Gloria Vanderbilt, Iconic Designer and Artist, Remembered
- June 17, 2019 22:55
Artist, fashion designer, actress, writer, model and philanthropist Gloria Vanderbilt died on Monday at age 95.
Born in 1924, she was an heir to the vast fortune descended from shipping and railroad tycoon Cornelius Vanderbilt. A highly publicized custody battle for Gloria led her to being placed at age 10 with her aunt, Gertrude Vanderbilt Whitney, who founded the Whitney Museum of American Art.
Married four times, Vanderbilt had four sons, including CNN news anchor Anderson Cooper.
Among her achievements, Vanderbilt helped popularize designer jeans for women in the 1970s and 80s, creating a $100 million fashion brand. She also painted and created collages from the 1950s on, with shows over the last several years hosted by 1stDibs in New York. Her artwork was posted to Instagram @gloriavanderbiltstudio, including a recent work showing four figures gazing at the sun above the horizon with the words "2019 HOPE."
