(CelebrityAccess) Gloria Vanderbilt, 95, the heiress and “poor little rich girl” in a 1930s custody trial who became an actress, artist, designer and author has died, according to an announcement on CNN from son Anderson Cooper.
CNN reported that she died at her home and was suffering from advanced stomach cancer.
Gloria Vanderbilt was descendent of shipping and railroad tycoon Cornelius Vanderbilt. After her father died, her mother abandoned her at age 2 and she was raised by her nurse who was fired after the notorious 1934 custody battle. She was raised by her aunt, Gertrude Vanderbilt Whitney, who founded the Whitney Museum of American Art.
She married four times and had affairs with men like Howard Hughes, Marlon Brando and Frank Sinatra. Her life became the inspiration for Truman Capote’s Holly Golightly in the novel “Breakfast at Tiffany’s.”
She became best known to later generations for her merchandise – especially her designer jeans – that spawned a fashion empire.
The Vanderbilts were once the richest family in America.
