Gloria Vanderbilt

Gloria Laura Vanderbilt (born February 20, 1924) is an American artist, actress, and socialite most noted as a spokeswoman for designer blue jeans. more...

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Early life and heiress status

Vanderbilt is the only child of railroad heir Reginald Claypoole Vanderbilt (1880-1925) and his second wife, Gloria Laura Mercedes Morgan (1904-1965).

She became heiress to a four million dollar trust fund upon her father's death of alcohol poisoning when she was just 15 months old. The rights to control this trust fund while Vanderbilt was a minor belonged to her mother, also named Gloria. Herself a child bride, the elder Gloria was completely unprepared for the adult responsibilities as a widow of means. She travelled to and from Paris for years, dragging young Gloria with her. They were accompanied by a nanny named Dodo who would play a tumultuous part in young Gloria's life, and Gloria's twin sister Thelma, who was the girlfriend of The Prince of Wales during this time . As a result of the frequent spending, her finances were scrutinized by young Gloria's aunt Gertrude Vanderbilt Whitney. Mrs. Whitney, a sculptor and philanthropist, wanted custody of the young heiress and soon a famous and scandalous trial became the lead story in 1934. Testimony was heard depicting the mother as an unfit parent, much of which was conjecture and hearsay, but as the widow Vanderbilt was mostly concerned about her use of the trust and not the particular care of her daughter, the court battle was easily lost and Little Gloria became the ward of her Aunt Gertrude.

Litigation continued, however. Little Gloria's mother was forced to live on a drastically reduced portion of her daughter's trust. Visitation was also closely watched to ensure that the elder Gloria did not exert any undue influence upon her daughter with her supposedly \"raucous\" lifestyle.

Marriages, relationships and children

Gloria was raised amidst luxury at her aunt Gertrude's mansion, surrounded by cousins her age who lived in houses circling the vast estate.

Gloria went to the best schools and was raised to be a lady by a large staff and no one else. As years passed, contact with her mother grew sparse. When Gloria came of age and took control of her trust fund, she cut her mother off entirely, eventually gradually helping out in bits and pieces. Her mother scarcely recovered from the trial and died in obscurity in 1965.

Without a single day of preparation for her inheritance Gloria decided to prove her independence by buying a mink coat and running off to Hollywood where she married agent Pasquale DiCicco (\"Pat\" DiCicco) in 1941; they divorced in 1945.

Her second marriage, to conductor Leopold Stokowski on April 21, 1945, produced two sons, Leopold Stanislaus Stokowski, born in 1950, and Christopher Stokowski, born in 1952; they divorced in October, 1955.

Read more at Wikipedia.org