Gloria Vanderbilt - Dead at 95; Her son gives a loving, emotional tribute

[aftershocks]

I'm surprised not to see a thread here yet, unless I missed it. Vanderbilt was diagnosed with cancer recently and died several weeks later (June 17).

Her son, Anderson Cooper, gave his mother a touching tribute on CNN:

Anderson Cooper Holds Back Tears In Emotional Tribute To His Late Mother, Gloria Vanderbilt | Access

Anderson closed his show with a moving tribute to his mother, Gloria Vanderbilt, on his first "Anderson Cooper 360" following her death on Monday. Hear what ...

www.youtube.com

Gloria Vanderbilt dead at age 95: 'What an extraordinary woman,' son Anderson Cooper says

Famous from birth in 1924, Gloria Vanderbilt became even more so thanks to a custody trial, designer jeans and as mom to CNN's Anderson Cooper.

www.usatoday.com

Gloria Vanderbilt, heiress and jeans queen, has died at age 95

Gloria Vanderbilt was the intrepid heiress, artist and romantic who began her extraordinary life as the "poor little rich girl" of the Great Depression

www.cbsnews.com

I lost an aunt last year at the age of 95. She too was a great lady with an independent spirit who lived her life on her own terms and charmed the heck out of everyone she met. Kudos to all dearly departed Grande Dames and to times gone by.

Condolences to Gloria Vanderbilt's surviving family & friends and to Anderson, the last member of his immediate family line.

 

[skatesindreams]

From the New York Times:

Gloria Vanderbilt Dies at 95; Built a Fashion Empire

An illustrious family name became synonymous with designer jeans, as Ms. Vanderbilt became a celebrity in her own right.

www.nytimes.com

 

[Vash01]

I'm surprised not to see a thread here yet, unless I missed it. Vanderbilt was diagnosed with cancer recently and died several weeks later (June 17).

Her son, Anderson Cooper, gave his mother a touching tribute on CNN:

Anderson Cooper Holds Back Tears In Emotional Tribute To His Late Mother, Gloria Vanderbilt | Access

Anderson closed his show with a moving tribute to his mother, Gloria Vanderbilt, on his first "Anderson Cooper 360" following her death on Monday. Hear what ...

www.youtube.com

Gloria Vanderbilt dead at age 95: 'What an extraordinary woman,' son Anderson Cooper says

Famous from birth in 1924, Gloria Vanderbilt became even more so thanks to a custody trial, designer jeans and as mom to CNN's Anderson Cooper.

www.usatoday.com

Gloria Vanderbilt, heiress and jeans queen, has died at age 95

Gloria Vanderbilt was the intrepid heiress, artist and romantic who began her extraordinary life as the "poor little rich girl" of the Great Depression

www.cbsnews.com

I lost an aunt last year at the age of 95. She too was a great lady with an independent spirit who lived her life on her own terms and charmed the heck out of everyone she met. Kudos to all dearly departed Grande Dames and to times gone by.

Condolences to Gloria Vanderbilt's surviving family & friends and to Anderson, the last member of his immediate family line.

I missed this completely. Will watch Anderson’s tribute to his mother. Thanks for the links.

 

[skatesindreams]

Have a handkerchief available.

 

[aftershocks]

How wonderful and how cool it is that Anderson and his mother enjoyed such a close, tight-knit relationship, even through personal grief and tragedy in their immediate family. I'm happy for them that they were able to spend Gloria's final years simply enjoying special moments and all the good times life has to offer.

But even in bad times, Gloria apparently was a pillar of strength, likely honed through the sadness and emotional pain of her lonely, over-scrutinized, family-scandal laden 'little rich girl' childhood.

I'll never forget once seeing Gloria Vanderbilt and film director Sidney Lumet walking together down the street in New York City, near The New School for Social Research (as it used to be called). They were once married, and apparently remained friends after divorcing. Or else, they reconnected at some point in their later years.

ETA:
Thanks for sharing the NYTimes obituary @skatesindreams. It's fascinating that Gloria Vanderbilt was Truman Capote's muse for his Holly Golighty character in Breakfast at Tiffany's. If I ever knew that, I'd forgotten. In the picture taken of Gloria by Gordon Parks in 1954, there is a bit of a resemblance stylistically to Audrey Hepburn in profile.

For all that happened in her life, Gloria seemed quite perceptive and honest. I didn't know or it never sank in at any point that she was a writer and artist. I did know about her success with Vanderbilt jeans. Who didn't in the 1970s? Gloria reflecting in last memoir on how her many husbands, affairs and romances were a kind of searching for her mother's love and overcompensation for lack there of, conveys such poignancy and self-awareness. I can't even begin to contemplate how she recovered from her older son's suicide which she witnessed and tried to prevent. It must have been Anderson's existence (as well as her two sons from an earlier marriage) that helped her make it through that trauma.

 

[Winnipeg]

And Anderson Cooper himself is quite a tribute to Gloria Vanderbilt - she raised a great guy! I really like/respect Anderson from what I see (ie I don't know him personally unfortunately)..

 

[Peaches LaTour]

Despite all her other achievements in life, she excelled herself in the most important role she had: motherhood.

Good for her.

 

[skatesindreams]

I didn't know or it never sank in at any point that she was a writer and artist.

Her memoirs are very well done; and worth reading.