Gloria Vanderbilt - heiress, artist, fashion designer, actress and socialite.
Today at the age of 86, she still makes headlines in her birthplace of New York, where she enjoyed a life of privilege from the time she was born as a member of one the city's most prominent families.
According to UK's Telegraph, her father Reginald Vanderbilt died of cirrhosis caused by overdrinking when she was nineteen months old, and she was left to the care of her mother. He was heir to a railroad fortune. Her paternal aunt, Gertrude Vanderbilt, later took custody of the young Gloria after a very public court custody battle, when her mother's frequent spending was put under scrutiny.
Gloria has always been in the public eye because of her family connections, and she began her career as an artist, but she eventually became a fashion designer well-known for her brand of denim jeans, which fitted tighter than any of the other brands of her day, as well her swan logo. Her branding soon appeared on fashionable items and products from bedlinen to shoes.
But much has to be said about her ability to reinvent herself, as she played out the many roles whose mantle she took on.
Her life seemed to revolve around tragedies and events that made headlines every time, but it was just as glamorous. She had four marriages - the first, when she was 17, to Pasquale 'Pat' DiCiccio, a fixer for aviator and movie producer Howard Hughes, and whom Gloria had dated before her marriage. They divorced in 1945 after he abused her physically. She then met and married 62-year-old conductor Leopold Stokowski, and had two sons, Stan and Christopher, before divorcing in 1955 and engaging in a custody battle that was similar to the one she had gone through as a child. She emerged triumphant from that court case.
Her third marriage was to director Sidney Lumet in 1956, before it ended in divorce in 1963.
Her fourth marriage to author Wyatt Emory Cooper produced two sons, Carter and Anderson Cooper. The former committed suicide in 1988 while the latter is a reporter with CNN.
Her life has also been chronicled with the publication of her own book - Obsession: an Erotic Tale. Described by the New York Times as "may be the steamiest novel ever written by an octogenarian", the book has garnered media attention for its racy content, including, "scenes involving dildos, whips, silken cords and golden nipple clamps... spanking... Mint, cayenne pepper and a fresh garden carrot.. deployed in ways never envisioned by The Joy of Cooking.
Today, she still looks as elegant, with a face that seems to have escaped the ravages of time. Just last month, she appeared at a party hosted by Ralph Lauren, celebrating the publication of The World of Gloria Vanderbilt, by Wendy Goodman.
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