Gloria Vanderbilt (1924-2019) – Artist and ‘lady of perfume’

The perfume with her name is still very popular: Gloria Vanderbilt. This descendant of the immensely wealthy American Vanderbilt family, also made a name for himself as a designer and television personality. She was the mother of author and news anchor Anderson Cooper.

Gloria Vanderbilt was born on February 20, 1924, the only child of Reginald Claypoole Vanderbilt and his second wife Gloria Morgan. Her father died when she was only fifteen months old. She and her half-sister Cathleen Vanderbilt subsequently received a benefit from a $5 million fund.

However, this money was managed by Gloria’s mother who led a wild life from it. Finally, an aunt, Gertrude Vanderbilt Witney, filed a lawsuit about this. Gertrude won this lingering case that put Gloria Vanderbilt under her tutelage. The custody battle was closely followed by the press, leading to Gloria becoming known to the general public as the “poor, rich girl”. And the trial was often dubbed “the trial of the century” in the media. Gloria Vanderbilt ended up living with her aunt for most of her childhood. Her mother still received a small allowance.

Weddings

Once an adult, Gloria immediately withdrew her mother’s allowance. She herself was given four million dollars. She traveled to New York where she attended the Art Students League. In 1941 she married the booking agent Pasquale DeCicco in Hollywood. The marriage was short-lived. The two broke up in 1945. That same year, Gloria remarried the well-known conductor Leopold Stokowski. From this marriage, which lasted ten years, two children were born: Leopold Stanislaus “Stan” Stokowski (1950) and Christopher Stokowski (1952).

After a seven-year marriage to director Sidney Lumet, the American married author Wyatt Emory Cooper in 1963. From this marriage two more sons were born: Carter Vanderbilt Cooper (1965-1988) and Anderson Cooper (1967). The latter would make a name for himself as an author and news presenter, including at CNN and ABC.

Gloria Vanderbilt perfume line

From the 1970s, more and more fashion designers also launched fragrance lines. These turned out to be quite popular, so that in the eighties and nineties countless celebrities decided to develop their own scents. Gloria Vanderbilt was one of them.

Artistic career

The (financially) fortunate American also made works of art, images of which were printed on Hallmark cards, among other things. In addition, Vanderbilt designed, among other things, porcelain and glass objects.

From the sixties she was mainly active in the fashion world. She had, among other things, blue jeans designed with her name on the back pocket and the logo of the swan. The jeans line still exists. However, Gloria Vanderbilt gave up the naming rights to both the jeans and the perfume long ago, leaving her personally no longer involved with these products.

The American wrote several books, including erotic ones. In 2016, a two-hour documentary about her life, titled Nothing Left Unsaid: Gloria Vanderbilt & Anderson Cooper , appeared on HBO . Gloria Vanderbilt still appeared on television every now and then. She also occasionally organized exhibitions. She died in 2019.

Tribute to Gloria Vanderbilt