The World of Gloria Vanderbilt

The new biography of Gloria Vanderbilt, “The World of Gloria Vanderbilt,” written by Wendy Goodman is out. What a fascinating woman Ms. Vanderbilt is and an incredible life she has led, both with plenty of good and bad throughout. Now in her mid-80s, Gloria Vanderbilt has left quite a legacy, yet it’s probably her son, Anderson Cooper, who is more well-known these days.

David Patrick Columbia of the New York Social Diary recounted his first meeting with Ms. Vanderbilt almost 20 years ago:

“She’s the only celebrity I’ve ever met – and I’ve met scores, even hundreds – whose charisma remains large and intact at all times. This is not an act of pretense but rather just the magic of the woman’s personality. Furthermore she’s a beauty, and although age has made its transformations as it does with all of us, with Gloria, you get the feeling that (aside from a little help from her professional “advisers”) that age transforms with her. “That subtle charm that makes young farmers desert the farm,” to borrow from another Cole Porter tune, is hers.”

Fifteen-year-old Gloria Vanderbilt is featured in Harper's Bazarre.

This photograph features a baby Gloria with her mother, Gloria Mercedes Morgan Vanderbilt and her father, Reginald Claypoole Vanderbilt. Her father was in his early forties when he married the teenage Gloria Mercedes Morgan. Mr. Vanderbilt died the year after baby Gloria was born.

I recall watching a miniseries about the life of Ms. Vanderbilt – the custody battle between her mother and her aunt; growing up as one of the wealthiest children in the world; multiple husbands, her designer-jean empire and the list goes on and on. Like any good soap opera, I was drawn to the screen. Yet, this was a true story.

Gloria with her third husband, director Sidney Lumet, at the Cannes Film Festival in 1962. 

Goodman’s biography has the stamp of approval from Vanderbilt herself, and the forward is written by Cooper:

When you have lost, as a child, a father, a mother; when you are raised with the terrible knowledge that nothing is what it seems, and nothing can protect you, you come to understand that anything is possible, anything can happen. Great pain, great pleasure. There is no safety in guarantees.”

My mother learned that lesson early on ...

Gloria lounging with her fourth husband, Wyatt Cooper, father of sons Anderson and Carter.

The book’s art design is by Chip Kidd, probably best known for his work on “True Prep” with Lisa Birnbach. Having received good reviews in the literary world, I may have to add this biography to my Christmas wish list.
Images from The New York Social Diary and Amazon