Early life
Vanderbilt was born in New York City, the only child of railroad heir Reginald Claypoole Vanderbilt (1880–1925) and his second wife, Gloria Morgan (1904–1965). She was christened in the Episcopal church as Gloria Laura Vanderbilt (and after her father's death, christened in the Catholic Church, to which her mother belonged). From her father's first marriage to Cathleen Neilson, she had a half-sister, Cathleen Vanderbilt (1904–1944). She became heiress to a half share in a five-million-dollar trust fund upon her father's death from cirrhosis when she was 15 months old.The rights to control this trust fund while Vanderbilt was a minor belonged to her mother, who traveled to and from Paris for years, taking her daughter with her. They were accompanied by a beloved nanny young Gloria named "Dodo", who would play a tumultuous part in the child's life, and her mother's identical twin sister Thelma, who was the mistress of The Prince of Wales during this time. As a result of frequent spending, her mother's use of finances was scrutinized by the child Vanderbilt's paternal aunt Gertrude Vanderbilt Whitney. Whitney, a sculptor and philanthropist, wanted custody of the young heiress and soon a famous custody trial became the lead story of 1934. The trial was so scandalous that at times, the judge would make everyone leave the room so as to listen to what young Vanderbilt had to say without anyone influencing her. Some people heard weeping and wailing inside the court room. Testimony was heard depicting the mother as an unfit parent; Vanderbilt's mother lost the battle and Vanderbilt became the ward of her Aunt Gertrude. Gloria Vanderbilt at age eight with her mother. Litigation continued, however. Vanderbilt's mother was forced to live on a drastically reduced portion of her daughter's trust. Visitation was also closely watched to ensure that Vanderbilt's mother did not exert any undue influence upon her daughter with her supposedly "raucous" lifestyle. Vanderbilt was raised amidst luxury at her Aunt Gertrude's mansion in Old Westbury, Long Island, surrounded by cousins her age who lived in houses circling the vast estate, and in New York City. The story of the trial was told in a 1982 miniseries for NBC Little Gloria... Happy at Last, which was nominated for six Emmys and a Golden Globe. Vanderbilt attended the Greenvale School in Long Island, Miss Porter's School in Farmington, Connecticut and then the Wheeler School in Providence, Rhode Island, as well as the Art Students League in New York City, developing the artistic talent for which she would become increasingly known in her career. When Vanderbilt came of age and took control of her trust fund, she cut her mother off entirely, though she supported her in later years. Her mother lived for many years with her sister in Beverly Hills and died there in 1965.
Professional career
Vanderbilt studied acting at the Neighborhood Playhouse with teacher Sanford Meisner and studied art at the Art Students League of New York. She became known for her artwork, giving one-woman shows of oil paintings, watercolors, and pastels. This artwork was adapted and licensed, starting about 1968, by Hallmark Cards (a manufacturer of paper products) and by Bloomcraft (a textile manufacturer), and Vanderbilt began designing specifically for linens, china, glassware and flatware. During the 1970s, she ventured into the fashion business, first with Glentex, licensing her name for a line of scarves. In 1976, Indian designer Mohan Murjani's Murjani Corporation, proposed launching a line of designer jeans carrying Vanderbilt's name embossed in script on the back pocket, as well as her swan logo. Her jeans were more tightly fitted than the other jeans of that time. The logo eventually appeared on dresses and perfumes as well. Along with her jeans, Vanderbilt also launched a line of blouses, sheets, shoes, leather goods, liqueurs, and accessories. Jones Apparel Group acquired the rights to Gloria Vanderbilt jeans in 2002. Vanderbilt was one of the first designers to make public appearances, which was a difficult thing for her because of her shyness. After Murjani, she began her own company, "GV Ltd.", on 7th Avenue in New York. In the period from 1982 to 2002 L'Oreal has launched eight fragrances under the brand name Gloria Vanderbilt.[16] In the 1980s, Vanderbilt accused her former partners in "GV Ltd." and lawyer of fraud. After a lengthy trial (during which time the lawyer died) Vanderbilt won and was awarded nearly $1.7 million, but the money was never recovered, though she was also awarded $300,000 by the New York Bar Association from its Victims of Fraud fund. Vanderbilt owed millions in back taxes—the lawyer had never paid the IRS—and she was forced to sell her Southampton and New York City homes. In 1978, Gloria Vanderbilt sold the rights to her name to the Murjani Group. Today, Vanderbilt is not involved in the fashion or home furnishings business and is in no way affiliated with the clothing and accessories company that uses her name. In 2001, Gloria had her first exhibition in Vermont, "Dream Boxes", at the Southern Vermont Arts Center in Manchester. A critical success, she launched an exhibition of 35 paintings at the Southern Vermont Arts Center in 2007. Two years later she returned to the Arts Center as a panelist at its Annual Fall Show Exhibition, signing copies of her latest novel, "Obsession: An Erotic Tale." Most recently, Gloria has been the subject of a new book chronicling her life, entitled "The World of Gloria Vanderbilt," written by author Wendy Goodman, also New York Magazine's design editor. The book was published in November 2010 by Abrams and features many heretofore unseen photographs. Vanderbilt also has a website featuring her artwork: www.gloriavanderbiltfineart.com
Personal life
At 17 years old, Vanderbilt went to Hollywood where she married agent Pasquale ("Pat") DiCicco in 1941; they divorced in 1945. Her second marriage, to conductor Leopold Stokowski in April 1945, produced two sons, Leopold Stanislaus "Stan" Stokowski, born August 22, 1950 and Christopher Stokowski, born January 31, 1952; they divorced in October 1955. On August 28, 1956, she married director Sidney Lumet; they divorced in August 1963. She married her fourth husband, author Wyatt Emory Cooper on December 24, 1963. They had two sons: Carter Vanderbilt Cooper (born January 27, 1965) and CNN news anchor Anderson Cooper (born June 3, 1967). Wyatt Cooper died in 1978 during open heart surgery in New York City. Carter Cooper committed suicide on July 22, 1988, by jumping from the family's 14th floor apartment as his mother tried in vain to stop him. Vanderbilt believed that it was caused by a psychotic episode induced by an allergy to the anti-asthma medical prescription drug Proventil. She has three grandchildren by her eldest son, Stan: Aurora, born in March 1983 and Abra, born in February 1985, both to author Ivy Strick, and Myles, born in 1998 to artist Emily Goldstein. She maintained a romantic relationship with photographer and filmmaker Gordon Parks for many years until his death in 2006. Gloria is very close friends with comedienne Kathy Griffin, and while appearing as a guest on her son Anderson Cooper's talk show, Anderson on September 19, 2011, referred to Kathy as her "fantasy daughter." Kathy refers to Gloria as "Glo".
Works
Once Upon a Time: A True Story Black Knight, White Knight A Mother's Story It Seemed Important at the Time: A Romance Memoir
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