic Church, to which her mother belonged after her father's death. Cathleen Vanderbilt, Cathleen Neilson's first marriage to Cathleen Neilson, had one elder half-sister.

She and her half-sister became heiresses in a $5 million trust fund equivalent to $77 million in 2021 value following their father's death from cirrhosis when Vanderbilt was 18 months old. While she was a child, Vanderbilt's interest when she was a teenager was owed to her mother, who travelled to and from Paris for years, taking her daughter with her. They were accompanied by Emma Sullivan Kieslich, a young Gloria's niece who would play a pivotal role in the child's life, and her mother's identical twin sister, Thelma, who was the Prince of Wales's lover during this period (later Edward VIII). Gertrude Vanderbilt Whitney, the child's paternal aunt, scrutinized her mother's use of finances as a result of her spending habits. Whitney, a sculptor and philanthropist, wanted the custody of her niece, which resulted in a custody hearing. The trial was so scandalous that the judge would often order everyone to leave the room in order to hear what young Vanderbilt had to say without anyone influencing her. People were heard yelling and wailing inside the court room. A witness was heard to testify, depicting Vanderbilt's mother as an unfit parent, as well as an allegation from a maid of a lesbian affair with a member of the British royal family. Vanderbilt's mother survived the war, but Vanderbilt became the niece of her aunt Gertrude's niece Gertrude.

However, litigation stayed on. Vanderbilt's mother was forced to live on a marginally reduced amount of her daughter's trust, which was worth more than $4 million at the time of 1937, or more than $7 million in 2021. Vanderbilt's mother was also closely monitored during the visit to ensure that her daughter did not have no undue influence on her daughter due to her ostensibly "raucous" lifestyle. Vanderbilt was raised in New York City amid the luxury at her aunt Gertrude's mansion in Old Westbury, Long Island, surrounded by cousins of her age who lived in houses around the massive estate and downtown.

In the 1980 Barbara Goldsmith book Little Gloria... the trial was told. It's been a happy at last with a 1982 NBC miniseries based on it, which was nominated for six Emmy Awards and a Golden Globe Award. Gloria Dundas, an actress, appeared in Carmen.

Vanderbilt attended the Greenvale School in Long Island, Connecticut; Miss Porter's School in Farmington, Connecticut; and then the Wheeler School in Providence, Rhode Island; and the Art Students League in New York City, all fostering the artistic skills for which she would be well-known throughout her career. Vanderbilt's mother was dismissed entirely when she came of age and took over her trust fund, although she and her mother were reconciled. In 1965, her mother died in Los Angeles.

Personal life

In all, Vanderbilt was married four times, divorced three times, and gave birth to four sons. She had other intimate relationships in the meantime.

Vanderbilt, a 17-year-old girl from 1941, went to Hollywood, where she became Pat DiCicco, an actor and a suspected mobster. They divorced in 1945 and had no children together, and had no children. DiCicco was later found to be an intimate husband who called her "Fatsy Roo" and beat her, according to her. "I had black eyes and bang it against the wall," Vanderbilt said.

Vanderbilt married Leopold Stokowski, who was 42 years old in April 1945, within weeks of divorcing DiCicco. He had three children 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. In October 1955, the marriage ended in divorce and produced two sons: Leopold Stanislaus "Stan" Stokowski (born August 22, 1950) and Christopher Stokowski (born January 31, 1952). Stan has three children, while Christopher has none.

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

On December 24, 1963, Vanderbilt's fourth marriage was to author Wyatt Emory Cooper. The marriage, which lasted 15 years, came to an end in 1978 when he was undergoing open-heart surgery. Carter Vanderbilt Cooper (January 27, 1965 – July 22, 1988), who committed suicide at the age of 23, and Anderson Hays Cooper (born June 3, 1967), a CNN news anchor, and two sons: Carter Vanderbilt Cooper (born June 21, 1965), a CNN news anchor.

Vanderbilt had a close friendship with photographer and filmmaker Gordon Parks for many years before his death in 2006. Marlon Brando, Frank Sinatra, Howard Hughes, and Roald Dahl were among other people's friends.

Vanderbilt was a close friend of fashion designer Diane von Fürstenberg. Anderson referred to comedian and actress Kathy Griffin as her "fantasy daughter" when appearing on her son Anderson Cooper's television talk show on September 19, 2011.

Truman Capote had been speculated to have based the character of Holly Golightly in Brunch at Tiffany's on Vanderbilt, but others believe it was based on her friend Carol Grace.

Vanderbilt was also an artist. In an exhibit titled "The Left Hand Is The Dreamer" on her 90th birthday in New York City, a series of her drawings, paintings, and collages was on display in the 1stdibs Gallery in New York City on February 20, 2014.

As an infant, Vanderbilt was baptized into the Episcopal Church, but he was raised as a Roman Catholic, and St. Therese was a favorite. Although she was religious in her youth, she was not a practicing Catholic in her later years.

Vanderbilt died of stomach cancer at her Manhattan home on June 17, 2019. In the Carter plot on Staten Island, New York, she is buried next to her son Carter and late husband Wyatt.

Vanderbilt's son, Anderson Cooper, was left nearly her entire estate after her death, much less than $1.5 million.

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Career

Vanderbilt went from 1954 to 1963, bringing her acting experience. She trained at the Neighborhood Playhouse with teacher Sanford Meisner, and appeared in The Swan, staged at Pocono Playhouse in Mountainhome, Pennsylvania. In 1955, Elsie was in a revival of William Saroyan's "The Time of Your Life." Vanderbilt has appeared in a number of live and filmed television dramas, including Playhouse 90, Studio One in Hollywood, and The Dick Powell Exhibition. In 1981, she appeared in a two-part episode of The Love Boat. Person to Person with Edward R. Murrow, The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson, The Oprah Winfrey Show, Live! Kelly and Michael and CBS News on Sunday Morning, as Kelly and Michael are interviewed.

Vanderbilt began working as a fashion model when she was 15 years old, and she appeared in Harper's Bazaar.

Vanderbilt ventured into the fashion industry itself in the 1970s, first with Glentex, licensing her name and a series of her paintings for a line of scarves. In 1976, Indian designer Mohan Murjani's Murjani Corporation suggested that a line of designer jeans be printed with Vanderbilt's signature embroidery on the back pocket as well as her swan logo. Her jeans were more tightly fitted than other jeans of the time, and were a huge hit among customers.

Vanderbilt sold the rights to her name to Murjani Group in 1978 and re-launched GV Ltd, which she had founded in 1976. She founded dresses, blouses, sheets, boots, leather goods, liqueurs, and accessories for her business. L'Oreal launched eight fragrances from 1982 to 2002, under the brand name Gloria Vanderbilt. In 1988, Murjan sold the rights to the name Gloria Vanderbilt to Gitano Group Inc.'s founders.

In 2002, Jones Apparel Group purchased the rights to Gloria Vanderbilt jeans.

Vanderbilt accused her ex colleagues in GV Ltd. and her advocate of fraud in the 1980s. Vanderbilt received nearly $1.7 million after a lengthy hearing (during which the lawyer died), but the money was never recovered. The New York City Bar Association had also awarded $300,000. Vanderbilt owes millions of dollars in back taxes, since the lawyer never paid the IRS, and she was compelled to sell her Southampton, New York, and Upper East Side homes.

Vanderbilt studied art at the Art Students League of New York. She became well-known for her artwork, with one-woman exhibits of her oil paintings, watercolors, and pastels on display. In 1948, the first exhibition was held in London. This artwork was created and licensed by Hallmark Cards and Bloomcraft (a textile manufacturer), and Vanderbilt began designing specifically for linen, pottery, and glassware in about 1968.

Vanderbilt returned to art in 2001 and opened "Dream Boxes," her first art show at the Southern Vermont Arts Center in Manchester; it was a critical success. In 2007, she opened a second exhibition of 35 paintings at the Arts Center. Vanderbilt returned to the Arts Center as a panelist at the annual Fall Show Exhibition, signing copies of her new book, Obsession: An Erotic Tale.

Vanderbilt wrote two books on art and home decor, four volumes of memoirs, three novels, and a single collection of short stories The Things We Fear Most. She has been a regular contributor to The New York Times, Vanity Fair, and Elle. Vanderbilt's Life in November 2010, written by Wendy Goodman, New York magazine's design editor, chronicling her life. Many previously unveiled photographs were included in the book, which was published by Abrams Books.

HarperCollins Publishers published a book in January 2017 called The Rainbow Comes and Goes: A Mother and Son, coauthored by Vanderbilt and her son Anderson Cooper The Rainbow Comes and Goes: A Mother and Son on Life, Love, and Loss. Anderson Cooper's mother, Gloria Vanderbilt, had a touching and personal correspondence, giving timeless wisdom and a revealing glimpse into their lives," the book's publisher said.

Nothing Left Unsaid: Gloria Vanderbilt & Anderson Cooper, a two-hour documentary made and directed by Liz Garbus, premiered on HBO on April 9, 2016. It is based on a series of interviews with the mother and her son, as well as her personal and family history in the public eye.

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